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| Arsenal are preparing to finally beat Manchester City in a Premier League title race at the third attempt. This season is their best chance yet. Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images |
How do Arsenal improve on a record-breaking year this time around? In the 2023-24 campaign, they posted their most wins (28), most goals (91) and best-ever goal difference (plus-62) in a Premier League season, yet still missed out on a first title since 2004. Some connected to the club could be forgiven for feeling a little demoralised by standing in the shadow of the relentless juggernaut that is Manchester City -- who have won a record four consecutive titles and six of the past seven -- but Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke believes the Gunners are only just getting started.
"When you see what they are out there doing on the pitch, on matchday, and the way they are connecting, our new prematch anthem, you feel the energy shifting," he told ESPN.
"It starts with a feeling. It is like getting a train going. It takes a lot of coal. You get that thing going and then it's chug, chug [motions wheels turning], and once the train starts to go it is hard to stop, and right now our train is leaving the station."
The ultimate destination Arsenal are aiming to reach: ending a two-decade wait for a league crown. Pep Guardiola's City side will once again start as hot favourites, so how can Arsenal kick on to make sure they finish on top? Here is where the Gunners have searched for marginal gains to take that final step to glory.
Pre-preseason
Sources have told ESPN that Arteta and his coaching staff consider an eight-week break too long for elite-level athletes to maintain their peak physical condition. And so, while the majority of his squad were engaged in international action at either Euro 2024 or the Copa America, Arteta took nine first-team players to Marbella at the beginning of July for what was effectively a precursor to the preseason. Those involved worked on their conditioning, but there was an effort to ensure a sense of work/life balance: sources say that families were invited on the trip, at least one barbecue was held, and players were given the majority of the evenings to themselves to do with as they saw fit.
Sources have also told ESPN that Arteta's message to the squad has been that they either "come to preseason to get ready, or you start preseason ready" so that they can hit the ground running when the serious stuff starts against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. Arteta has stated his belief there are clear signs that the high levels of determination and hunger within the group have not been diminished by two near-misses as City twice pipped them to the title.
Summer signings
Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal's internal analysis flagged left-back as an obvious area for improvement. Jurriën Timber's knee injury on the opening day of last season -- the £34 million signing from Ajax only returned for the final game of the campaign -- was a hammer blow to their planning. It led to a situation in which Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu all deputised, with mixed results. The uncertainty led opponents to target Arsenal's left side as an exploitable weakness.
Timber's return, combined with the £42m acquisition of Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna, emphatically strengthens that position. It is possible either Kiwior or Zinchenko could yet depart before the summer transfer deadline as Califiori's versatility -- the Italy international can play at centre-back or left-back -- could create an opportunity to recoup some money if a suitable offer is received.
Related to that point about the backline, centre-back William Saliba was one of only three Arsenal players to play every minute in last season's Premier League. Sources have told ESPN that Arteta believes a little more rotation may be required, especially at the business end of the season, if Arsenal are still competing on multiple fronts.
The only league game Arsenal lost in 2024 was at home to Aston Villa, a fixture which fell between the two legs of their Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich. They were knocked out of Europe three days after losing to Villa. These are fine margins, of course, but a little more quality would enable Arteta to rotate and maintain the intensity of his group. It was noticeable, for example, that they only managed one win from five Champions League away games last season.
Arteta has previously cited a desire to work with a slightly smaller group of around 20 outfield players with a more interchangeable level of quality, similar to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Last season, Arsenal used the joint fewest number of players in the Premier League at 25 -- a number tied with Fulham and City.
Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal are in talks over signing Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, with Arteta keen on signing the midfielder who helped Spain win Euro 2024 to ease the burden on Declan Rice in midfield.
Arsenal's thinking is more fluid when it comes to signing attacking reinforcements. Kai Havertz surprised the club in his ability to play through the middle last season, with Arteta admitting in April that "when it flows, you have to let it go" in reference to his revamped team clicking into gear. Havertz provided nine goals and nine assists in Arsenal's last 17 Premier League games of the season, easing pressure on the search for a forward this summer.
Gabriel Jesus returned to preseason in promising form, while Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli could also play through the middle if required. Eddie Nketiah has been deemed surplus to requirements, but has yet to secure a move away from the club.
Arsenal have been weighing whether to sign a striker or a winger. Benjamin Šeško was of interest before he signed a new deal at RB Leipzig, while the Gunners opted not to follow up long-standing interest in Pedro Neto, who left Wolves to join Chelsea earlier this week. They remain open to an addition with two weeks left in the window, but do not feel under great pressure to act.
More trust in the academy
There has been frustration among Arsenal supporters that several promising academy prospects have been allowed to depart this summer, including Amario Cozier-Duberry, Reuell Walters and Chido Obi-Martin.
Arteta has shown something of a reluctance to trust youngsters with the responsibility of playing for the first team, although in Obi-Martin's case, sources have suggested there were financial reasons behind the striker's proposed move to Manchester United.
Fresh impetus could come from two exciting prospects in Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Nwaneri became the youngest-ever player to appear in the Premier League in September 2022, aged 15 years and 181 days. The midfielder, now 17, showed promise in preseason -- as did Lewis-Skelly, also 17 -- and both will hope for opportunities to help Arsenal's first team progress this term.
On a wider point, sources have told ESPN there is a step change in Arsenal's approach to signing up young talent, seeking to invest more aggressively to help increase the flow of talent coming out of the club's Hale End academy in the years to come.
Will Man City finally slip up?
There is also the possibility that Arsenal may not have to surpass last season's 89-point tally to win the title. Arteta has spoken (with a wry smile) about targeting the maximum 114 points possible and working back from there, and that is a reflection of the standards City have set; their six title-winning campaigns were achieved with points totals of: 100, 98, 86, 93, 89 and 91.
There is, of course, every chance City could post a similar total again, and they rightly start as favourites. But there is more uncertainty about City heading into this new season than in previous years.
The departure of Julián Álvarez and a serious injury to young winger Oscar Bobb leaves the reigning champions scrambling in the market. Guardiola is entering the final year of his contract, while City will also begin defending themselves against 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules next month in a case that threatens to hang over the whole season.
Arsenal, by contrast, are in a more serene place. Arteta has entered the final year of his contract too, but there remains a widespread expectation that he will sign a new deal. The manager himself hinted as such in an interview with ESPN earlier this summer.
There is a sense that the Gunners are still on an upward trajectory with a young, vibrant squad ready to break new ground. Time will tell if they can.
- James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC
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