Quite a lot has happened since my last dispatch.

Last week, Mikel Arteta signed a new contract with the Premier League champions . Have you got tired of referring to Arsenal in that way yet? No, of course you haven’t, why would you?

Mikel’s new deal, befitting his status as the Premier League capo di tutti capi , makes him the highest-paid manager in the country and will take him to 2030 and 11 years in the hot seat. Who would have thought, when he walked back into a “dead” football club way back in 2019, we’d now be here?

He was, after all, the one with a vision and a plan to execute that vision.

Though how Willian fit into that vision was just as mystifying to all of us as it evidently was to the Brazilian. We wish you’d never signed for us too , Willian, but I’d say taking a pop at the manager with a Premier League winners’ medal still gleaming around his neck shows a characteristic lack of timing.

Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth – Pool/Getty Images

Hot on the heels of Mikel’s new deal came word that Declan Rice was about to follow his manager in signing new terms with the club. You might have thought, buoyed by so much positivity, that Rice and Arsenal would have come flying out of the blocks at home to Leeds last weekend, and you would, of course, have been wrong.

Let me tell you, it was a very unpleasant feeling to be stood in the Clock End with my cousin Josh, literally inches away from 3,000 ecstatic Yorkies as they celebrated the opening goal of the game. The worst thing about it was that it was completely merited and had been in the post since the beginning of a horrible second half.

From a tactical formation and squad depth perspective, "Arsenal keep winning while the old narratives refuse to disappear" carries substantial tournament implications for international seeding and domestic campaign momentum. Coaching staffs are heavily weighing high-pressing efficiency (PPDA), defensive transition pace, and fixture fatigue management.

Tactical analysts monitoring Live Scores metrics emphasize that squad adaptability and set-piece execution will likely dictate outcomes in high-leverage knockout environments. Real-time match telemetry and tracking data continue to inform managerial decision-making.

Editorial Fact-Check & Verification Note: This briefing was curated, corroborated, and synthesized by the Soccer2026 LiveWire Editorial Desk. Readers following "Arsenal keep winning while the old narratives refuse to disappear" are encouraged to review the full primary source coverage linked below for complete historical context, direct quotes, and official statements.