Football fans, managers, players and pundits will spend much of the next month focused on the World Cup. But for those in the employ of professional clubs, at least at the highest level, work never stops.
Mikel Arteta will of course be watching the events in North America, though he may not have been too happy with how Spain’s opening game unfolded against tournament debutants, Cape Verde. The Spaniard will also no doubt be keeping a close eye on the many Arsenal players who are in other squads too, not least the English contingent.
However, while he will be enjoying the football, while simultaneously monitoring the performances of his current players (and prospective future signings), he will also be very much already thinking about next season. One of the downsides of professional sport is that there is rarely time to savour one’s finest achievements.
That is especially true for those who aspire to greatness. Sadly, it is often the case that any win, be it a match or a trophy, is celebrated and enjoyed most briefly. The best players and managers almost immediately turn to what comes next.
We strongly suspect Arteta will have moved from celebration to preparation weeks ago. So just what will the Basque and his club be aiming for in 2026/27?
More Trophies a Must
Arsenal had a brilliant 2025/26 campaign, ending their long wait for a trophy and their even longer wait for the Premier League title. They also made the final of the Champions League and the League Cup, as well as the quarters of the FA Cup, where they were stunned by lower league Southampton.
At one stage, they looked in with a real chance of landing a historic quadruple. In the end, they only won the Premier League title. But they were just five games away from winning all four competitions. It is a real sign of how far Arteta has taken the Gunners that they could win their first Premier League title in 22 years and still feel just a touch of disappointment.
After such a strong campaign, winning at least one more trophy in 2026/27 has to be the absolute minimum target. The bigger picture is about trying to build this Arsenal side into one of the all-time Premier League greats. Winning one title is not easy, but defending it is often far harder, as Liverpool and Arne Slot discovered last term.
The Premier League has seen several excellent teams over the years, something they call a “dynasty team” in American sporting parlance. Arteta and the Gunners hierarchy will surely have a period of genuine domination domestically as their target in the years ahead. They may not be able to have things their own way to the extent that Manchester City have in recent times, or that the great Manchester United sides under Sir Alex Ferguson did. But matching and perhaps surpassing the accomplishments of a certain Arsene Wenger could be a realistic aim.
Arteta already has one FA Cup with the Gunners (as a manager – he has two as a player as well), but even so, matching the seven FA Cups Wenger won is unlikely. However, the Gunners’ manager between 1996 and 2018 “only” won three league titles during his spell in north London (although he won the league-FA Cup double twice!). Matching that in the years ahead certainly seems at least possible for Arteta and his troops.
Moreover, Wenger never led the Gunners to a European trophy. It will not be easy for the current group to win the Champions League, but having made the final last term, they will feel they have what it takes to go one better in the seasons ahead. Wenger did take Arsenal to a Champions League final as well, in 2006, but that was as good as it got for the Frenchman. That means that Arteta, now the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, has matched Arsenal’s most successful manager in that regard, but landing the trophy has to be the aim.
Would Arsenal Prefer to Win the Champions League or Premier League?
This is a question that pundits often ask and fans debate in pubs. Ask five or six Arsenal fans which trophy they would prefer their club to win in 2026/27, and we suspect you would get three different answers. Some would savour defending the Premier League title, while others would feel that Arteta has ticked the league off now, and winning a first Champions League title in the club’s entire history is the bigger target. Others would simply say that success in either of those competitions would represent a successful season, with an additional domestic cup providing the icing on the cake.
That said, managers and those who work in football generally prize the domestic title over any cup win. To win the league, a side has to prove themselves the best over 38 games. Luck, chance and variance play a minor role.
In contrast, in any cup, even the Champions League, luck can be a much bigger factor. One or two key moments in a tie can swing things and to go all the way the eventual champions will typically need the breaks to go their way on occasion. For this reason, we believe that Arteta and the Arsenal owners would take most joy from another top-tier title. But how about a Premier League and Champions League double?