Arsenal must make a clear decision on William Saliba’s persistent back problem once the World Cup concludes, L’Équipe reports. Medical staff and those close to the centre back have flagged ongoing concerns about his long-term fitness, with the player seen grimacing during parts of team training before Monday’s game.

As it stands, and has been the case for a while now, Saliba is expected to continue to play through the injury. The club will still need a formal treatment plan after the World Cup. Arsenal could continue with a conservative management strategy, but surgery has not been ruled out and remains a possible course of action.

If the issue is aggravated during the tournament, any further damage this summer could significantly delay his participation at the start of next season. The specifics of Saliba’s current ailment remain unclear at present, and it is not yet known whether this problem is connected to the back injury that sidelined him in March 2023.

Supporters will recall that Saliba missed three months in 2023 while recovering from that earlier back injury. Many fans saw his absence that season as a factor in Arsenal’s slip in the Premier League title race. Those memories contribute to the current anxiety around the possibility that a recurring condition may require more definitive treatment.

Should Saliba undergo surgery after the World Cup, he would almost certainly not be ready for the start of the 2026–27 season, although recovery timelines can vary depending on the exact nature of the intervention. Arsenal’s title defence is due to begin on August 22, a little over a month after the World Cup final on July 19. With France listed among the pre-tournament favourites, Saliba will be hoping for a deep run, perhaps lasting until the very last day.

“We want to reach another level,” Mikel Arteta declared after watching Arsenal come two miscued penalties away from a first Champions League title in the club’s history. That ambition, and the reality of the club’s recent spending, frames a summer in which significant attacking additions are reportedly on the table.

BBC Sport list Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi, Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers and Atlético Madrid’s talisman Julián Alvarez as three players on Arsenal’s “transfer wishlist.” To recruit all three would cost an obscene $376.7 million (£280 million) by the report’s estimation. Kroupi and Rogers are each given valuations of $107.6 million apiece, while Alvarez is expected to command a fee in the region of $160 million.

Recruiting any one of the three looks plausible; recruiting two or all three would require major departures to balance the books. The tactical permutations on offer, however, make clear why the targets are attractive. Proposed lineups include:

(4-4-1-1): Saka, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Trossard; Alvarez; Gyökeres.
(4-2-3-1): Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Ødegaard, Martinelli; Alvarez.
(4-3-3): Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Alvarez.

Alvarez arrives with a reputation for versatility. The delivery driver who coached Alvarez as a child did an excellent job. The wriggly ball of energy was an instant hit at Manchester City and scored at least 20 goals in each of his two seasons at Atlético Madrid. He can drift from the left, link with a fixed striker or lead the line himself. Barcelona have shown sustained interest, but the Catalan club’s ham-fisted approach, which has only served to infuriate Atlético, could alter the market dynamic.

(4-4-1-1): Saka, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Trossard; Kroupi; Gyökeres.
(4-2-3-1): Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Ødegaard, Martinelli; Kroupi.
(4-3-3): Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Kroupi.

Kroupi is a 19-year-old with a high work rate and a record-breaking debut season. He scored 13 goals from an xG of 8.4 and averaged an xG of 0.36 per 90 last term; only Antoine Semenyo out-performed his xG by a larger margin in the Premier League last season, per Opta. Morgan Rogers is viewed as a potential partner for Declan Rice as Arteta seeks players who can operate across multiple positions, a philosophy linked in the draft to the Ajax and Netherlands teams from the 1970s.

Arsenal have ended a 22-year wait to be crowned 2025–26 Premier League champions after Manchester City were held to a 1–1 draw by Bournemouth. The result, combined with the Gunners’ strong finish to the run-in, returned Arsenal to the summit and delivered the club its first top-flight crown since 2003–04.

The Gunners capitalised on a Manchester City stumble at a pivotal moment. With City needing victory to keep the title race alive for the final game of the season, the Cityzens settled for a 1–1 draw against Bournemouth that crowned Arsenal Premier League champions for the first time since 2003–04. For supporters the day ended a long wait and prompted celebrations into the north London night.

This triumph is Arsenal’s 14th English top-flight title. It is the fourth time Arsenal have won the Premier League since the competition’s inception in 1992–93, adding to three earlier Premier League successes, and it follows ten Football League First Division titles won under the competition’s predecessor.

Mikel Arteta becomes only the second manager in Arsenal history to win the Premier League, following Arsène Wenger. Wenger led Arsenal to Premier League success in 1997–98 and 2001–02, and then again in 2003–04 when his side completed the season unbeaten and became the only invincible team in Premier League history.

Arsenal’s most successful decade at the top flight came in the 1930s, when the club were crowned champions five times in that decade. Nearly a century after that run, the 2025–26 title returns Arsenal to the higher reaches of English football.

The club’s 14th top-flight crown leaves Arsenal as the third most successful team in English football history, trailing Liverpool and Manchester United on 20 titles each and placing four clear of Manchester City, who have 10 overall. In the Premier League era Arsenal’s four titles are behind Manchester United’s 13, Manchester City’s eight and Chelsea’s five.