Arsenal ‘on the hunt for glory’ as title challenge kicks off against revamped Man Utd

LONDON, Aug 16 —Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to keep “digging for gold” as they prepare to launch their latest Premier League title challenge against a revamped Manchester United tomorrow. The Gunners are chasing their first league crown since 2004.

Arsenal have finished runners-up in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons, drawing criticism for their inability to clinch the title. They lost out narrowly to Manchester City in 2023 and 2024 after holding significant leads, before last season’s injury-hit squad fell behind Liverpool.

Fans are growing frustrated with Arsenal’s ongoing title drought and questioning whether Arteta is the right person to end it, given that the only major trophy he has won since taking over in December 2019 is the 2020 FA Cup. However, the team showed promise last season by reaching the Champions League semi-finals, where they were narrowly eliminated by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.

With over £180 million (\$244 million) spent on new signings this summer, Arteta remains confident that this could be the year Arsenal finally secure the Premier League trophy.

“You keep digging, digging, digging, and you have to keep at it because eventually the gold will be there,” Arteta told reporters yesterday.

“For three seasons, we’ve accumulated more points than nearly every other team in the league, which is remarkable.

Now, the challenge is to maintain that consistency across the whole season and finish with the most points — that’s the goal. That’s what I’ve been taught.”

Last season, Arsenal were hampered by injuries to key players Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, and Kai Havertz, which blunted their attacking threat and contributed to 14 draws—compared to Liverpool’s nine. This was a crucial factor as Arsenal ended the campaign 10 points behind the champions.

To prevent a repeat of last season’s injury woes, Arteta has strengthened the squad with Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres, Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, and Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard.

“Every Game Is Like ‘Do or Die’”

Having expressed disappointment last January at missing out on Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as Liverpool pulled away, Arteta is now more optimistic on the eve of the new season.

“I believe we have great versatility and a variety of qualities to adapt to different opponents, so we are very happy with our squad,” he said.

Arteta also noted that “too many” teams have a real chance to win the Premier League this year—some he suspects may even surprise everyone.

Whether that includes Manchester United, who endured their worst season since 1973-74 last term, remains uncertain after their summer spending spree.

Arsenal had been linked with a move for United’s new striker Benjamin Sesko before ultimately signing Gyokeres, in a deal that could total £66 million. Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 appearances over two years at Sporting, much of that under United’s current manager Ruben Amorim.

Instead of reuniting with Gyokeres, Amorim revamped his attack with the signings of Leipzig’s Sesko, Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo, and Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, spending over £200 million in total.

Pressure on Manchester United

United, who haven’t won the league since 2013, had to spend heavily to recover from a poor 2024-25 season. Under Amorim, who replaced Erik Ten Hag in November, the team finished a disappointing 15th and lost a chance to qualify for the Champions League with a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham in the Europa League final.

The pressure is on Amorim to deliver significant improvement in his second season. He believes Sesko, 22, will be crucial to that effort.

“I don’t need to tell Ben, ‘Ben, this is Manchester United, there’s a lot of pressure. Every game is like do or die,’” Amorim said.

“He’s completely focused on football. It’s an obsession for him.” — AFP