Arsenal’s title defence begins with fitness concerns and a Vinícius dilemma

Arsenal begin their pre-season programme in earnest on Saturday evening, facing Girona after a 3-0 win over MK Dons in a training-ground friendly last weekend. The Premier League champions will want to show that last season’s success was not a one-off.

According to The Guardian, the scale of the task should not be underestimated. Retaining the English title is incredibly difficult for anyone other than Manchester City; no club has done it since Manchester United won three in succession from 2007 to 2009. Chelsea have managed it once, Liverpool have not done so for more than 40 years, and it is nearly a century since Arsenal retained the crown.

The report also highlights two concerns facing Mikel Arteta: key players piled up extra minutes at the World Cup and need to be kept fit, while the question of signing Vinícius Júnior is complicated by the fact that such a move would smash Arsenal’s wage structure.