Arsenal - Emirates Stadium
Arsenal - Emirates Stadium
Arsenal Premier League Champions: What Must Change To Stay On Top?
Arsenal did it. After 22 years of wounds, Mikel Arteta delivered the Premier League title at the end of a gruelling 2025/26 campaign, confirming the Gunners as Arsenal Premier League champions for the first time since the Invincibles era. Manchester City’s draw at Bournemouth confirmed Arsenal’s triumph, ending their two-decade wait for domestic glory. Now, with rivals restructuring and a hungry pack gathering, the real question is whether Arteta can do it again.
Retaining a title is historically harder than winning one. The pressure shifts, expectations multiply, and opponents study every pattern. Bookmakers already install Arsenal as 6-4 favourites for 2026/27, though analysts point to attacking improvement as the clearest area requiring attention. So, here are three realistic things Arteta must prioritise to keep the trophy at the Emirates.
1. Build a more expansive attack
Arteta’s side must shift towards a more expansive, commanding style rather than continuing to rely on defensive resilience and isolated moments in the final third, because teams that build dynasties rarely operate cautiously for years on end. The goals have come, but too often through set-pieces rather than sustained, fluid combination play. 18 Premier League goals arrived directly from corners this season, a league record, which shows how heavily Arsenal leaned on dead-ball situations to grind out results.
Viktor Gyokeres settled well after a slow start and contributes hold-up quality, yet Arteta needs him firing consistently from the very first match of the season. Arsenal’s system does not always extract the best from wide attackers, so adding a quicker forward option would give the team far greater variety in transition, particularly against low defensive blocks.
2. Protect the spine and fix injury fragility
The spine of Arsenal‘s starting eleven, built around Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, and Zubimendi, has been the foundation of 32 clean sheets across all competitions, six more than any other team in Europe’s five major leagues. Protecting that group must become a non-negotiable priority throughout pre-season and the early fixtures. Kai Havertz, a key creative force, managed only 584 Premier League minutes in 2025/26 because of injury, and Martin Odegaard was restricted to just 16 league starts, which significantly blunted Arsenal’s fluency.
Also read: Arsenal linked with surprising move for £26m Man Utd star
Arteta must invest in quality cover for these positions rather than relying on thin back-up options. A squad that lost depth at crucial moments nearly threw away the title race, and that vulnerability cannot continue into a defence campaign.
3. Sustain the tactical flexibility that separated them from rivals
A willingness to adjust strategy on a game-by-game basis was a notable difference in 2025/26, in contrast to earlier seasons where Arteta started all 38 matches in an identical formation without deviation. That flexibility gave Arsenal decisive edges in tight games throughout the run-in. Rice’s transition into a deeper double-pivot role towards the season’s end, alongside Zubimendi, gave Arsenal greater defensive balance at critical moments and allowed the team to manage matches effectively from positions of strength.
Also read: Price Revealed – Arsenal and Man Utd transfer target will cost £80m
As Arsenal Premier League champions heading into 2026/27, Arteta must continue evolving that tactical identity rather than becoming predictable. The rivals are changing fast, with Xabi Alonso at Chelsea and Enzo Maresca inheriting City’s squad, so standing still is simply not an option for this Arsenal side.
More Arsenal Stories from Scorzo