Arsenal showed genuine dominance throughout the 2025-26 Premier League season, and when the final whistle blew on matchday 38, they had done something remarkable: winning their first top-flight title in over two decades.

It was a moment that sent the Emirates into pure euphoria and validated everything Mikel Arteta had been building since taking the job. The journey, however, was far from smooth. Based on Sports Mole’s report on the title race, Manchester City were breathing down Arsenal’s necks for large portions of the campaign, particularly during spells when the Gunners dropped points in games they were fully expected to win.

Arsenal ultimately held on, but those wobbles left questions that still needed answering. Now, with eyes on the 2026-27 season, every Arsenal fan is asking the same thing: can this side defend the title and go back-to-back? The pre-season gave us some genuinely useful clues.

Midfield Balance Will Be Central to Everything

One of the most telling things about Arsenal’s pre-season was how Arteta approached his midfield shape. Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi were the engine room of the title win, but both were overworked. The pair ranked first and second in minutes played across the entire squad last season, which is not sustainable over another long campaign. In pre-season, there were clear signs that Arteta wants to redistribute that workload.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was given extended time in central areas, and his performances were impossible to ignore. He plays with a confidence and intelligence that makes him look well beyond his years, and if Arteta keeps him involved centrally rather than tucking him out wide, Arsenal have a genuine gem on their hands.

The availability of Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, and Kai Havertz will matter enormously. All three missed significant chunks of last season through injury, and their absences forced Arteta into repetitive, rigid setups. When fit, they offer something different: Odegaard’s ability to roam and connect play, Merino’s physicality further forward, and Havertz’s link-up capacity. Pre-season showed Arteta experimenting with all three in fresher, more creative combinations, which is an encouraging sign.

Arsenal Need to Be More Direct, And They Know It

There was a real buzz around Arsenal’s directness in the summer before the title-winning season. Rice and Zubimendi were playing balls in behind defences, forwards were running onto passes with purpose, and the attack looked genuinely threatening at pace.

That directness faded as the season progressed, and Arsenal ended up creating far fewer dangerous fast breaks than they should have given their squad quality.

In pre-season, there were moments where that cutting edge looked sharper. New addition Christos Tzolis brought aggression and directness to the left side, and his willingness to run at defenders immediately offered something Arsenal lacked consistently last season. Whether that translates across a full 38-game campaign is another question, but the intent was visible. Arsenal are also still reportedly looking for another wide option, and if they land a truly top-quality left winger before the season kicks off, that pace problem could be solved decisively.

The Gyokeres and Havertz Partnership Could Be the Key

Viktor Gyokeres carried a huge load in his first season at the club. With Havertz missing large parts of the campaign through injury, Gyokeres was often isolated up front, relying heavily on service from wide areas that was not always consistent.

When Havertz returned, and the two played together, the dynamic shifted noticeably. They brought the best out of each other; Havertz connecting play and drawing markers, Gyokeres finding pockets and finishing.

Pre-season gave Arteta the chance to start both from the beginning, something he barely had the luxury of doing during the actual title run. Watching them operate together in those early friendly minutes was interesting. A natural understanding is developing, and the combination looks more fluid than the front three pairings Arsenal struggled with at times last season.

The bigger question is whether Arteta treats them as a partnership or rotates based on opponents. Against deep defensive blocks, Gyokeres’ movement and hold-up play make him the ideal lone striker. Against higher lines, Havertz’s off-the-ball intelligence gives Arsenal a different kind of threat. Pre-season suggested Arteta is leaning toward using both when available rather than picking one over the other, which would give Arsenal considerably more attacking variation.

Defending the Title Requires More Ruthlessness

Arsenal won the title with 71 league goals, which was solid but well short of their record 91 from 2023-24. More importantly, they had a habit of sitting on single-goal leads for too long, inviting pressure and giving opponents routes back into games. Several dropped points last season came directly from those situations where Arsenal failed to kill matches off when the opportunity was right there.

Pre-season is obviously not the stage to judge clinical finishing, but the attacking combinations Arteta was testing showed intent to address that problem. More midfield runners arriving late into the box, more variety in wide attacking positions, and a greater willingness to go for the second goal early rather than sitting back — these were visible threads throughout the warm-up games.

Defending a Premier League title is one of the hardest things in football. The chasing pack knows exactly what you do; they have spent the summer studying your patterns, and the pressure of being the hunted rather than the hunter changes the psychological dynamic entirely.

Arsenal’s pre-season suggested Arteta is well aware of this. The squad looked sharper, the tactical options looked broader, and the hunger in training sessions and early friendlies appeared genuine rather than routine. Whether that carries through when the competitive games begin remains to be seen, but based on what pre-season showed, there is plenty of reason to believe Arsenal are building toward something even better than what earned them the title last May.