Why Arsenal are ready to win the league as stakes rise for Arteta

This season is set to be the most important in Mikel Arteta’s five and a half years in charge of Arsenal.

They have revamped their squad with £190m worth of signings as they look to win the Premier League for the first time in 21 years.

The Gunners have finished second for the past three seasons in a row but have now made a big push over the summer to end that drought.

Arsenal have added two important cogs to the spine of their team with the signing of midfielder Martin Zubimendi and striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Here, BBC Sport looks at why Arsenal – who begin their campaign away to Manchester United on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST) – believe they are now ready to win the league this season.

Speaking before the first summer match in Singapore, Arteta said he “sees the right balance” and that “all the ingredients are there” for Arsenal to win this season.

The addition of six new players and the potential of another has given fans a lift, but also raised expectations.

The added depth in the squad has given Arteta a real boost and the possibility of lots of variations in his team as he looks to break down stubborn defences.

Declan Rice looks to have been permanently released into the more advanced midfield role he excelled in so much last season, thanks to the arrival of Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.

Arteta has also got rid of the ‘tier system’ so there is no drop off in the team. Tier One players were expected starters but the new signings have been brought in to make sure that there is not a huge dip in performance if any of the starting XI are unavailable.

There has been a big emphasis on increasing the goal threat from every position this summer – using runs in behind and getting shots off – and on how to get the best out of Gykores’ key attributes after the striker scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Portuguese side Sporting.

Arteta said if you leave Gyokeres “with the space one against one, he’s going to destroy you” earlier this summer.

He added: “He’s going to create a lot of space as well for us and there is the moment that, in any situation, there is a player there that can score a goal.”

It will not be a shock to Arteta that fans are expecting trophies at Emirates Stadium this season.

During crunch matches during the last campaign you could feel the desperation from the crowd to see success.

The Arsenal boss has had his fair share of critics, who have questioned his ability to win trophies given he has only won the FA Cup and that was in his first season as manager.

There were even messages of ‘Arteta out’ sprayed on walls near the stadium after the signing of Noni Madueke, which shows that some supporters may not have as much patience as most in the stadium.

Whatever happens, Arteta has given himself a squad with more quality and with players at the right age who are ready to make the next step – but pressure could come from within if Arsenal don’t get over the line after their summer spending.

Arsenal know they are expected to compete in multiple competitions this season and the players and staff are not scared of saying they need to win a trophy.

Different versions of the phrase ‘getting to a new level’ were used by Arteta and others throughout pre-season, with signs mentioning similar at the team’s kit launch on a rooftop in Singapore.

Arteta does not like the word friendlies and sees the games they have played before the start of the Premier League season as “tests”.

The intensity and sharpness was noted by opponents and the evolution of the Arsenal side could be seen from the first game against AC Milan.

Arsenal started with Ethan Nwaneri in a central role which seems to be the strongest area of Arsenal’s squad this season with Rice, Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino also options.

Madueke has been signed from Chelsea to play on the wings, a position where Nwaneri broke into the side, but he is a natural midfielder and his pathway into the team seems to be there.

One of the key takeaways from Arsenal from their five summer matches is a more direct approach.

The Gunners scored 17 fewer goals than Liverpool last season and finished 10 points behind the champions in second place. Arsenal have looked to address that with their recruitment and attempts to increase the goal threat from all positions.

Goalkeeper David Raya is frequently kicking the ball long and goals from Kai Havertz and chances created for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have come when Arsenal have played the ball into space behind the opposition defence.

The arrival of new set-piece coach Nicolas Jover is expected to ensure the Gunners are again a huge threat in this area.

A new faster-paced attacking style has been evident through summer, especially when Odegaard, Zubimendi and Rice started together.

While Myles Lewis-Skelly impressed by drifting into midfield from left-back during his breakthrough season, there has been more emphasis on him fulfilling traditional full-back duties in this system.

Arteta hopes the changes will benefit Gyokeres and his imposing physical style along with his ability to burst through centre-backs.

Over last season’s 38 league games, Liverpool had in excess of 100 more shots and scored 17 more goals than Arsenal.

Seven of those were penalties but that still leaves a gap of 95 non-penalty shots, 2.5 more shots every game.

If the Gunners had taken the same number of non-penalty shots as the champions and continued scoring at the rate that they did (12.3%) then they would’ve scored an additional 12 goals, showing that Arsenal’s main problem last season was that you can’t score the chances you don’t make.

Arsenal were decimated by injuries to key players last season, leaving them without key components of their attack.

And that led to performances where Arsenal were kept at bay by sides who defended deep.

They tended to build up slowly with the ball with lots of passes, allowing the defensive team time to regroup, and then resorted to crosses and hoping to win a header.

Zubimendi and Gyokeres – aged 26 and 27 respectively – are at or about to hit their peak, and have been brought into the team to win things now.

And the majority of the Arsenal team – and the squad in general – are either at or approaching what we’d consider the peak age of a player’s career.

Eight of the ‘1st XI’ last season are aged between 23 and 27, with only Raya who is still at the club older than that.

The connections of Zubimendi and Merino, former team-mates at Real Sociedad, alongside the experience of Odegaard, is another example of what Arsenal are trying to build.

Club coaches have been impressed with the character of their signings as they looked to bring in leaders who are ready to deal with the pressure that will come this season.

Arsenal do have younger players for the future like Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri (both just 18) while Saka and Califiori are still only 23, but this is a team Arteta believes is ready to win now.

With other summer signings Norgaard, 31 and Kepa Arrizabalaga, 30, they have increased the wider squad experience too.