At a Glance:
Manchester City have become a club of great stature under Pep Guardiola
Guardiola leaving the club has left City with more questions than answers
Arsenal could capitalise on an ever-changing Premier League scene, especially amongst big clubs including City.
Arsenal won the 2025/26 Premier League title over Manchester City with Pep Guardiola in charge, but what will it look like next season when Pep Guardiola has left Arsenal’s title rivals?
The two clubs have been at odds for almost the entirety of Mikel Arteta’s reign at Arsenal, and while their most recent encounter ended in a 2-1 win for Manchester City, the Gunners still went on to become champions.
There is still one gameweek left to play in the league, with Arsenal set to face Crystal Palace and City playing Aston Villa, but mathematically Guardiola’s side cannot make up the required points total to catch Arsenal.
With the new season comes a new slate for both sides, but there will be no Guardiola at the helm for the Mancunian club, and it is unknown what the title race scene will look like.
READ MORE: How Eberechi Eze telling Mikel Arteta the players need ‘space’ won Arsenal the Premier League title
Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City as a true part of the club’s identity
Pep Guardiola has won six Premier league titles, a Champions League title, five EFL Cups, three FA Cups, three community Shields, a Super Cup and a Club World Cup with Manchester City in the decade that he spent with them from 2016 onwards.
While he was unable to win the league in his final season with the club, the Catalan coach did manage to win both the Carabao Cup against Arsenal, in a 2-0 win where the North London club struggled, and the FA Cup, recently against Chelsea.
When the news that he was departing the club emerged earlier this week, the football world was in shock, including the Manchester City team theirselves. But how this will impact the squad going forward is unknown, with managers linked but no concrete talks having been held yet.
Arsenal could be benefactors of a 2026/27 season with many unknowns
It is almost a guarantee that Mikel Arteta will stay with Arsenal for the upcoming season, but other big clubs either will have new coaches for next year or unstable relationships with their current managers.
Manchester City must move on from Guardiola, while Chelsea have gone with ex-Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso to lead their project. Meanwhile, Arne Slot enjoys a love-hate relationship with Liverpool fans and Manchester United will be embarking on their first season with Michael Carrick as the full-time man in charge, with Carrick still truly untested at Premier League level on a permanent basis.
This could mean that non-Big Six clubs, such as Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Brighton all capitalise on a Premier league that is seeing much change, but Arsenal should also benefit from this, and with Guardiola leaving, a second league title in a row does not seem out of the equation whatsoever.