The highlight of Arsenal's next season - the backline

The summer transfer window is officially open and as usual, the headlines are covering the most exciting potential and current transfers.

For Arsenal, names like Martin Zubimendi, Victor Gyökeres, and Šeško have all been circulating around different social media platforms. By all means, the Gunners should be targeting these players to fill in some of the gaps in the North London side, but what if a deepened midfield or a shiny, new striker won't be the highlight of their 2025-2026 season? Here's why the heart of Arsenal's next season can be found on the back line.

This season, the defence conceded 34 goals, averaging out to 0.89 goals per game, a good performance from the team that finished second behind Liverpool's impressive season. Although fans should still be pleased by this number, it's fair to say that expectations had to be reset multiple times throughout the season.

Firstly, Ben White undergoing surgery in November 2024 left Jurrien Timber as the sole full back on the right side who was able to consistently provide top class performances. Ricardo Calafiori also sat the rest of the season out due to an injury while on international duty with Italy in March. However, the primary setback for the defense came in early April as Gabriel Magalhães, Arsenal's best defender this season, pulled up with a hamstring injury that required surgery, resulting in him missing the remainder of the season.

This thinned out the back line even more, leaving them to rely on a new left-back in Myles Lewis-Skelly, a right-back having to play more minutes than expected, Jakob Kiwior to replace one of the best defenders in the league, and William Saliba, Gabriel's reliable partner in the middle. To top it all off, Saliba began to look shaky for the first time in his career, leaving many fans concerned about the team's spring performances.

As many Gooners will know, the back line from the previous season stole the show, conceding just 29 goals across the entire stint of the 2024-2025 Premier League season, a feat few teams have accomplished since the introduction of the Premier League. Even though the 2024-2025 season didn't quite live up to the same standard, here's why the 2025-2026 season could prove to be even better for Arsenal's defence.

For starters, Gabriel Magalhães will be returning with plenty of time to recover. His injury in April did not only hurt the back line, it also shot a hole in the team's confidence. If Gabriel returns to the form he found in 2024, he will surely instil the confidence the team needed at the end of the season.

Secondly, Jakub Kiwior seems to have cemented himself as a formidable starter in the Premier League. This perhaps took many Arsenal supporters by surprise, but after noteworthy performances against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Arsenal fans were convinced Kiwior had the talent to start with so many defenders injured.

Perhaps even more importantly, Arsenal's back line will finally have depth, letting Arteta establish a rotation to give the hardworking starters more rest, helping to avoid more injuries that plagued Arsenal this past season.

The team now has four quality centre backs with Gabriel, Saliba, Kiwior, and Calafiori, although the Italian can be used on the left as well, in addition to White and Timber, who provide formidable options week to week. Although we will surely see many different combinations on defence this year, the squad depth should improve the team's already impressive defence and hopefully instil confidence in the midfield and attack.

With a fully healed back line, players playing at the highest quality we have seen in their careers, and serious depth in the backline, Arsenal's defense could be the backbone of the title winning team Arsenal fans are so desperate to see.

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