{"id":845417,"date":"2026-09-12T16:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845417\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T16:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:02:14","slug":"will-anyone-challenge-arsenal-for-the-title-the-athletic-writers-pick-their-contenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845417\/","title":{"rendered":"Will anyone challenge Arsenal for the title? The Athletic writers pick their contenders"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Saturday\u2019s Premier League action.<\/a><\/p>\n

After Arsenal beat Chelsea last weekend to make it three wins out of three to start their Premier League season, it felt reasonable to ask \u2014 can anybody challenge them for the 2026-27 title?<\/p>\n

Admittedly, they are currently level on points with Manchester City, but Arsenal already look better than last season, when they finished seven points clear at the top. Their performances have been ominous for the challenging pack.<\/p>\n

But surely it won\u2019t be a walk in the park over the remaining 35 games? Other contenders will step up. It will be tense. Right?.<\/p>\n

The Athletic asked some of its writers for their thoughts on who is most likely to give the defending champions trouble. Read their views, then give us yours in the comments section.<\/p>\n

Manchester City<\/p>\n

This time last year, everyone had already anointed Liverpool as repeat Premier League champions, so it\u2019s way too early to be discussing an Arsenal procession.<\/p>\n

There will be plenty of twists to come and, as ever, Manchester City look well placed to challenge. They may have lost Pep Guardiola, but they still have Erling Haaland. Their expensively assembled new midfield of Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi looks formidable.<\/p>\n

Dan Kilpatrick<\/p>\n

I think City have looked pretty ominous in attack under Enzo Maresca, who has tweaked the build-up shape ever so slightly to allow them to spread six players across the opposition back line.<\/p>\n

It leaves them a little open to transitions \u2014 Anderson is tasked with covering huge spaces in front of the defence \u2014 but that extra risk is allowing them to get Rayan Cherki, Fernandez, Phil Foden and more into dangerous areas where they can combine with short, sharp passes.<\/p>\n

The system has also helped Haaland unlock another part of his game \u2014 he has scored three headers already this season, with City working to isolate their wingers, make underlapping runs and stand floated crosses towards the back post. That adds another string to their bow when up against a deeper defence.<\/p>\n

Here is a clear example of one such sequence against Porto in their midweek Champions League opener, as Antoine Semenyo receives wide and plays the ball into the path of the underlapping Foden. He digs out a cross to the back post, where Haaland is only denied by a sprawling save.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

While City are more vulnerable to counter-attacks than Arsenal are, their new-look midfield and adventurous in-possession shape will leave them confident they can outscore most teams who stand in their way.<\/p>\n

Thom Harris<\/p>\n

We are only three games in, and there are still 35 games to go over the course of nine months \u2014 of course there is time for another team to challenge Arsenal to the title.<\/p>\n

But only one of the 19 can genuinely test the champions \u2014 City.<\/p>\n

The disparity in the Premier League between the revenue-rich clubs and the rest is getting bigger every season. It is getting harder for others to challenge, and those that try will hit the glass ceiling set by profitability-and-sustainability rules, like Aston Villa and, more glaringly, Leicester \u2014 now in third-tier League One after successive relegations.<\/p>\n

The Premier League\u2019s rich clubs are getting richer and the big clubs are getting bigger. At the moment, that leaves just two with a genuine title shot.<\/p>\n

Rob Tanner<\/p>\n

Chelsea<\/p>\n

New manager Xabi Alonso\u2019s side already look to have shaken off much of the inconsistency and cautious football that followed them through the past two seasons, and have scored seven times in wins against Fulham and Brighton, while Morgan Rogers (another summer arrival), Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro have quickly developed into a potent front line.<\/p>\n

There were encouraging signs, even in defeat, at Arsenal last weekend, where Rogers put Chelsea ahead after 77 seconds and they stayed in the contest until the closing stages. The defensive record remains a concern \u2014 having conceded seven goals in the three league matches \u2014 but their ability to threaten the champions was clear.<\/p>\n

With no European football to juggle, a deep squad and far fewer demands on their schedule than Arsenal are going to face, Chelsea could gain a significant advantage as the campaign develops.<\/p>\n

Amelie Claydon<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Chelsea celebrate their early goal away to Arsenal last Sunday (Adrian Dennis\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Liverpool<\/p>\n

Do Liverpool realistically have a chance of contending for this season\u2019s title? Probably not. But is there a world where, if everything goes right, they can do so? Yes.<\/p>\n

Under new head coach Andoni Iraola, this team are very much still a work in progress, and they are already playing catch-up after beginning the campaign with draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.<\/p>\n

Yet, think back to 2013-14, when Liverpool were not considered title contenders at the start. Their attack, led by Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, became virtually unstoppable in the second half of the season. They outscored opponents week after week to bring them within touching distance of the trophy. Could something like that be replicated if they get the very best versions of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola?<\/p>\n

Everything would need to fall into place \u2014 luck with injuries, hope that gaps in the squad aren\u2019t exposed, consistency and maintaining the intensity required by Iraola across multiple competitions.<\/p>\n

All of those factors are why Liverpool are extremely unlikely to win the league next May, and I\u2019ll look silly for writing this\u2026 but never say never.<\/p>\n

Andy Jones<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n If Liverpool can get the best version of players such as Isak, this season could get interesting (Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

What about unbeaten\u2026 Hull?<\/p>\n

After a second win on the bounce to start their first season back in the top flight after a 25-year EFL exile, the travelling Hull City fans at Coventry cheekily sang, \u201cWe\u2019re going to win the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

A point at home against Champions League side Villa last weekend has carried on the party as they sit third in the table, still unbeaten. At this rate, Paris Saint-Germain are at risk of being \u201cmauled by the Tigers\u201d, to borrow another of their terrace chants, in the 2027-28 Champions League.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to say Hull won\u2019t win the league this season, but outside of Arsenal, who look likely to retain the title, theirs could be the Premier League\u2019s happiest fanbase by May if they stay up in style after being tipped for relegation by so many.<\/p>\n

Eduardo Tansley<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Promoted Hull have won two and drawn one in their first three league games (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

No, nobody can realistically challenge Arsenal<\/p>\n

Arsenal won the league last season purely because of their defence. Three games in, they look as solid as ever in that department and there is lots of room for improvement further up the pitch.<\/p>\n

This can be seen in the visualisation below from my colleague Thom Harris, which shows they allow their opposition few goalscoring opportunities compared to the rest of the division.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Bruno Guimaraes is a fantastic signing, Martin Odegaard is purring again and a fit Bukayo Saka will make a big difference. So, Mikel Arteta\u2019s side can get better. Let\u2019s not forget, they won last season\u2019s title by seven points in the end.<\/p>\n

There could still be an element of new-voice-bounce post-Guardiola for City under Maresca. I am unconvinced that it will sustain, but they will still be the nearest challengers.<\/p>\n

The only challengers, in fact.<\/p>\n

Chelsea will be much better under Alonso, but you won\u2019t win the Premier League by outscoring your opposition. They are not good enough at the back. Liverpool will be a work in progress in Andoni Iraola\u2019s first season and Manchester United are too inconsistent.<\/p>\n

Who does that leave? Nobody!<\/p>\n

Andy Naylor<\/p>\n

Why it won\u2019t be a procession for Arsenal<\/p>\n

Any discussions on Arsenal winning back-to-back Premier Leagues need understanding around their history as champions.<\/p>\n

While they have produced some of England\u2019s best title-winning teams over the past century, Arsenal have not managed to finish first in successive years since the 1933-34 and 1934-35 seasons.<\/p>\n

Just three clubs (Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City) have retained the title in the Premier League era. Of those teams, Arsenal\u2019s situation is most akin to that of Chelsea in 2005-06, especially considering the fine-tuning approach to their summer transfers. The signings of Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa show their willingness to push on from a position of strength.<\/p>\n

None of their competitors look as consistent, but Arsenal and Arteta will be aware of how quickly things can change.<\/p>\n

If they suffer injuries in attack, their decision not to go all out for a top-level forward this summer could haunt them. Kai Havertz being more available than he has been in the past two seasons, due to injuries, will be especially important given how difficult his qualities are to replace.<\/p>\n

For now, however, they seem well-placed to keep the trophy for another 12 months.<\/p>\n

Art de Roch\u00e9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Saturday\u2019s Premier League action. After Arsenal beat Chelsea last weekend to make…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[463,13931,3522,8917,35420,464,301487,2640,25461,17717,72205,58454,12765,3450,4896,3788,9870,2732,1084,403,99,24843,4899],"class_list":["post-845417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-arsenal","tag-aston-villa","tag-bournemouth","tag-brentford","tag-brighton-hove-albion","tag-chelsea","tag-coventry-city","tag-crystal-palace","tag-everton","tag-fulham","tag-hull-city","tag-ipswich-town","tag-leeds-united","tag-liverpool","tag-manchester-city","tag-manchester-united","tag-newcastle-united","tag-nottingham-forest","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sunderland","tag-tottenham-hotspur"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}