The curtain will rise at the Principality Stadium on Sunday afternoon and the champions will walk out on to the stage ahead of the Community Shield. Arsenal’s cast will not look radically different. There will be a few extras and one or two new stars but nothing dramatic. There has been no need for drama. Just steady growth.
Arsenal did not need to have a spectacular summer in the transfer market. It was important that they strengthened from a position of strength and they have started that process calmly by recruiting Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle. With two weeks of the window remaining, there is an argument that it is the best signing of the close season so far.
Other arrivals are being discussed. The champions need reinforcements in defence where long-term injuries to William Saliba and Jurrien Timber are a concern and have led to an as-yet fruitless pursuit of Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa.
Arsenal are said to be interested in Jarell Quansah, at Bayer Leverkusen. They have spoken about prolific striker Victor Osimhen from Galatasaray and hope they can lure Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.
If they add more quality in the next fortnight to supplement the signings of Guimaraes and Greece forward Christos Tzolis, then it will probably be enough to put them out of reach of the rest for another year.
They are already strong favourites with the bookmakers to retain the title they won by seven points from Manchester City last season. They have a solid look, just as they did last season, when solidity got them over the line.
Arsenal and Man City go head-to-head once more in the Community Shield on Sunday
The Gunners have strengthened from a position of strength and new signing Bruno Guimaraes will likely be involved
They are the favourites because of their own virtues, because of the depth and the quality of their squad and because, now they have ended a title drought that lasted for more than 20 years, much of the pressure that impeded them in the second half of last season will have fallen from their shoulders.
But they are also favourites because uncertainty shrouds their rivals. They are favourites because City have lost manager Pep Guardiola and the rest have not done enough to close the gap.
Manchester United looked like the coming club at the end of last season but an underwhelming summer in the transfer market so far has led many to question whether they can take the great leap forward they would need to unseat the champions. It feels as if their momentum has stalled.
City, Arsenal’s opponents in Cardiff, pushed Arteta’s side close last season but since then, they have lost Guardiola, one of the greatest managers English football has ever seen, and they are struggling to keep hold of the man many still see as their best player, Rodri.
It remains to be seen whether Guardiola’s replacement, Enzo Maresca, can handle the pressure of following Guardiola and the increased demands he will face at a club like City that is used to winning.
Maresca considered it such a great achievement finishing fourth with Chelsea in 2024-25 that he was emboldened enough to tell the club’s critics to ‘F Off’. Finish fourth with City and he may find himself booted out on to the east Manchester pavement.
Andoni Iraola is widely seen as a progressive managerial appointment for Liverpool but their defence of their title under Arne Slot last season was so disappointing that it may be too much to expect them to bridge the gap to Arsenal.
They have been linked consistently with Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola but even if they sign him, is that an improvement on Mohamed Salah? Much will depend on whether we see the real Florian Wirtz during this campaign.
Arsenal are favourites to win another Premier League title because of their quality and depth
It is yet to be seen whether Man City boss Enzo Maresca can handle the pressure of following Pep Guardiola
Amid that blaze of uncertainty, Arsenal are operating with the closest thing to certainty in the league. Everything about them says they are trading up. Leandro Trossard was an important player for them last season and Gabriel Martinelli scored goals, too, but Trossard has gone and Martinelli’s future is uncertain.
As Arsenal try to reach higher, they are identifying areas where they can improve and acting with requisite ruthlessness. Tzolis is seen as an upgrade on Trossard and Martinelli, if Osimhen arrives, he will be seen as an upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres. Guimaraes, wherever he fits into midfield, is proven quality.
And then there is Max Dowman. Until now, Dowman has been seen as a wonderkid, a startlingly brilliant and precocious teenager, a tantalising curiosity rather than a title game-changer. Dowman is still only 16 but he is so good and so exciting that his progress signifies another reason why Arsenal should be stronger this season than they were last year.
Many believe he has the kind of talent that justifies him being mentioned in the same bracket as Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. His development means Arsenal will get the equivalent of a new superstar signing every season for the next couple of years.
There is still time for others to make inroads into the advantages Arsenal hold over them but there has been a studied maturity about the champions’ summer that carries a sense of foreboding for the rest. When the curtain rises in Cardiff, their lead over the rest will not have diminished since the end of last season. It will have grown.
