Our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2026/27 team previews begin with Mikel Arteta’s champions, Arsenal.
Here, we discuss their best FPL picks for the upcoming campaign, predict the line-up for Gameweek 1, review pre-season, detail their set-piece takers, assess the summer transfer activity and more.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
TITLE FAVOURITES + STABILITY
Arsenal remain the team to beat this season.
They are the early favourites to win back-to-back Premier League titles, and have been boosted by the addition of Bruno Guimaraes (£7.0m) from Newcastle United this summer. His arrival should allow Declan Rice’s (£7.5m) workload to be managed carefully.
Another new arrival in north London is Christos Tzolis (£6.5m), who has joined from Club Brugge. He scored 22 goals and supplied 29 assists in 52 matches across all competitions last season.
With Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all undergoing the upheaval of managerial changes, it feels like Arsenal are in a good place right now.
They proved last season, when amassing 63 fixtures across four competitions, that they can handle the strains of competing on multiple fronts, too.
LEAGUE-BEST DEFENCE
Arsenal kept the most clean sheets (19, see image below) and conceded the fewest goals (27) in the Premier League last season.
David Raya (£6.0m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£8.0m) were subsequently the highest-scoring players in their respective positions.
Jurrien Timber (£6.5m), Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m), Ben White (5.5m) and William Saliba (£6.0m) all averaged 4.5 or more points per start, too.
Whether it’s from Gameweek 1 or further down the line, FPL managers will surely need coverage of this backline.
TRUSTWORTHY FLAT-TRACK BULLIES
Many FPL managers like to use fixtures to steer their picks, hopping on players when they embark on a favourable run.
And Arsenal rewarded that policy last season. They were unbeaten against all teams finishing seventh or below, winning every single one of their home fixtures against these sides.
Compare that to their encounters with the top six, when they took just 11 points from a possible 30.
You’d expect some difference, of course (these are the toughest games, after all) but not quite so stark.
REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
KEY INJURIES AT THE BACK + WORLD CUP EXERTIONS
The back injury that will keep Saliba out for an unknown period is a concern.
Timber also has a groin issue and is “weeks away” from a return, which could impact Arsenal’s ability to keep early clean sheets.
Mikel Arteta may acquire a temporary replacement for Saliba, but it’s hardly ideal preparation for Arsenal’s title defence.
In addition, key players such as Rice and Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) have only just returned to training after the World Cup.
OVER-RELIANCE ON SET PLAYS?
Arsenal scored 25 goals from set plays in 2025/26, the most of any team. Just 59% of their goals came from open play, the third-lowest such rate in the league.
Above: Teams sorted by set play goals (Total) in 2025/26
In recent times, the Gunners’ set-pieces have dominated the Premier League, but can they maintain that dominance from such situations?
This season, referees have been told to focus more on grappling during set-pieces, so it will be interesting to see if this has any impact on Arsenal.
ARSENAL: SUMMER TRANSFER ACTIVITY
Key Transfers In:
| DEF | Piero Hincapie | Bayer Leverkusen (£34.5m) |
| GK | Illan Meslier | Leeds United (free) |
| MID | Christos Tzolis | Club Brugge (£34m) |
| MID | Bruno Guimaraes | Newcastle United (£75m) |
Key Transfers Out:
| GK | Karl Hein | Werder Bremen (£2.6m) |
| MID | Leandro Trossard | Besiktas (£15.3m) |
| DEF | Jakub Kiwior | Porto (£14.6m) |
| MID | Christian Norgaard | Everton (£7m) |
As well as Tzolis and Bruno, Arsenal have made the loan signing of Piero Hincapie (£5.5m) permanent and added Illan Meslier (£5.0m) as a back-up goalkeeper.
Tzolis and Bruno effectively take the places of Leandro Trossard and Christian Norgaard (£5.0m), who have departed this summer.
ARSENAL: PRE-SEASON FPL REPORTS
| Jul 25 | Arsenal 3-0 MK Dons (h) | Nelson (Tzolis assist), Nwaneri, O’Neill (Agustien assist) |
| Aug 1 | Girona 1-4 Arsenal (n) | Havertz (Dowman assist), Tzolis (Calafiori assist), Dowman (Lewis-Skelly assist), Jesus (White assist) |
| Aug 5 | Arsenal 1-3 Real Betis (n) | Hincapie (Tzolis assist) |
| Aug 9 | Arsenal 2-3 Borussia Dortmund (h) | Nwaneri (Tzolis assist), Gyokeres pen (Tzolis assist) |
| Aug 12 | Arsenal 1-1 Como (h) | Lewis-Skelly (Martinelli assist) |
| Aug 16 | Arsenal v Manchester City (n) |
Most attacking returns: Tzolis (1 goal, 4 assists), Nwaneri (2 goals), Dowman (1 goal, 1 assist), Lewis-Skelly (1 goal, 1 assist)
OPENING FIXTURES
It’s a mixed bag before the September international break.
There’s an enticing-looking opening-day encounter with Coventry City, although some of the sought-after picks of previous seasons – eg Rice, Saka – may have managed minutes after summer exertions.
A trickier four-match period follows. As well as the Gameweek 3 hosting of a new-look Chelsea, who surely will be trickier foes than they were in 2025/26, there are three trips to sides that qualified for Europe.
Arsenal didn’t concede a single goal in the corresponding Gameweek 5-8 fixtures last season.
PENALTY + SET-PIECE TAKERS
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