LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 24: Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal celebrates with the Premier League trophy after the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park on May 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League)
Getty Images For Premier League
When Jose Mourinho says something about the art of winning, it’s normally worth listening to.
So when The Special One revealed that “to retain the title, you have to be better than when you won it” after winning his first Premier League title with Chelsea in 2005, he was probably on to something.
In fact, apart from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City juggernaut, no club has managed to defend the EPL since 2009, highlighting exactly how difficult it is to achieve.
That’s the task facing Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta as he attempts to lead the Gunners to a second successive league win – a feat the North London club haven’t managed to do themselves for more than nine decades.
Yet Arteta has been building towards this for years and if the careful strategy implemented at the Emirates Stadium to deliver last season’s success is anything to go by, there’s every chance the club is building towards a period of sustained dominance.
One of the biggest pitfalls for any team aiming to do that is to rely too heavily on past winners. Intrinsically, humans don’t like change and if a group of players has been successful previously – especially delivering a long-awaited Premier League win like Arsenal’s last term – then coaches will always be more inclined to stick with their champions. If they did it before, they can do it again.
Soccer history is littered with examples of teams going stale or being gazumped by others because they don’t refresh enough after winning and don’t have it in them to do it again.
Relying too heavily on figures of past glories can lead to a drop-off in performance. They’ve reached the top of the hill and can’t reach the level of hunger they previously had.
Have Arsenal refreshed enough?
But look at Arsenal’s transfer business and there’s little sign of that at present. Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus have all been moved on despite playing roles of differing importance to lift the trophy last May, whereas Ezri Konsa, Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis have come in.
Of those, Guimaraes was Newcastle’s captain and Konsa took the armband on occasions for Aston Villa, so will bring new senior voices into an established group that now has that previous title-winning nous.
That additional squad strength will be a huge asset as Arteta’s men embark on another Champions League tilt too after losing in last year’s final to PSG on penalties. Going so close to winning the Gunners’ first European crown will serve as huge motivation, providing a new target to aim for that they’ll hope will carry them in the EPL too.
Constantly realigning targets and finding a new ceiling for players to aim for was a key part of how Sir Alex Ferguson kept on inspiring his Manchester United teams to new heights during his 26-year stint in charge at Old Trafford as they won 13 league titles as part of a 38-trophy dynasty.
Arteta has a long way to go before he can dream of matching Fergie, but he’s been handed the perfect inspiration to keep his charges fresh and focused. They’ll need it to maintain the supreme control the Spaniard demands from them, as they strangle the air from the opposition by keeping a watertight backline.
Is there a weakness to Arteta’s approach?
That approach has drawn its critics and within that may be the biggest threat to Arsenal’s EPL win leading to something bigger. At times last season, the Gunners appeared to prioritise winning at all costs instead of relying too heavily on the individual talent in their ranks to outplay teams, with six of their final eight wins coming by a single goal.
The margins are tight and now that Arteta has got his hands on that first title, it remains to be seen if he tries to adapt that style to give his team a second way to win. If he isn’t able to do that, the threat is that if enough breaks go against his side in key moments, the margins needed for victory will be erased regardless of the levels of control in the rest of the game.
Solve that quandary and Arsenal look like big favourites this season. And if they can retain the EPL, then the platform will be there for this success to turn into long-term glory.
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