Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will relish being “hunted” by their title rivals as the Premier League kicks off a new season with the Gunners aiming to cement their status as English football’s dominant force, beginning with a Friday night opener against newly promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last season, finally getting their hands on the trophy after finishing as runners-up in three consecutive campaigns. Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on May 19 confirmed that Pep Guardiola’s side could no longer catch Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing the north London club’s first title since 2004. Arsenal finished the campaign with 25 wins from 37 league games, drawing seven and losing just five, en route to a fourth Premier League title and 14th English top-flight championship overall.
The triumph made Arteta the first Arsenal manager to land English football’s top prize in 22 years, following in the footsteps of Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles,” who were the club’s last title-winning side after their unbeaten 2003/04 campaign. Arteta was subsequently named Premier League Manager of the Season for 2025/26, collecting the award just 48 hours after lifting the trophy itself.
Speaking ahead of the new campaign, Arteta made clear he embraces the pressure of defending the title, telling reporters: “Today, no, because we start from scratch, from zero. Tomorrow, we are going to have to prove we have the level to go back to that position again. But that happened in the last three seasons, sometimes we were first, sometimes we were chasing it, and you never know what is better.”
He elaborated further on his preference for facing the pressure of being champions rather than the role of challenger: “If you give me the choice, I want to be first, I want to be hunted, and I want to be in control of our future, rather than depending on somebody else.” Arteta stressed the need for renewed hunger despite the club’s success, saying: “We need to show that desire, and the ambition to be better than what we were last season, a month ago, a week ago.”
Arsenal have bolstered their squad ahead of the new campaign with the signings of Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, while defender Ezri Konsa is set to join from Aston Villa. Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are fit to be involved in the season opener after managing hamstring and Achilles issues respectively during England’s World Cup campaign, though Bruno Guimaraes is a doubt after being substituted at half-time of last Sunday’s Community Shield win over Manchester City, having emerged from that match with ice strapped to his right thigh.
The Premier League returns just 34 days after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Arsenal given the honour of hosting the opening game of the new season at the Emirates, ahead of a packed schedule of top-flight fixtures across Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The 2026-27 season, the 35th in Premier League history and the 128th season of top-flight English football overall, runs from August 22, 2026, to May 30, 2027, with the usual opening and closing weekends both shifted back by a week to accommodate the World Cup.
Arsenal have been installed as bookmakers’ title favourites for the new campaign and look well placed to defend their crown. Arteta believes that surviving the psychological test of three consecutive runners-up finishes before finally winning the title has left his side well equipped for their bid to secure Arsenal’s first back-to-back Premier League titles since the 1930s. Not since George Allison took over the reins from Herbert Chapman have Arsenal repeated as champions of England, a feat that eluded even Arsene Wenger, George Graham and every other Arsenal manager of the modern era.
With the title defence now under way, Arsenal’s opening fixture against Coventry City serves as the first test of whether Arteta’s side can convert last season’s breakthrough into the foundations of a genuine title-winning dynasty at the Emirates.
