Arsenal season preview 2024-25: It's time for Mikel Arteta to win another trophy - and Gunners finally look ready to end Man City's Premier League dominance

You'd have to have a heart of stone to not be enthused about the upcoming season as an Arsenal fan. After some testing times towards the beginning of his tenure, Arteta has transformed the men's team from top to bottom, with the Gunners now firmly back among Europe's elite.

This reinvigoration has been mirrored in the Emirates' improved atmosphere. Once derided for its lack of noise, Arsenal's home is now one of the toughest stadiums to visit in the Premier League, with the club taking steps off the pitch to help make this happen.

It's hard to find things to be negative about, though there are one or two minor quibbles. Most notably, Arsenal continue to lose homegrown talent, with Emile Smith Rowe and Chido Obi-Martin both departing in the summer. Most fans would probably prefer Arteta to take a few more chances with youth academy graduates, but this is far easier to accept when everything else is going so well.

Riccardo Calafiori arriving for £42 million ($54m) on the back of an impressive Euro 2024 with Italy might stink of short-termism, but in reality Arsenal have been tracking the Bologna star for some time. There's an expectation that the aggressive defender will finally solve the Gunners' left-back conundrum, with a revolving cast of squad members occupying that particular role last season.

To date, if you don't count David Raya's loan move being made permanent, this is the only signing Arsenal have made. Mikel Merino could shortly join Calafiori at the Emirates, though, with the Spain and Real Sociedad star capable of giving Arteta a unique skill set in the middle of the park.

There's been whispers that another attacker is being targeted, too. Bukayo Saka has played a lot of football over the past few years and backup on the right wing would be very much welcomed. However, thanks to PSR considerations, identifying the right candidate is proving challenging.

Going in the other direction, Mohamed Elneny, Arthur Okonkwo and Cedric Soares have all left on free transfers, while Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and Karl Hein are set to spend another campaign out on loan.

Smith Rowe is the only real departure of note. Arsenal fans were sad to see the Hale End alum leave, but there was an grudging acceptance that the move was best for all parties. He should receive a warm reception when returning to the Emirates with Fulham this season.

Arsenal's pre-season should be taken with a pinch of salt, as a crop of first-team regulars were unavailable for large spells due to European Championship and Copa America commitments. Regardless, results and performances have been promising.

Once again the Gunners jetted off on a pre-season tour of the United States, beginning by drawing with Bournemouth before beating Manchester United and losing to Liverpool - both 2-1 scorelines. After thrashing Bayer Leverkusen 4-1, they went on to lift the 'prestigious' Emirates Cup, with goals from centre-back pairing William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes earning them a 2-0 victory over Lyon.

The emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri as potential first-team options in pre-season has been particularly pleasing, while Gabriel Jesus looks back to something resembling his best form. Calafiori enjoyed a strong debut in that Lyon game, too.

Arteta has several principles that inform all of the tactical decisions he's made since taking over at the Emirates. "Dominance," is the catch-all phrase he's used on a couple of occasions, a philosophy built on a merciless control of possession, solid defensive base and increase in tempo when in the final third.

Despite this firm belief in his way of playing, Arteta has still innovated tactically over the years and there are a couple of questions hanging over his selection this season, the biggest of which is in midfield. Even if Merino does not end up joining, there are doubts over what Arsenal's best midfield three is. Declan Rice was pretty outstanding in a more attacking left-sided role in the second half of the season, meaning one of Thomas Partey or Jorginho will likely sit at the base of the trio, with Martin Odegaard on the right.

Up front, Kai Havertz's form lessened calls for Arteta to bring in a centre-forward, but Jesus will be pushing hard to start more regularly now his fitness appears to be on track, meaning the German might even be a contender in midfield too.

Calafiori's arrival and Jurrien Timber's long-awaited recovery from an ACL injury also adds intrigue in the back line. Timber has enjoyed an excellent pre-season and can play in all three defensive positions, while even the much-maligned Oleksandr Zinchenko has discovered a new lease of life over the past few weeks.

This gives Arteta good problems to solve and might allow Arsenal to be more adaptable to breaking down different types of opposition over the coming season.

Any long-term injury to Saka would be pretty disastrous, but no one is more important to Arteta's Arsenal than captain fantastic Odegaard. The Norwegian is the epicentre of his side in possession, dropping deep to assist with build-up before bursting forward to carve open the opposition defence with his otherworldly vision and technique.

As Arteta said last season: "when you look at the impact he has with us daily, it’s amazing. So we are really happy to have him." There might be even more to come from the talismanic midfielder, too.

"Has he fulfilled his potential? Hopefully not," Arteta added. "Hopefully, there is still more to come. He’s still very young and he’s made huge steps In the last few seasons. He’s got a massive role at the club and hopefully, we can keep growing."

Odegaard's leadership capabilities should not be undersold either. It was he who grabbed the microphone first following last season's final-day disappointment against Everton, vowing that the Gunners would be back even stronger.

"We’ve changed the club," he told the Emirates crowd. "I think you’re all believing us now. We’re on a good wave, We were closer than last year. Now we need to use the break to come back even stronger next year. We’re going to push to win everything."

Recent history suggests both Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelley will not be getting much game-time, with Arteta generally reluctant to throw his young guns in at the deep end. There is one Arsenal player who may still have the capacity to burst onto the scene, though.

Last season, a devastating injury on the first day of the Premier League season ruled Timber out for almost the entirety of the campaign. Now, he's back, and ready to make up for all of that lost time.

The Dutchman was Arsenal's standout performer during 2023-24 pre-season and would have racked up plenty of appearances at left-back last campaign were he not sidelined. Although Calafiori's arrival complicates thing slightly, Timber could still emerge as a really important player.

He's extremely calm in possession, has good recovery pace and reads the game expertly, making him perfectly suited to how Arteta likes his defenders to play. Who knows? He may even be an option in defensive midfield.

Arteta has succeeded in winning hearts and minds over the past two seasons. Now, it's time to lift the Premier League trophy. The Spaniard will be acutely aware that this is likely his final opportunity to get one over on his former sensei, Guardiola, with the City boss increasingly likely to depart Manchester at the end of the season.

Should that happen, Arsenal would be favourites to win the title in 2026. But it will mean so much more to Arteta to unseat Guardiola as English football's top coach before he rides off into the sunset. In truth, Arsenal's chances of winning the top prize seem irrevocably linked to City's fortunes.

Squeezing more than the 89 points they accrued last season out of the squad will be a tough ask. Matching this tally would be a success. They've then just got to hope City slip up more often than last season - and this isn't that inconceivable. After four successive Premier League titles, Arteta will be hoping their focus naturally dips, opening the door for his increasingly ruthless side.

Elsewhere, Arsenal need to show more nous in the Champions League. Some players looked shaken in their round of 16 tie against a weak Porto side last season before eventually losing out to Bayern Munich in the quarters. Taking the domestic cups seriously would be welcomed by fans, too, as they are desperate for some sort of silverware after a four-year wait.

Player of the Season: Martin Odegaard - The Norway international is going for a three-peat this season and it would be little surprise if he scooped the club's top gong again.

Biggest disappointment: Ethan Nwaneri - This might seem a little harsh, but it's just difficult to see him actually getting minutes.

Best signing: Riccardo Calafiori - This was not a very hard one to choose...

Top scorer: Bukayo Saka - Arsenal generally spread the goals around, but Saka near enough plays every minute and also takes a lion share of the penalties.

European fate: Out in quarter-finals - For all of their Premier League points, Arsenal appeared a little shaky in European competition. The learning curve will continue this time out.

League position: 1st - It will be a close-run thing, but Arsenal just have enough to end their wait for Premier League glory this season.