Jurrien Timber believes we can do amazing things this season as we gear up for our Premier League curtain raiser against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman played 48 matches across all competitions in 2024/25, in a season where we finished second in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Last year was our third successive second place finish and Jurrien is confident we can achieve new heights in 2025/26.
He said: "I think we showed the last couple of years that we will always be fighting for the title. Every year, we're trying to strengthen the squad in the summer as well. We have an amazing group, and we have a group that can do amazing things, and this is what we will strive for.
"We will try to give everything, and this season is not going to be any different. I think you can tell we're close. It's just that last step, isn't it? There's nothing more you can do than just fight for it and go for it all the way.
Read more Preview: Manchester United v Arsenal
"I think we have the manager for it, we have the team for it and we have the club for it. That's the reason why everyone is so excited to start again and give it our all, because we know we have a chance."
We've enjoyed a busy summer so far, bringing in six new players as well as going to Hong Kong and Singapore on our pre-season tour.
One of those new arrivals is Viktor Gyokeres, who joined us from Sporting CP in July, and Jurrien believes the Swedish forward has settled into life in N5 quickly.
He said: "He's an amazing guy, amazing lad. He fits in great with the group, just as all the other new players do. I think they have all adapted really well, and Viktor has amazing qualities.
Read more Inside Training: The big kick-off approaches
"I think together with Kai [Havertz], you have two completely different strikers, which is a big threat to our opponents. He's so quick, so strong, powerful, very clinical in front of the goal. He's a great guy as well. I'm really happy with Viktor."
We conceded 34 times in 2024/25, the fewest in the Premier League, a record that Jurrien played a large part in after playing 30 top flight games.
Timber knows the qualities of our defensive line and thinks the competition within the squad is driving up standards.
"We're just trying to focus on ourselves," he said. "We know defensively we're doing well, but also it's because we have a lot of good defenders, and we defend with the whole team as well.
"At the same time, I think the amount of defenders we have, the competition is amazing, so it makes each other better. I think that level, that's the standard now for our defending, for our whole team. It's a really high standard, which is nice to be a part of."
Read more Training gallery: Preparing for Manchester United
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.