Arsenal's Title Defence: Champions and Clear Favourites
Arsenal begin their title defence not just as champions, but as the benchmark everyone else is chasing.
They look like it, too.
Mikel Arteta’s side, fresh from ending a 22-year wait for the Premier League crown last season, have not stood still. They have reinforced. Bruno Guimaraes has arrived to add craft and bite in midfield, Ezri Konsa to deepen defensive options, and Christos Tzolis to swell an already loaded attacking cast. This is not a squad resting on its story; it is one being aggressively upgraded.
The early signs are ominous for the rest.
Arsenal had already lifted silverware before a ball was kicked in their title defence, sweeping aside Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield. They then opened their league campaign at the Emirates with another 3-0 win, this time over Coventry City, a scoreline that arguably flattered the visitors. The champions controlled, probed and punished. It could easily have been uglier.
“Yes, they are clear favourites,” Clinton McDubus, a leading football analyst and podcaster, tells DAILY POST. He does not hesitate. “In fact, this should be a straightforward title for them.
“They have the best squad, the most settled team and the most balanced team. They are also the hardest team to beat and have been in title races for the past four seasons.”
That continuity matters. While Arsenal stride into the new campaign with a defined identity and a manager in total command of his project, their supposed rivals are resetting.
“Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all have new managers who will need time to get their teams to gel,” McDubus points out. “When you consider that, it becomes clearer. None of the three look ready to compete, along with Manchester United.”
United were meant to be part of the conversation. They opened the season as one of the touted challengers, with Michael Carrick entrusted to drag them back into the elite bracket. Then came Hull.
A newly promoted Hull City side beat them 2-0 on Saturday, and not with a smash-and-grab. United looked blunt, short of ideas, and vulnerable in the very moments top teams usually control.
Was it a freak result or something deeper?
“Definitely a manifestation of symptoms,” McDubus replies. “The fact that both goals came from set pieces is a particular worry that needs addressing, but so is the lack of ideas against an organised Hull defence.
“The lack of intensity was also a factor, but that can be more easily addressed. Carrick has a lot of work left to do if they are to have a great season.”
Set-piece frailty. No spark in possession. No edge out of it. For a side hoping to hound Arsenal, it is a worrying cocktail.
While United stumble, two other heavyweights step into the light on Sunday. Manchester City and Liverpool both start their campaigns with questions hanging over them and new men in the dugout.
City host Bournemouth, the team that derailed their title push last season. The memory of that collapse still lingers, and the champions’ ruthless dismantling of them in the Community Shield did little to ease concerns about where City stand under Enzo Maresca.
“Manchester City’s performance against Arsenal, however, showed why we shouldn’t expect too much from them under Maresca,” McDubus says. “We already saw his flaws at Chelsea, and they were on show yet again. He doesn’t seem capable of maintaining the standards Pep set.”
It is a brutal assessment, but it reflects the scale of the task. Following Pep Guardiola is not a job; it is a burden. Any drop in intensity or clarity is magnified. Arsenal exposed those cracks at Wembley. The league may do the same over 38 games.
Liverpool, also adjusting to a new manager, travel to face Newcastle United. On paper, it is a marquee opening fixture. On the pitch, it could be a reality check. Both clubs harbour ambitions of pushing Arsenal, yet both are still trying to find their rhythm under fresh leadership.
McDubus sees a clear hierarchy in the chasing pack.
“It looks like it,” he says when asked if City, Liverpool and Chelsea are better placed than United to trouble the champions. “I think all three look more likely to threaten Arsenal than Manchester United, despite all having new managers.
“It’s hard to really say just how good they will be this early because we don’t have enough to work with.”
That uncertainty hangs over the entire weekend. Arsenal look ready. Everyone else is guessing.
So where does the drama come from? If the title race feels predictable, the individual matchdays rarely are. The Premier League has a habit of ripping up scripts just when they seem settled.
“What other shock results can we expect this weekend?” McDubus is asked.
“I have a sneaky feeling we might see a surprise result at the Etihad. I can’t confidently back Liverpool to win against Newcastle either,” he says.
Arsenal, then, stand alone for now: champions, reinforced and ruthless. Behind them, giants with new faces on the touchline are still working out who they are.
If this is to be the season everyone expected – a straightforward defence for Arteta’s side – the next few weeks will confirm it. If not, those “sneaky feelings” at grounds like the Etihad and St James’ Park might yet crack the door open.
