Arsenal will start a fresh new 2025-26 season against arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, in the hope of ending their 22-year wait for a Premier League title. Club boss Mikel Arteta enters his fifth full season with the North London club and eyes to break their runners-up jinx, but has called the competition in the league “nothing we have seen before”.
Arsenal have finished second in each of he last three seasons, losing out to Liverpool in the 2024-25 season before conceding the title race to Manchester City in the previous two seasons.
“The competition in the league now is like nothing we’ve seen before,” said Arteta to Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal’s match against Man United.
“We all know that to win the Premier League you’re going to have to be absolutely excellent, the level that is going to be required is going to be something we haven’t experienced yet, and we all want to win it. The level of the managers, the consistency of the squads that have been together now for years, the way they increased their potential in the squads, the understanding between players, the quality they have brought, for sure it’s going to be the most difficult,” he added.
Busy transfer window
Arsenal have been quite busy in the transfer window, getting themselves six new signings ahead of a crucial season. The six new additions have cost them a total of £200m in transfer fees.
Although Arsenal have lost three title races in the last three seasons, they have also gained the most points in the Premier League during that period. Arteta believes the only thing left for the Gunners is to win a trophy.
Need more points
“I think you have to use it,” Arteta said on the disappointment of the last three years.
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“We need more points, that’s clear. We have more points than any other team in the Premier League in the last three seasons and we haven’t won the Premier League. But that means we’ve done so many things right. We missed a few points in one of the seasons, and that’s what we’re going to try to do to be better,” he said.
