Arsenal's Title Defence: Aiming for Treble Glory
Arsenal’s title defence is only one game old, but some of English football’s biggest voices are already convinced they will go all the way again – and maybe even rewrite history.
Paul Scholes and Gary Neville both believe Mikel Arteta’s side are clear favourites to retain the Premier League crown, after finally ending their 20-year wait for the title in May. The champions opened up this season like a team intent on keeping it, sweeping aside newly-promoted Coventry City 3-0 with the kind of control and authority that has become their trademark.
Champions acting like champions
Arsenal have not stood still since lifting the trophy. Arteta has layered depth onto an already settled core, creating a squad that looks built to last a long, gruelling campaign on multiple fronts. The arrivals of Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis and Ezri Konsa have nudged competition for places to a new level, without unsettling the harmony that has underpinned their rise.
That stability stands in stark contrast to the turbulence around them. Manchester City and Liverpool, the two clubs that have defined the Premier League’s recent era, are both adjusting to life after Pep Guardiola and Arne Slot. While those giants work through managerial transition, Arsenal have surged into the role of front-runners.
The conversation has moved quickly. One game in, and talk of a potential treble is already bubbling up.
Treble talk begins
Last season, Arsenal came agonisingly close to a European breakthrough, losing the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain, and they also fell short in the Carabao Cup final against City. Those near-misses have not cooled expectations; they have sharpened them.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, former striker Dion Dublin refused to laugh off the idea of Arsenal chasing an unprecedented treble.
"I'm not going to back Arsenal to win the treble, but I'm not going to rule it out either," Dublin said. "They've got the best and most settled squad and there's a real harmony at the football club."
Scholes, who knows exactly what it takes to pull off a treble after Manchester United’s 1999 heroics, did not hesitate to back that view.
"I agree with that. I think it’s very possible with the way they’re looking," he said. "I still think in the last week of the transfer window they could bring another player, which is scary. They’ve just signed Ezri Konsa as well who is a top-class defender."
The message was clear: this is not hype built on one bright performance in August. It is rooted in the depth, balance and continuity of Arteta’s squad.
Neville nails colours to the mast
Neville has been just as emphatic. On Sky Sports, when pressed for a title prediction, he did not hesitate.
"One hundred per cent Arsenal. They’re way out in front," he declared. "With what they’ve got already now in defence and in midfield, with the good attackers that they’ve got, they’ve got a really good standard, then they’re fine."
From the back line reshaped by Konsa’s arrival to a midfield now bolstered by Guimaraes, Arsenal look equipped to handle injuries, dips in form and the relentless rhythm of domestic and European competition. The squad that once looked fragile now feels robust.
Villa test arrives quickly
The next checkpoint comes on Monday night, when Arsenal travel to face Aston Villa in the Premier League. On paper, it pits the reigning champions against a side already under pressure after a grim opening weekend.
Villa were dismantled 4-0 by Brighton on Sunday, a defeat that exposed the uncertainty hanging over the club after a worrying summer transfer window. Confidence is low, questions are loud, and they now face the most ruthless side in the country.
For Arteta, the danger is obvious. With rivals dropping points and still searching for rhythm, complacency is the only real enemy. He will demand the same edge, the same control, the same hunger that dismantled Coventry.
If Arsenal deliver another commanding performance and extend their perfect start, the noise around the Emirates will rise again. The title defence will feel a little more real. And that treble talk, cautiously floated in August, will sound just a bit less far-fetched.
