Multiple contributors

Nov 6, 2026, 06:02 AM ET

Arsenal 's ascent to the top of the Premier League has been nothing short of brilliant, with Mikel Arteta -- whose only previous coaching experience was as an assistant for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking the Arsenal job in December 2019 -- revamping a broken team, reshaping them around young attacking talent and slowly climbing the table.

Arteta's obsessive, meticulous methods took the club from eighth in his first season to three straight second-place finishes and then, at long last, a first Premier League title in over two decades when the Gunners claimed the trophy in 2025-26.

But now that the Gunners reached the top, how do they stay there? After fielding a ton of criticism last season for being too reliant on set pieces, to arguably being too cynical in 2026-27 so far, is there really a "problem" with their methods? Is there something unseemly about their antics, whether it's time-wasting or exaggerating fouls?…