Why Arteta believes this season will be the toughest yet | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta believes the 2025/26 campaign will present challenges unlike any other, describing it as “the most difficult Premier League season yet” ahead of Arsenal’s opener at Old Trafford.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Reflecting on three successive years as runners-up, Arteta pointed to unprecedented levels of investment and depth across the division. “The competition in the league now is like nothing we’ve seen before. To win the Premier League you’re going to have to be absolutely excellent, the level required is going to be something we haven’t experienced yet, and we all want to win it,” he told Sky Sports News.

Arsenal’s £200m summer spend brought in six signings, including Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, and Christian Nørgaard, but Arteta was quick to stress that rivals have strengthened just as aggressively.

“A lot, too many!” he said when asked how many teams could realistically challenge. “The squads, the quality of the managers, the structure they have in the clubs, they are so strong. It’s going to be very difficult.”

Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

That context shapes his view that Arsenal must now raise their own bar again. “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.”

Arsenal begin their campaign away to Manchester United, before a demanding run against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle. Arteta framed that stretch as an opportunity rather than a burden. “Yes, 100 per cent. It’s a big opportunity to go to Old Trafford on day one and go there and play the way we want to play and win the game. That’s the focus and the energy.”

Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

With the squad now deeper and strengthened by quality in every department, Arteta recognises that only silverware will define progress. “You keep digging, digging, digging. You have to keep digging because one day, the gold is going to be there. That’s all the time, what I’ve been taught, I’ve been educated and that’s it.

“For three seasons, we have more points than any other team in this league. It’s incredible, that’s why we have all the consistency. Now we have to do it in a season, to earn one more point or the same amount of points and more goals difference than any other team. That’s the objective.”

For Arteta, the message is clear. Arsenal have set new standards in recent years but must now go further.