Is 2025/26 Arteta's defining season?

The 2025/26 English football season is set to be an important chapter for Arsenal.

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Long recognised as one of England and Europe's biggest clubs, the Gunners have in recent years struggled to translate potential into trophies. Their last major honour was the FA Cup triumph in 2019/20 — a memory that already feels distant for fans hungry for success. The weight of expectation now sits heavily on Mikel Arteta, who enters his seventh full season in charge without adding another piece of silverware to the cabinet. The stakes could not be higher. After three consecutive league runners-up finishes and a Champions League semifinal last season, Arsenal find themselves on the brink. Will Arteta finally push them over the line? Soccer Laduma’s Matthew Petersen looks at the expectations surrounding the club this season, with expert insight from former KICK OFF magazine editor Richard Maguire.

With resources of that magnitude, Arsenal must compete seriously for the Premier League and Champions League.

"Well, it's definitely been strengthened beyond my dreams,” Maguire said. “If you compare these three months around transfers with Arsenal's usual transfer window, it's been fantastic. I've got to be worried. There's no guarantee everyone's going to succeed.”

Perhaps the biggest talking point of the summer was the long-awaited arrival of a striker. Arsenal have struggled to find a reliable goal scorer since the peak of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Alexandre Lacazette and Gabriel Jesus showed flashes but lacked consistency as out-and-out number nines.