Former Chelsea and France defender Frank Leboeuf has backed Arsenal to repeat their success of last season and win a second consecutive Premier League title under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners ended a painful 22-year title drought last term, finishing seven points clear of Manchester City after three successive runners-up finishes.
Arsenal's European Heartbreak
Arsenal had hoped to cap a magnificent campaign with a historic double, but PSG triumphed over Arteta's men in the Champions League final in Budapest, coming from behind after Kai Havertz's early strike to win on penalties. Despite that disappointment, Leboeuf insists the north London club are the team to beat in the upcoming 2026/27 season.
Arsenal have already strengthened their squad with the signings of Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, and free agent Illan Meslier. They are also reportedly targeting Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz after Vinicius Junior turned down a move to sign a new contract at Real Madrid.
Leboeuf's Confidence in Arsenal
Speaking to ESPN, the 1998 World Cup winner said: 'The reason is clearly because the others, they don't know where they go. Arsenal have some assurances and they know that with the team they have right now they can be better than anybody else.'
He added: 'We don't know what Bruno Guimaraes can bring, whether he will play alongside Declan Rice or not or what is going to be Mikel Arteta's decision. The biggest question is for William Saliba. It's a good thing that Piero Hincapie signed a contract and Cristhian Mosquera can play in that position, but nobody can replace Saliba. When you have Gabriel Magalhaes and Saliba you are strong, you know that you are stronger than anybody else and that's what it is.'
Leboeuf concluded: 'If I was an Arsenal fan then I wouldn't be worried. Can they now double up and win the Premier League? Yes, they are the favourites for me, but they will have to show it.'
Obi Mikel Agrees
Earlier this week, another former Chelsea player, John Obi Mikel, made similar remarks on The Obi One Podcast, begrudgingly picking out the reigning champions as the 'team to beat' in the English top flight. He said: 'Wow, the team to beat? There are so many teams. The good thing that you can say about this season is it is absolutely wide open, absolutely f***ing wide open, apart from Arsenal. Apart from Arsenal… you can say [with Arsenal] that this is the team right now. They're settled, they have a manager who has been there for so many years, he's built a team and a squad that has gone on to win the Premier League.'
Obi Mikel added: 'It doesn't matter how they won it, they finally crossed the line. That's what a lot of the Arsenal fans were saying: it doesn't matter how we win it, let's just cross the line and then we can talk about next season and how we want to play.'
Arsenal's Settled Squad
According to Obi Mikel, Arsenal have the most 'settled' squad of all the big teams. He said: 'I want to see now how they play, how they approach this season, how they defend their title because okay, it doesn't matter how you played last season, you played ugly or however you wanted to win and you've done that. It wasn't pretty to watch but they've done it. Now I want to see how Mikel Arteta and this Arsenal squad play this season because they have to defend that title.'
He continued: 'If you look at all the top five, top six teams, they [Arsenal] are the most settled squad. They still have the best squad in the Premier League and he's still strengthening the squad. He's still bringing in players, players that he wants, so they are the ones, if you have to say the ones to beat, but again, it comes down to how this Arsenal team plays this season. Are they going to play pretty football? Are we going to see the same shenanigans that we saw last season? Set-pieces, corner kicks, throw-ins and all of that.'
