The season the stars aligned: Why Arsenal look set to win the 2025/26 EPL

By George Koffi NKUNU

There’s a certain rhythm to a title-winning team. You see it in the way they control games, in the way they react to setbacks, and in the way they quietly keep collecting points while everyone else is arguing about ‘what went wrong.’

This season, Arsenal has that rhythm

After years of coming close, close enough to dream, close enough to hurt – the Gunners now look like a side that has finally moved from being nearly there to being ready. And when you look at the form, the results, the mentality and what’s happening around the league, it’s hard to ignore the feeling that everything is aligning for Arsenal to win the Premier League in 2025/26.

A defence that feels like a guarantee

The biggest shift in Arsenal this season isn’t the goals, the flair or the headlines. It’s the calm. Arsenal is no longer a team that needs to score three to feel safe. They’re now a team that can score one and looks comfortable. That’s what happens when your defensive structure becomes an identity, not just a tactic.

After 29 league matches, Arsenal have scored 58 goals and conceded just 22, the best defensive record in the league.

And those numbers match what the eye test shows every week. Opponents aren’t just struggling to score; they’re struggling to even create clean chances.

The back line looks drilled, the midfield looks disciplined, and the goalkeeper looks assured. Arsenal defends like they’ve rehearsed every scenario.

Saliba and Gabriel have turned into a centre-back partnership that sets the tone for the entire team. Declan Rice gives them protection; but more importantly, he gives them control. And behind it all, David Raya has brought a level of composure that title-winning teams always seem to have.

Chelsea: A semi-final that felt like a message

Cup games don’t always define a league season, but they can reveal a team’s mentality. Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea felt like one of those moments.

The Gunners went to Stamford Bridge in the first leg and edged a dramatic 2–3 win, putting themselves in the driving seat. Then, in the second leg at the Emirates, they delivered the kind of performance champions produce when they know the job isn’t finished.

A 1–0 win at home sealed a 4–2 aggregate victory, and it wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t chaotic, it wasn’t emotional. It was controlled. It was mature. It was professional.

Arsenal didn’t just beat Chelsea across two legs. They out-thought them, out-worked them and out-managed them.

Europe: 8 wins out of 8 and no room for doubt

Then came the European Champions League (UCL), and Arsenal didn’t blink. On January 28, Arsenal faced Kairat at the Emirates Stadium and won an entertaining 3–2 match.

It wasn’t the kind of clean-sheet win Arsenal have made a habit of this season, but it was arguably just as important. This is because it showed another side of this team: resilience.

Arsenal didn’t need perfection; it needed a result and got it. That win also confirmed a remarkable record: Arsenal is currently the only team in the UCL to win all of its eight matches so far this season.

That isn’t just form, it’s mentality. And mentality is what carries teams through April and May when legs get heavy and pressure gets loud.

Leeds 4–0: The kind of win champions make look easy

If Europe showed Arsenal’s resilience, the Premier League showed its ruthlessness. On matchday 24, Arsenal dismantled Leeds United 4–0 at the Emirates, keeping yet another clean sheet and maintaining their place at the top of the table. It wasn’t just the scoreline; it was the ease.

Arsenal looked like a team that knew its ways better, played like it was better, and never allowed Leeds even to believe they could make it a contest.

Those are the matches that win leagues: not the dramatic ones, but the routine ones that still end with three points and a clean sheet.

Sunderland 3–0: No drama, no noise, just more points

On matchday 25, Arsenal followed up with another win; this time a 3–0 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates.

Again, it wasn’t about brilliance. It was about control, a clean sheet, three goals, three points, and moving on.

That result also pushed Arsenal’s league scoring tally to 49 goals in 25 matches, while still keeping their goals conceded at 17.

In other words, Arsenal is not only the league’s best defensive team, but it’s also building an attack that keeps improving week by week.

Over the weekend, during match week 29, the Gunners once again rose to the challenge with a well-disciplined game plan that ensured a 2:1 home win against Chelsea wasn’t compromised.

After taking an early lead, Chelsea bounced back in what ended up as an own goal, but the team stood resolute and got a 66th-second goal that ultimately scored the points.

This ensured the five-point gap with Manchester City is maintained. Even though close, Arsenal seems oblivious to the pressure mounting – a sense that the team has matured over the period.

The Man United defeat: A slip, not a fall

Yes, Arsenal lost to Manchester United at the Emirates. But it was just a slip, not a fall.

That defeat didn’t derail them. It didn’t create a spiral. It didn’t shake their confidence. It was a setback, not a setback that became a season.

The best teams lose games. What separates champions is how quickly they return to winning, and Arsenal’s response has been exactly what you’d expect from a team that has learnt from the past.

They moved on. They reset. They kept winning.

Rivals are dropping points; Arsenal is collecting them

The Premier League is never won in February, but it can absolutely be lost in February. And right now, Arsenal’s rivals are offering them an opportunity.

The traditional contenders have been inconsistent. Some are dropping points in matches they should be controlling. Others are struggling with fatigue, injuries or the weight of expectation.

Arsenal, meanwhile, looks steady. The team is not perfect every week, but they are reliable. And reliability is the closest thing football has to a superpower.

Arteta’s team has finally become complete

This Arsenal side isn’t built on one superstar or one moment. It’s built on structure. It can win with possession, pressing or win by sitting deep and absorbing pressure. It can even win by overpowering teams, win ugly and win beautifully.

That versatility is what turns a good season into a title-winning one.

Mikel Arteta has built a team that now looks emotionally mature, tactically sharp and mentally prepared for the long stretch. This isn’t a young team learning; it is a team that has learnt.

Everything is aligning for Arsenal

When you put the full picture together, it becomes hard to ignore what’s happening:

• Arsenal have the best defence in the Premier League, conceding only 22 goals
• It has scored 58 goals in 29 matches, showing consistent attacking output
• It beat Chelsea over two legs in the Carabao Cup semi-final (4–2 on aggregate), plus a win in the EPL over the weekend
• It is the only Champions League team with eight wins from eight matches
• Hammered Leeds 4–0 while keeping another clean sheet to stay top
• Responded strongly after the Man United loss instead of letting it become a slump
• And while rivals drop points, Arsenal keep moving forward.

This isn’t just hope anymore. This is alignment.

The difference this season: Arsenal looks like it believes

Arsenal fans have seen promising seasons before, seen momentum fade, seen pressure bite, and seen the title slip away. But this season, Arsenal doesn’t look like a team chasing the league. It looks like a team leading it – in performances, in discipline and in mentality.

The Gunners have the defensive strength of champions, the hunger of a team that has been hurt before, and the consistency of a side that knows the job isn’t to play well, it’s to win.

Arsenal’s last EPL title came in the iconic 2003/04 season, the year of the “Invincibles,” when Arsène Wenger’s side went unbeaten across 38 matches and etched its name into football history.

More than two decades later, Mikel Arteta’s side is now on the path to break the trophy drought.

If Arsenal stays healthy and keeps this rhythm, then by May 2026, the Premier League trophy may finally return to North London.

And this time, it won’t feel like a surprise.

It’ll feel like the season everything finally fell into place.

George Koffi NKUNU is Digital Media & Business Development Consultant, Global Media Alliance Broadcast Company.

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