Is Arsenal 'riding alone' in the Premier League this season?

Arsenal enters the new season with a special status after winning the Premier League and a 3-0 demolition of Manchester City in the Community Shield. With many top rivals changing managers and squad upheavals, Arsenal clearly has the biggest advantage.

1. If you had to pick the team with the best foundation before the new season, Arsenal is almost without rival. Mikel Arteta has been working at the Emirates for years, building a stable tactical system, and more importantly, the current squad does not need a revolution to keep competing.

Meanwhile, the Premier League enters the 2026/27 season with a rare scale of managerial changes: as many as 9 clubs have appointed new managers. Man City said goodbye to Pep Guardiola to start the Enzo Maresca era, Liverpool switched to Andoni Iraola, Chelsea got Xabi Alonso, and Manchester United placed their trust in Michael Carrick.

This is a huge advantage for Arsenal. Arteta does not have to spend the first months conveying his philosophy, building structure, or learning the qualities of each player. Arsenal just needs to continue developing what has already been established.

2. From the victory over Man City, one could easily conclude that Arsenal will leave the rest behind. However, that would be too hasty a deduction. The Community Shield is a positive sign, but you cannot use one match to accurately predict 38 Premier League rounds.

Man City is clearly at a disadvantage. They lost Guardiola, entered a new era with Maresca, and will have to say goodbye to Rodri. The 0-3 defeat to Arsenal exposed many issues, especially in midfield. But Man City still possesses players capable of making a difference and has an entire season to adjust. Therefore, the match in Cardiff cannot be seen as a declaration that the race is over.

Liverpool is a similar case. This team enters the season with a new manager and a heavily revamped defense. Virgil van Dijk admitted that the new center-backs need time to build chemistry, showing that Liverpool is still in the process of improvement. Chelsea and Man United also need time to adapt to their new managers.

Therefore, Arsenal may be the number one candidate and even the brightest candidate, but you cannot say they have no rivals. Stability gives Arsenal an advantage in the long race, but the changes among rivals make the season even more unpredictable.

3. Notably, although Arsenal is strong, their summer transfer policy raises many questions. They spent heavily on Bruno Guimaraes, but this deal makes people question the strategy even more, because Arsenal previously passed on the Brazilian midfielder when his price was around £38 million in 2022, only to spend about £75 million to bring him in four years later.

Besides, Arsenal is pursuing very different targets, from Vinicius Junior to Jarell Quansah. This diversity makes it hard to see a truly consistent transfer direction. The Telegraph even commented that it is very difficult to identify a clear strategy in Arsenal's summer.

The bigger problem lies in the opposite direction: Arsenal needs to sell players. Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus have all been in uncertain situations. Lewis-Skelly is particularly controversial because he played an important role at the end of last season and was also rumored to be put on the market. Yet, he started and provided an assist in the win over Man City. This is a difficult puzzle for Arteta. Arsenal has a squad strong enough to win the title, but the more stars, the harder it is to guarantee playing time and the greater the pressure to sell for financial balance. If not handled well, squad trimming could reduce depth just when Arsenal has to compete on multiple fronts.