Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract as Arsenal manager, cementing his position at the club he has transformed from a mid-table side into Premier League champions. The deal, which the club's co-chair Josh Kroenke described as an "utmost priority" as far back as May, reflects Arsenal's conviction that they are in the safest possible hands as they push for sustained dominance.

From 10th to champions

When Arteta took charge in 2019, Arsenal sat 10th in the Premier League — a club drifting without direction. Over seven years, he has rebuilt them from the foundations upward, ending a 22-year wait for the league title last season and guiding them to only their second Champions League final in the same campaign.

He now belongs to a group of just 13 managers to have won the Premier League, and has the opportunity to join an even more exclusive club — Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, and Arsene Wenger — as a multiple winner of the title.

The challenge of going back-to-back

History makes clear how steep the climb ahead is. Only a handful of sides have retained the Premier League title in the modern era, and Arsenal have not won back-to-back league championships since the 1930s. Arteta's new contract signals that the club believe he is the man to defy that history.

Kroenke was blunt about the ambition on offer. "We think we have a chance here to dominate," he said in May, pointing to the departure of Arteta's former mentor Guardiola from Manchester City and instability among other title rivals as an opening Arsenal must seize.

Squad evolution and early signs

The summer transfer window did not deliver the elite-level forward Arsenal had targeted, leaving Arteta to extract more from his existing squad. The encouraging news is that Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka — fit together at last after two injury-disrupted seasons — have already scored 10 goals in the opening seven games of the campaign. The last time the trio played a full season together, in 2023/24, Arsenal broke their club record for goals scored.

There are clear signs of a stylistic shift too. Arsenal are attempting almost twice as many build-up attacks — defined as open-play passing sequences of 10 or more passes leading to a shot or touch in the opposition box — compared to last season. Possession statistics, pass counts, and passes into the final third are all up. The set-piece reliance that helped carry them to the title has eased, with 15 of their 16 goals this season arriving from open play, the lone exception being Saka's late penalty against Sunderland.

Their Champions League opener against Napoli underlined the attacking promise. Arsenal generated 4.05 expected goals — their highest recorded figure in the competition — even if the scoreline only reflected one of them.

Lessons learned and room to grow

A heavy defeat to Brighton served as an early warning. It was a jarring result for a side whose steeliness had kept them from conceding three or more goals in a Premier League match since 2023. Arteta was unapologetic in his assessment. "This is a big lesson for all of us to understand what it takes to win at this level," he said, framing the loss as a tool rather than a setback.

The academy continues to offer encouragement too, with Max Dowman and Marli Salmon the latest young talents to emerge from the environment Arteta has built at London Colney.

The next transfer window will be important to complete the squad. But with a settled culture, a peak-age group between 24 and 28, and a manager whose methods rival clubs now seek to replicate, Arsenal enter this new era with formidable foundations beneath them.