Mikel Arteta on Premier League's Managerial Changes and Arsenal's Ambitions
Mikel Arteta believes the Premier League’s managerial shake-up – led by Enzo Maresca’s arrival at Manchester City – could be exactly what forces Arsenal to climb another rung.
On Sunday in Cardiff, the Arsenal manager will stand opposite Maresca for the first time since the Italian stepped into Pep Guardiola’s shoes at the Etihad. The Community Shield is the curtain-raiser, but the sub-plot is clear: a new face in the opposite dugout, a new era at the champions, and a fresh set of tactical puzzles for Arteta to solve.
Nine Premier League clubs start the season under new management. That level of upheaval has only sharpened the view that Arsenal, stable and battle-hardened after years of steady building, are the clearest favourites to take back the title.
Arteta wants no part of that conversation.
He batted away talk of favourites and refused to linger on Maresca’s appointment in his Friday press conference, quickly widening the lens to the broader cast of new bosses now stalking the touchlines of England’s top flight. Among them is fellow Basque Xabi Alonso, one of the most anticipated arrivals of the summer, and Roberto De Zerbi, now at Tottenham, whom Arteta has not yet faced since the Italian’s move to north London in March.
“Well, the competition will be with a number of managers too, alongside Maresca, and with some of the new managers who have joined the league, who are exceptional too,” Arteta said, leaning into the idea that the dugout battles will be as fierce as anything on the pitch.
“We know this league has a lot of great managers. It is extremely difficult every week to prepare for matches against them. This will raise our level and my level for certain, and we will try to be better.”
The challenge, as he sees it, is not just about who has replaced Guardiola at City, but about the different types of power now spread across the division.
“Every club has its strengths. Some clubs because of the many victories they have achieved over the past ten years, some because of their squads, and some because of the money they have spent,” he said.
Arsenal’s strength, he insisted, comes from something else: continuity and a body of work that now stretches over half a decade.
“We know our strengths, and they are linked to what we have delivered over the past four or five years in a very consistent manner, but we can also be better, and that is what we are focusing on to maintain this consistency.
“I have called the matter stability, but I do not want to be stable, I want to be better and more ambitious. That is what we want.”
On the team sheet, there is less certainty. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka face late fitness checks before Arteta decides whether to throw them in against City. Both only returned to training this week after a draining World Cup on the back of a demanding 2025–26 campaign, a season in which they played through physical issues but still helped carry Arsenal’s title push.
The temptation to start them will be strong. So will the caution.
Waiting in the wings are summer signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis, both preparing for a potential first competitive outing in an Arsenal shirt. Their debut could come against a City side that had the better of last season’s head-to-heads, winning two of the three meetings, including the League Cup final at Wembley.
The question hangs over everything: without Guardiola, do City remain Arsenal’s primary obstacle?
Asked whether the champions are still the main rival in the title race, Arteta refused to narrow the field.
“We will have a lot of competitors,” he replied. “When looking at the squads, the managers, and the clubs they belong to, but we know that.”
His gaze, as ever, snapped back to his own dressing room.
“We need to focus on ourselves and make sure we get the maximum out of all the resources we have, to give ourselves the best possible chance. And after that, day by day, it will be a very long journey.”
The journey starts in Cardiff, against the club that used to define the standard. Now the question is simple: in a league full of new voices and fresh ideas, can Arsenal turn their stability into something even more ruthless?
