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Arsenal, what are the difficulties of defending the Premier League title?

August 18, 2026 · TaegeukGoal

Arsenal begin the new season as Premier League champions, facing the challenge of defending their title and facing strong rivals.

Arsenal, what are the difficulties of defending the Premier League title?

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Arsenal have maintained their continuity under manager Mikel Arteta and will be challenging themselves as defending champions this season. They have strengthened their attack power with the signing of Christos Lloris, but Saliba's injury is expected to take a huge toll on their defense. Arsenal's performance will be a key test in their defense of their Premier League title.

Why it's important

Arsenal came out on top after a long wait by winning the Premier League title last season. However, their role as defending champions has historically been a difficult task, especially in the face of strong rivals such as Manchester City. How Arsenal responds this season will be an important factor in determining the fate of the Premier League.

Key takeaways

Arsenal, what are the difficulties of defending the Premier League title?
Arsenal begin the new season as Premier League champions, facing the challenge of defending their title and facing strong rivals.
Premier League - how tough will it be for Arsenal to defend their title? - BBC Sport.

Arsenal won the Premier League title last season, reaching the top after a long wait. This season they will be the defending champions, their first time doing so since the 2004-05 season. Arsenal are expected to lift the trophy once again, but they will have to look at what history means for how difficult it is to become defending champions.

In recent years, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made it easy to defend his Premier League title. But before Guardiola arrived in the Premier League, defending the title back-to-back was very difficult. As the title has gone to a different team each season over the past eight seasons, the psychological burden of defense cannot be ignored. Players on the team that wins the title go through a difficult season to achieve it, and in that moment they feel great success and relief. But a few months later, those same players once again feel the pressure to work toward that goal. This can often be a burden on players, and the psychological impact was experienced by Leicester City when they won the league in 2015-16.

Former Premier League winger Andros Townsend has predicted Arsenal will find it difficult to replicate their performance in the 2025-26 season. “After Liverpool won the title twice, they were unable to replicate that performance the following season. They finished third and fifth respectively,” he said.

It is important for Arsenal to maintain continuity compared to their title rivals. Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea will enter the season with new managers, which could add to the uncertainty. On the other hand, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta continues to lead the team and provide stability. Arsenal haven't made many changes this summer, with their main signings being Greek striker Christos Lloris from Club Brugge for £34m and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United for £75m. Arteta is confident that Guimaraes' signing will be a big help in defending the title. However, Arsenal are struggling with defender William Saliba expected to be out for an extended period of time due to injury. His absence is expected to have a major impact on Arsenal's defence. Arsenal's rivals are likely to become even stronger, but it remains to be seen how the uncertainty of the managerial change will play out for them. Chelsea have high expectations for this season with the signing of young manager Xabi Alonso.

Arsenal need to start this season well. According to the results of evaluating the difficulty of the first five games, Arsenal and Manchester City are evaluated to have a similar level of difficulty. Arsenal will start with their home opener against Coventry, followed by matches against Aston Villa, Chelsea, Sunderland and Brighton. Manchester City, on the other hand, will play several games, starting at home against Bornhams. Attention is being paid to how Arsenal will perform as the defending champion this season.

future outlook

Arsenal have a fixture schedule of similar difficulty to Manchester City in the early part of the season. Performance in the first five games is expected to have a significant impact on the season as a whole, with particular attention being paid to the impact William Saliba's absence will have on the defence. It will be important to see how Arsenal perform in competition with strong rivals.