Arsenal are less than a month from opening the new Premier League season vs Coventry as football.london assesses whether their current business is good enough to defend their title
06:00, 28 Jul 2026
Arsenal start their Premier League title defence in less than a month’s time as they face Coventry City on Friday, 21 August. It will be the curtain raiser for the season, but so far, the club might have many of the same faces in the starting line-up.
So far, Arsenal have added only Christos Tzolis to the team, who is of a starting capacity that was not there last season. Piero Hincapie joined on a permanent move, while Illan Meslier has come in to be, at present, the third-choice goalkeeper.
There are big plans for further signings this summer, with both Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior major targets. However, any such deals could still be some way off.
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Were the Premier League to start tomorrow, the question lingers whether this team is good enough to defend their title. A best XI could even miss Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, who are expected to be given ample time to recover from a season extended by a Champions League final and World Cup campaign that reached the semi-final stage, all the while carrying fitness concerns.
Assuming both are fit, a team for Coventry could look something like this: Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Odegaard, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, Havertz, Tzolis.
William Saliba is missing due to an ongoing back injury, which is set to keep him out for an extended period. Jurrien Timber is expected to return for the start of the season, and so the choice at right centre-half will be between Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera.
Declan Rice has been performing for Arsenal in the latter part of last season at the midfield’s base while Myles Lewis-Skelly moved into the left eight role. Martin Odegaard continues with a front three of Saka, Kai Havertz and new boy Tzolis.
Manchester City have lost Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva, they could yet lose Rodri too. Elliot Anderson coming in would be a real step down from Rodri no matter how good the England international is.
But there can be no underestimating City and their potential to flourish under a very good coach in Enzo Maresca. With no European football, Chelsea are ones to watch, while Liverpool under Andoni Iraola does cause me worry, although their best stars are no doubt reaching the twilight or even end of their careers there.
But I still think Arsenal can retain their title with this squad, and Tzolis does excite and intrigue me. 51 goal contributions last season, half that total would be great in his first season.
Add Guimaraes and Vini Jr to this group, though, and my goodness, that is quite the prospect.
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