Winning the Premier League changed Arsenal’s status overnight. Mikel Arteta’s side no longer begin a season trying to catch the team above them. They are the benchmark. As August begins and another campaign edges closer, the challenge is not whether Arsenal can repeat last season but whether they can find another level before everyone else catches up.
There is always a temptation to read too much into pre-season. Every encouraging performance fuels optimism. Every disappointing result raises fresh questions. By the time August arrives, though, attention turns towards something more meaningful. Managers stop experimenting and start preparing for the matches that will define their season.
Arsenal approach the new campaign from a very different position. Twelve months ago they were chasing the title. This summer they are defending it. That alone changes the scrutiny surrounding every decision Arteta makes between now and the opening weekend.
Champions Don’t Stand Still
Those expectations are not confined to supporters and pundits. They are reflected in the Premier League outright market as well. Arsenal begin the new season at around 9/5 to retain the Premier League title because they already possess something every challenger craves: stability. Arteta has built a settled squad; his ideas are deeply understood and the core of last season’s title-winning side remains intact.
Those early outright prices will naturally attract plenty of attention before the opening weekend, particularly among supporters considering a pre-season wager. If you’re thinking about backing Arsenal before the new season gets under way, you can bet on Arsenal to win the Premier League with these PayPal betting sites, where you’ll find many of the UK’s established bookmakers that accept PayPal for deposits and withdrawals, together with information on welcome offers, payment security and independent reviews to help you choose the bookmaker that best suits your needs.
Those odds are built on evidence from last season rather than reputation alone. Arsenal won the Premier League despite never enjoying a fully settled side for any sustained period. Injuries interrupted Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino, while Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi carried a significant share of the midfield workload throughout the campaign. That combination of resilience and room for improvement helps explain why bookmakers continue to place Arsenal at the head of the market.
That context makes this summer particularly interesting. Arsenal are not rebuilding a title-winning side. They are looking to make it more resilient. If Rice, Ødegaard, Havertz and Merino spend longer on the pitch together than they managed last season, Arteta will have far greater continuity across the campaign. That may prove every bit as important as any signing completed before the transfer window closes.
The Biggest Improvement May Not Come From a New Signing
A title-winning side can still become more dangerous.
Arsenal scored 71 league goals on their way to lifting the Premier League trophy, a healthy return by most standards. Yet it remains some distance below the club’s Premier League-era high of 91 in 2023-24. That gap suggests Arteta’s next step may have less to do with wholesale recruitment and more to do with finding another level from the players already at his disposal.
Pre-season offers the ideal opportunity to revisit ideas that never quite took hold. Last summer, Arsenal looked noticeably quicker whenever Rice or Zubimendi released runners early instead of recycling possession. The approach created uncertainty for defenders and opened spaces between the lines, but it gradually became less prominent once the competitive schedule gathered pace.
Arteta now has fresh reasons to revisit that approach. Eberechi Eze gives Arsenal another player capable of receiving the ball between midfield and defence before driving forward, while Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri have continued their development into genuine first-team options rather than academy prospects making occasional appearances. Their emergence gives Arteta greater scope to alter the rhythm of matches without waiting for the transfer market to provide the answer.
Defending the Trophy Brings a Different Kind of Pressure
One comment from Arteta this summer perhaps revealed more than any tactical discussion.
Despite winning the Premier League, he has spoken publicly about needing a better squad and better individuals to take Arsenal “to a different level”. It is a reminder that the club’s own expectations have already moved beyond celebrating last season’s success.
That ambition also explains why Arsenal continue to be linked with players such as VinÃcius Júnior and Bruno Guimarães, while remaining alert to defensive reinforcements following William Saliba’s back injury. Championship-winning teams do not usually enter the transfer market out of panic. They do it because standing still gives everyone else an opportunity to close the gap.
By the time August gives way to autumn, the conversation will move beyond pre-season experiments and transfer speculation. Arsenal will be judged on results once again. The encouraging sign for their supporters is that the club appears to be preparing for that reality rather than assuming last season’s achievements will be enough.
