Arsenal’s transformation from nearly men to champions is visible the moment you arrive at Emirates Stadium, where new gold signage simply reads “Champions.”
Players and supporters have embraced the confidence that comes with last season’s Premier League title win, their first in 22 years, as the new campaign gets underway.
Captain Martin Odegaard set the tone in his programme notes, explaining that the silverware had given the squad “more confidence” and that the mentality is firmly forward-looking rather than defensive.
“We don’t feel we have to defend anything,” Odegaard told Match of the Day. “We want to do it again and that’s the mindset.”
“Last year is finished now. We want to do it again and we want to attack it and fight for it again,” the Norwegian added, making the team’s ambitions perfectly clear.
A 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry provided the ideal opening statement, with the crowd serenading the players with chants of “champions of England” throughout the match.
Mikel Arteta became just the fifth manager to reach 150 Premier League victories in fewer than 250 games, joining Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, and Sir Alex Ferguson in that elite group.
Arteta has long sought to turn Emirates Stadium into a fortress, and the relaxed, celebratory atmosphere against Coventry offered a glimpse of what that could look like going forward.
“Let’s see when we are 0-0 and when we are maybe losing a game, see how we react,” Arteta said when asked by BBC Sport about the mood inside the ground.
“And certainly in this kind of atmosphere in the stadium, it’s just a joy to witness and to play football,” the manager added, reflecting on what a positive crowd means to his side.
Much of last season’s anxiety stemmed from Arsenal juggling injuries to key players, but Friday’s win saw Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka start together in the Premier League for just the second time.
Within 23 minutes Arsenal were already 2-0 up, the quickest they had led by that margin since a match against Wolves in 2023, signalling a clinical and composed performance from the champions.
Odegaard, severely restricted by injuries last season, looks firmly back to his best after following a player-of-the-match display in the Community Shield against Manchester City with another commanding showing.
Having scored in the Community Shield and again on the opening Premier League weekend, he already has more goals this season than the one he managed across 36 appearances last term.
Summer signing Christos Tzolis has also caught the eye, arriving for £34m after scoring 17 goals and providing 23 assists at Club Brugge as they claimed the Belgian title.
Tzolis registered two assists in the Community Shield win over Manchester City, and against Coventry his cross created the opportunity that led to Saka’s goal, underlining his attacking threat.
Odegaard was immediately impressed by his new teammate’s Premier League debut, telling BBC Sport: “Amazing, he played a brilliant game. He has been brilliant all pre-season. He’s so lively. It’s hard to defend [against] him.”
Arteta was equally enthusiastic, saying: “I love that a player that has been with us just for a few weeks gets this kind of energy every time he’s on the ball. I think he’s earned it.”
“He wants to make things happen and he has an incredible variety of actions in the last 30 metres,” the Arsenal manager continued, highlighting the Greece international’s directness and intelligence.
With key players fit, a new signing already thriving, and the whole club carrying the confidence of champions, Arsenal look ready to mount a serious defence of their Premier League crown.
