Arsenal Defiant: Arteta Confirms No Title Defense, Focus on Future
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Mikel Arteta wants to get his messaging absolutely right. According to him, Arsenal are not about to defend their Premier League title. They are set to attack another one.
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Sky SportsAnd this week, there was a a hint from Arteta that he wants to see a different type of Arsenal this season. When asked about him being a "defending" Premier League champion, he corrected that statement by saying he and his team are "attacking" another Premier League title.
BBC SportIn the aftermath of the Champions League final, Arteta was quick to say that the Gunners need to be "very ambitious, very fast, and very smart" to build on their Premier League win.
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It is understood that Lewis-Skelly was offered to Manchester United and Chelsea earlier in the window as Arsenal attempt to raise funds after the £75m purchase of Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle. The 19-year-old academy graduate was outstanding in midfield against City in Cardiff on Sunday, having also started there in the Champions League final last season against Paris Saint-Germain, and Arteta is “100%” confident he will remain an Arsenal player.
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Sky SportsChelsea enquired about Lewis-Skelly earlier this summer, with Manchester United also long-term admirers of the teenager, who started Arsenal's Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain in May.
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"We need to look after them in a very special way because they bring value that is very difficult to [find]. That's why, when we can, we have to protect those assets as much as possible, develop them, and make them very important for the club."
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The Guardian Sport“The players that have been raised in our system, and they feel generally that love and that connection with the club, bring something else, there’s no question about that,” he said. “We need to look after them in a really special way because they bring value that is very difficult to find. That’s why, when we can, we want to protect those assets as much as possible, develop them and make them extremely important for the club.”
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Arsenal face Coventry in their opening match on Friday night as they attempt to retain the championship for the first time since the 1930s. Arteta’s side have won 17 of their last 18 matches against promoted teams and have not been beaten at the Emirates by one since November 2010 – a run of 45 matches.
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Sky SportsArsenal are aiming to win back-to-back league titles for the first time since the 1930s - but can they improve going forwards to achieve it? Watch Arsenal vs Coventry in the opening Premier League game live on Sky Sports on Friday from 7pm, kick-off 8pm
6 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Sky Sports Chelsea made an enquiry into Myles Lewis-Skelly earlier this summer with Manchester United also long-term admirers of the player; "The players that have been raised in our [academy] and they feel that love and connection with the club, it brings something else. We need to look after them"
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02 ESPN Ian Darke's best- and worst-case scenarios for every Premier League club Arsenal rolled to the Premier League title in 2025-26, but what will the new season hold? Ian Darke makes his best- and worst-case scenario forecasts for all 20 teams.
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03 BBC Sport The Gunners have spent more than £100m already, bringing in Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle (£75m) and Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis (£34m) during this transfer window.
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04 CBS Sports Premier League Power Rankings: Arsenal may be top, but City aren't the Gunners' biggest threat Here's how we rank the 20 Premier League teams ahead of action kicking off on Friday
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05 The Guardian Sport Remember Win the dog, who the manager brought in to the club’s training ground a few years back? She must now be called “Won”. But it is when Arteta quibbles over another bout of semantics that he highlights why he is entering the new season with such energy and optimism.
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06 Reuters Sports Arsenal launch title defence as new-look Premier League kicks off - Reuters Arsenal launch title defence as new-look Premier League kicks off Reuters
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- bbc-sport
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- guardian-sport