Arsenal have the opportunity to send out a real statement of intent in the opening weeks of the 2025/26 Premier League season. A campaign in which they will be hoping to lift the league title come the end of May, the Gunners will go head-to-head with Liverpool and Manchester City for England's top prize.
The Reds have not wasted any time when it comes to adding to their playing squad after last season's title triumph. Giorgi Mamardashvili, Arman Pecsi and Jeremie Frimpong have already made the move to Anfield for a combined fee of £56million and Florian Wirtz is set to join them in a £116million move.
Manchester City, on the other hand, have made some swift moves totalling £113.25million as they look to put last season's disappointment of not winning any silverware well and truly behind them. Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders have strengthened their midfield options and Rayan Ait-Nouri will challenge for the left-back spot.
Arsenal will in fact face early tests against Liverpool and Manchester City following the release of the 2025/26 Premier League schedule. Mikel Arteta's men start the campaign with games against Manchester United and Leeds United before they make the trip to Anfield at the end of August.
Following the first international break of the season at the beginning of September, Arsenal have showdowns with Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United either side of welcoming Manchester City to the Emirates Stadium. It is an incredibly tough start to the campaign but the north London club should have nothing to fear given their results in the corresponding fixtures last term.
Given Arsenal's aspirations of winning the Premier League title, it gives them a huge chance to send out a real warning to their rivals. Drop too many points or get off to a slow start, however, and they may be left playing catch-up in what remains of the season.
Arsenal's lack of a proven goalscorer in the past two seasons has proved very costly indeed as it has seen the major silverware they crave constantly elude them. A new striker is a must for the club this summer, with Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres the two names constantly linked with big-money moves to the Gunners.
Arsenal now have sporting director Andrea Berta in place for his first transfer window at the club and the Italian's first task is to gift Arteta the striker he requires to take his team to the next level. In an ideal world, the Arsenal boss gets his man in for the beginning of pre-season.
That way either Sesko or Gyokeres would have sufficient time to take in Arteta's football philosophy and learn his ways, strike up a relationship with their new teammates and get off the mark in the team's summer friendlies. That in turn could see them hit the ground running come the start of the Premier League season at a time when Arsenal need to make a fast start considering their first six fixtures.
As important as it is that Arsenal get a new striker to lead the line and form part of a devastating front three, it is now vital that the incoming player is signed on in good time either before pre-season training commences or just after they've returned as the club plot a big season on four fronts. If Arsenal are to send out a statement of intent in their first six games, their new striker may hold the key.