Arsenal's Title Defence: The Hunger Is There, But Are the Goals?

Every summer during Manchester United's golden era, Sir Alex Ferguson used to say he looked into his players' eyes, searching for tell-tale signs — trying to gauge whether they were still hungry for success or if success had sated them. Pep Guardiola did similar at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. "You look into your players' eyes, and it's a bit like looking at a lover," he told reporters while in charge of Bayern in 2014. "Either you see passion and a willingness to be seduced, or you watch as the passion ebbs away."

It has been no surprise to hear Mikel Arteta using the same terms as Arsenal prepare to launch their defence of the Premier League title. He has spoken about "the energy in their bodies, in their eyes, how they look" and wanting to "feel that energy and that spirit right from the beginning." Delivering the club's first Premier League title since 2004 was a quest that consumed Arteta, his staff, and his players. He said during their title campaign that they were "obsessed" by the challenge. It showed. And now it starts again.

In an interview with Arsenal's official website, Arteta has spoken of a "responsibility" to build on May's triumph, of wanting "to take this club to a different level," of a need for "a better squad, better individuals" and having identified areas for improvement "and what's going to be needed to achieve that."

The Glaring Problem: Goals From Open Play

There is no great mystery about the most obvious area for improvement. Arsenal's total of 71 Premier League goals last season was, by some distance, the lowest for a Premier League-winning team since Leicester City in 2015-16. Their number of set-piece goals (25) was the highest by any champions in the 34-year Premier League era — and their number of goals from open play (42) was by far the lowest in the past decade.

To put that in context, every other side to lift the trophy in the past decade scored at least 45 per cent more goals from open play than Arsenal did last season. In the case of Manchester City in 2018-19, it was almost double. The output from their attacking players was remarkably low: Viktor Gyokeres led the way on 15 goal contributions (14 goals, one assist), followed by Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka with 12 each, and Eberechi Eze with nine.

By comparison, Mohamed Salah contributed 47 Premier League goal contributions to Liverpool's title success the previous season, while Erling Haaland led Manchester City with 32 the year before that.

The Transfer Market: Vinicius Junior Was Plan A, But What's Plan B?

Arsenal have made one headline-grabbing move this summer: Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United in a £75million deal. They have also signed Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, and goalkeeper Illan Meslier as backup for David Raya.

Guimaraes represents a further upgrade in a midfield department that was already a source of considerable strength with Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Eze, Martin Zubimendi, and Myles Lewis-Skelly. When it came to the "better individuals" Arteta talked about, Vinicius Junior was top of the list. Getting that over the line was always a long shot, and so it has proved, with the Brazil international signing a new six-year contract at Real Madrid.

Of the various left-sided attackers who were potentially available, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers have joined Barcelona and Chelsea respectively. Yan Diomande, who can play on either flank, is now a team-mate of Vinicius at Madrid. Arsenal had an enquiry about Kenan Yildiz rebuffed by Juventus. PSG's Bradley Barcola, the subject of firm interest from Liverpool, is a captivating talent but does not come with the same guarantees.

The left-wing focus is understandable given Trossard's departure to Besiktas and the uncertainty surrounding Gabriel Martinelli, who has struggled to build on his early promise. The decision to sell Trossard, 31, might have been surprising after his contribution to the title success, but there is a logic to replacing him with Tzolis, who is seven years his junior and has already shown glimpses of his potential in pre-season.

Lessons From Previous Champions

The previous two defending champions suffered huge drop-offs in goals scored — Liverpool from 86 in 2024-25 to just 63 last term, and Manchester City from 96 in 2023-24 to 72. The glass-half-full perspective would be that Arsenal should be able to find ways to improve on their 71.

Nobody could accuse Liverpool of resting on their laurels last summer. They spent almost £450million on nine additions including Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Hugo Ekitike, but important figures were sold, balance was lost, and they ended up looking weaker. The unquantifiable impact of losing Diogo Jota in tragic circumstances compounded a grim season in which scraping Champions League qualification was not enough to save Arne Slot's job.

Arsenal's foundations look stronger. The only over-thirties in the title-winning squad were reserve goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard (now sold to Everton), and Trossard. The core group are aged between 23 and 29, which is why signing Guimaraes, who will be 29 in November, looks like a safe move rather than short-termism.

The Challenge of Retention

The only clubs to have retained the title in the Premier League era are Ferguson's Manchester United (six times), Jose Mourinho's Chelsea (once), and Guardiola's Manchester City (four times). Great teams such as Arsene Wenger's Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool never managed it.

Are Arteta's Arsenal now a "great team"? Their consistency over the past four Premier League seasons — 84, 89, 74, and 85 points — and the past two Champions League campaigns, where they reached the semi-finals and then the final, merits admiration. But there is undeniably room for improvement.

So much will come down to attitude, desire, hunger, and that look in the eyes that Arteta, like Ferguson and Guardiola, has talked about. So much of that comes from within. But there is also, undeniably, a feeling that Arsenal need more quality in attack if they are to give themselves the best opportunity to capitalise on last season's success. It's in the eyes, yes, but new faces can be so important when it comes to keeping things fresh, raising standards, and driving a team forward from a position of strength.