According to Sky Sports, when Arteta first arrived at Arsenal, he proposed a five-step plan to restore the crisis-stricken club to glory. Now they are at step five: establishing a dynasty.

The report states that before this, the core of steps one to four was to help Arsenal regain the form of the Wenger era and win major trophies again.

With his team back on top of the Premier League, Arteta now wants to achieve something great that Wenger never did.

The last time an Arsenal team successfully defended a top-flight title was when the Gunners completed a league three-peat, concluding in 1935. Even Wenger's double-winning squad and the "Invincibles" couldn't win the league again immediately after their record-breaking year.

In pre-match speeches, Arteta often used creating history as a key motivator for the team, and there's no doubt that over the next nine months, he will instill the goal of "achieving back-to-back titles" throughout the squad.

But building a dynasty and writing history are not the only goals Arsenal is pursuing this season. Although the team is the English league champion and many analysts expect them to win again, there are still areas where the team needs to improve compared to last season.

Arsenal's performance last year was memorable, but if their attacking efficiency had been higher, last season could have been perfect.

The joyous scenes of last season – including countless celebrations inside and outside the Emirates Stadium and around the world – masked the defeat in the Champions League final. In that match, after Arsenal took the lead, they failed to register a single shot on target for the next 114 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain.

Arteta's team missed another chance to make history, which also showed that despite the team's excellent defensive performance, their forward play was still predictable, and the team's ability to create chances and score from settled play was questioned.

Not just in the Champions League final, Arsenal's shortcomings in this area were evident throughout the season. Arsenal's defense and set-piece performance were outstanding, but their data from settled play was unsatisfactory.

Despite Arsenal's success last season, several key attacking metrics from settled play did not rank in the top three in the Premier League. The data wasn't terrible, but it's a clear area that needs improvement.

The question is whether they can address these weaknesses this season and become less predictable. The 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield was an early sign of progress, with Arsenal dominating the entire match and all three goals coming from settled play.

However, during this summer's transfer window, doubts arose about whether the team's attacking efficiency could be improved, and where to seek improvement, especially in the forward line.

Morgan Rogers was initially the team's top transfer target, but then Chelsea signed him from Aston Villa for £117 million. The team then pursued Vinicius, which was initially an exciting transfer story, but Vinicius chose to remain at Real Madrid, dashing Arsenal's dream and forcing them to re-evaluate their transfer strategy.

Tsolis was Arsenal's first non-goalkeeper signing after the transfer window opened, brought in as a direct replacement for Trossard. Apart from this, Arsenal started the new season with the exact same attacking players as they finished last season.

Arsenal still has time to make adjustments in the transfer window. The team's pursuit of Eze late last season also proved that players can join near the end of the transfer window and make crucial contributions to a title challenge.

However, with tricky opponents like Aston Villa and Chelsea in the first three matches of the new season, Arsenal's performance will be under a microscope from the start.

Arsenal's solution doesn't necessarily rely solely on transfers.

This summer, Arteta pointed out that transfers are not the only way to solve Arsenal's existing problems.

"We will get stronger and stronger," he said during preseason. "Whether it's by unlocking the potential of existing players, taking them to a new level, or by continuing to sign players through the still-open transfer market, we are optimistic about it."

Arsenal still has room for growth this season, and players who were already in the squad last season can contribute more, just like new signings. The midfielders and attackers signed last summer had decent seasons, but weren't spectacular.

Because of this, none of these four players started in Arsenal's Champions League final in Budapest, with Arteta opting for his more familiar and longer-serving core. If any of these attackers can build on their performances from last season, Arsenal's attacking prowess could reach another level.

The team faces not only a goal-scoring problem but also a chance-creation problem. The team's main attacking orchestrator, Ødegaard, started only 16 league games last season. Even so, his average chances created per 90 minutes still ranked third in the Premier League.

If the Arsenal captain can get more playing time, the team's attacking output will increase. In the high-stakes Community Shield victory over Manchester City, Ødegaard was Arsenal's best player. Therefore, if the Norwegian international can maintain his consistent performance from the World Cup and start the new season in hot form, it would be almost as beneficial as a blockbuster signing.

The arrival of Guimaraes will further enhance Arsenal's attacking creativity. This player, who transferred from Newcastle United, is Arsenal's second most expensive signing in history.

The Brazilian is a tough tackler who can strengthen the team's defense, and last season, Guimaraes's ability to break down opponent defenses with his passing ranked him among the top ten in the league.

It's worth noting that the team's previous top transfer target, Rogers, also ranked high in this ability, which reflects the qualities Arteta looks for in players during the transfer window.

"He's a player with excellent timing and intuition in reading the game, capable of both winning the ball back and quickly driving the attack forward," Arteta commented after signing Guimaraes.

"He's very good at threading through passes, navigating through the gaps in opponent defenses, and also making runs in behind the defense.

He also poses a goal threat, has a keen nose for goal, times his runs into the box perfectly, and has the ability to finish."

Last season, no player in the Arsenal squad delivered defense-splitting attacking passes as frequently as Guimaraes. This season, if the Brazilian can consistently partner with Ødegaard, Arsenal's attacking strength might exceed most people's expectations.

This week, Arteta also signaled that he wants to see a different Arsenal this season. When asked if the team was "defending" the Premier League title, he corrected the statement, saying that he and the team were "challenging" for another Premier League title.

With Ødegaard's return to form and the additions of new signings like Guimaraes and Tsolis, will we see a more open-playing Arsenal? To retain their title, their attacking approach might need to become bolder.

Amidst the overwhelming transfer discussions, one thing has been somewhat overlooked: William Saliba will be out for an extended period due to a back injury. A key member of Arsenal's formidable defensive system will miss several matches at the start of the season.

Without William Saliba starting, Arsenal's win rate dropped from 68% to 50%.

Saliba is often called the "Rolls-Royce" of the defense, and some describe him as a "cheat code" due to his speed in neutralizing counter-attacks and transitions. No other player in the Arsenal squad can consistently provide such ability at the highest level of competition.

Arsenal also has Gabriel, one of the league's most outstanding defenders. But Timber is still working to regain his fitness, and Ben White is hampered by injuries, so Arsenal's defense entering the new season has less overall experience than before. Even if Konsa quickly transfers from Aston Villa, the team cannot overly rely on its previous strong defensive advantage in the early part of the season.

Despite these potential issues, Arsenal should remember that they are starting the new season as defending English champions.

Before this summer's transfers began, this team was already strong, and they have added some quality players, but the transfer results so far have not met expectations.

Among the so-called Premier League "big six," Arsenal is also the only team that has not undergone a managerial change or squad rebuild, starting this season's journey from a higher point of success.

Because of this, the core idea conveyed by Arteta and Arsenal this summer is iterative upgrading, rather than a complete demolition and rebuilding. The competitive environment this Arsenal team faces is now different.

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