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FCL
AFCON 2025
)
Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United on the opening weekend of the 2025-26 Premier League season saw the Gunners change some of things we have known about them since they started competing for the title under Mikel Arteta. Here are some of the things we noticed from the Gunners in the win over Manchester United.
When the Spaniard first took over in late 2019, Arsenal were drifting. They lacked identity, consistency, and belief. Fast forward to 2025, and the Gunners are now one of the most complete sides in English football.
In the last two seasons, Arsenal have been known to take a slow build-up approach, with most of their attacks coming down the wing where Bukayo Saka runs the show.
This summer, the Gunners splurged on prolific former Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokores, Martin Zubimendi, and Noni Madueke, three acquisitions to bolster their midfield and style of play.
The likes of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard, and substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga were also added to bolster their bench.
The arrival of Gyokeres in particular suggested that Arteta might be open to tweaking his style of play, giving that the striker plays differently from their current center-forward options Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
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The 1-0 win against Manchester United highlighted how Arteta is reshaping the team into a more direct side compared to the previous seasons, adapting to his new players.
Here are three things that showed how Arsenal’s style of play is evolving under Arteta, with the Manchester United game providing some clear evidence yet.
1. Arsenal now play quicker
One of the clearest changes under Mikel Arteta in 2025 is the sheer speed with which Arsenal move the ball forward.
According to CBS, the Gunners advanced towards goal at 2.02 metres per second against Manchester United, that is 55% quicker than their average across the last three seasons. Their fastest performance across those previous seasons came in May 2024, a 3-0 win at Bournemouth, which was still 16% slower than how they played against Manchester United.
This new tempo not only unsettles opponents but also allows Arsenal to create more chances before teams can properly reset.
2. The team is embracing transitions
Arteta’s Arsenal of 2025 are not just about possession and structure anymore; they thrive on chaos too. The United game showed how dangerous they have become in transitions, springing forward the moment they win the ball back.
Rather than recycling play slowly, Arsenal now break with direct runners like Gyokeres, Madueke, Martinelli and Saka, while midfielders such as Rice and Odegaard push high to support.
This makes them lethal in moments when opponents are most vulnerable, proving that Arsenal have added another weapon to their arsenal, a counter-attacking threat that can punish even the toughest defences.
While this affected their pass completion due to an inability to successfully play the final pass correctly, it put Arsenal in a lot of promising positions despite having their back to the wall.
3. Set pieces are still a weapon
One noticeable change under Arteta from last season is Arsenal’s threat from set pieces. However, towards the end of the previous season, the corner kick goals seemed to dry up, with teams trying their best to mitigate in many ways.
Against Manchester United, Arsenal looked dangerous from corners again, taking a new approach compared to the past.
The Arsenal players now line up at the edge of the box, making a run-in into the box, while there are players in the opposition six-yard box disrupting the defending.
Much of this credit goes to the coaching staff, who have clearly worked on rehearsed routines. The delivery from Declan Rice was sharp, before Riccardo Calafiori headed home after Manchester United’s goalkeeper could not deal with the cross adequately.
Old habits, they say, die hard.