The Premier League is back! The moment all English football fans have been waiting for is finally here. The start of a new season is always exciting, but this year it's doubly so for Arsenal fans. In the very first game, Mikel Arteta's squad will head to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United at home! However, the interesting and challenging Arsenal draw doesn't end there. Before the end of September, the Gunners will face matches against Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle. The full Arsenal Premier League fixture list can be found HERE. There is definitely something to look forward to. But for now, let's take a look together at the Gunners' first league match, which kicks off on Sunday, 17 August 2025 at 17:30 (CET) at the ground of traditional rival Manchester United.
Form
Since both teams the first competitive match awaitsso from my point of view, there's no point in discussing their form. Although both Arsenal and Manchester players played a few preparatory matches, we can't draw any big conclusions from the preparation. The only games that at least a little bit worth mentioning are the rehearsals. Arsenal at Emirates Stadium as part of the traditional Emirates Cup defeated Athletic Bilbao of Spain and won 3:0 (The Gunners were also more successful in the subsequent penalty shootout). Manchester United just before the start of the new season at their home stadium challenged Italian Fiorentina, with whom they drew 1:1 in normal time. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Ruben Amorim's men were more successful, and so after a draw in normal time, they at least partially mended their appetite. Can anything be predicted from these results in the context of Manchester United's upcoming match against Arsenal? In my opinion, rather not, and so we can move on.
Team and expected line-up
Mikel Arteta has at his disposal ahead of the new Premier League season almost complete cadre. I mean, from a medical perspective, what happens on the transfer market before its closure (1 September 2025 at 12:00 CET) is a question of. The final weeks and especially days can be very wild and unpredictable on the transfer market. But back to the squad that the Spanish manager will have at his disposal. As I have already hinted, the Gunners' squad is almost empty. The only player in the A team who is not yet ready to play is Gabriel Jesuswho's still recovering from knee surgery.
Videos are appearing on social media showing which Arsenal players have travelled to Manchester. Specifically, these names are: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford, Ben White, Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martín Zubimendi, Martin Ødegaard, Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres. The squad is missing one of the summer signings ahead of the Old Trafford game Christian Nørgaard or Oleksandr Zinchenko. On the other hand, a rather surprising member of the Manchester crew is fifteen-year-old megatalent Max Dowman.
David Raya
The position of the number one goalkeeper is clear before the 2025/2026 season. Despite the fact that Arsenal strengthened Kepa Arrizabalaga in the summer, the clear number one remains David Raya, who should feature between the three sticks in the first round of the Premier League at Old Trafford.
Jurriën Timber
Ben White and Jurriën Timber will fight for the number one position on the right side of the defense. In this case, Mikel Arteta is comfortable with the choice of right-back, because it is safe to say that both players are players for the base. That's why I expect them to rotate frequently at this position throughout the season. As for the game against Manchester, I suspect the Dutch footballer will be preferred.
William Saliba
At the heart of the defence, at the stopper positions, Arsenal have two gems in William Saliba and Gabriel. Their absence from the field can only be expected in case of injury or to conserve strength during a demanding schedule. So against Manchester United, William Saliba should definitely not be missing from Mikel Arteta's starting eleven.
Gabriel
The same is true of Gabriel as it is of William Saliba. The Brazilian defender is one of Arsenal's main defensive figures. And not only that. His strength in the air is also a great weapon in the offense. Against Manchester City, Gabriel should start alongside his French teammate from the first minute.
Myles Lewis-Skelly
The situation on the left side of the defence is similar to the right side. Myles Lewis-Skelly vs Riccardo Calafiori, that's how Arsenal's season should look like in terms of the battle for the left edge of defence. Two footballers who definitely have the chops to play in the North London outfit's starting XI. Sure, Oleksandr Zinchenko is still in the squad, but he is likely to leave the club later in the summer. Which of the aforementioned duo will start in the starting lineup in the 2025/2026 Premier League first round against Manchester United? Personally, my money is on the English youngster, but the chances of both are pretty even from my point of view.
Martín Zubimendi
Martín Zubimendi quickly made Thomas' departure a thing of the past with his performances in preparation and became a big favourite among the fans almost immediately. The reason is simple, quality. The Spanish footballer should be first choice at defensive/defensive midfielder, so it would surprise me greatly if he was missing from Arsenal's starting eleven on United's soil.
Declan Rice
One of the two main drivers of the Canaries' midfield and one of the most important members of Mikel Arteta's lineup overall. Declan Rice is one of the North London club's leaders on and off the pitch. A lineup without him in a game like this is probably something no Canaries fan can imagine.
Martin Ødegaard
No one else should jump into the top ten position other than team captain Martin Ødegaard. Despite the media reports and opinions during the summer that he was not a suitable captain for Arsenal, a recent vote in the Gunners' dressing room showed the complete opposite. As confirmed by Mikel Arteta himself, the cabinet has de facto voted unanimously that the Norwegian playmaker will continue to wear the captain's armband in the 2025/2026 season.
Bukayo Saka
Until recently Arsenal's biggest offensive star, at least on paper. Now the biggest "spotlight" the new reinforcement, Viktor Gyökeres, takes significantly. And this could paradoxically play into the hands of the English winger. In practically every game, his person was doubled or tripled by the opponents when defending. Now, with the arrival of the Swedish marksman, he could have much more space. Bukayo Saka will undoubtedly be one of the Gunners' biggest offensive weapons in the upcoming season.
Gabriel Martinelli
Although I don't think he's the ideal choice, I expect Gabriel Martinelli to start on the left wing. I certainly don't want to write the Brazilian off before the season starts, but he didn't put in any dazzling performances at the end of last season or in the build-up, so I'm of the opinion that he would benefit from starting a few games on the bench. Pure and simple, if a player has to fight for his spot in the starting lineup, he'll get a little more out of himself. Let's see who ends up getting priority on the left side of the pitch in the first round, Mikel Arteta has quite a few candidates this time around.
Viktor Gyökeres
Although I have seen speculation and conjecture somewhere about whether the Swedish striker should start against Manchester City from the first minute, from my point of view there is nothing to discuss. Arsenal didn't buy the player that Gyökeres is for the reason that he sits on the bench in such games, whether it's the first or last round of the season. In my opinion, we will see the burly Swede in the starting eleven on Sunday.
About the opponent
Manchester United is in the rebuilding phase and that's what he's doing in the transfer market so far. Arrivals of big names, departures of problem players, which Portuguese manager Rúben Amorim does not count in his plans. No wonder, Manchester United's league position last year (15th place) was simply an embarrassment for a team of this calibre. United's management, meanwhile, has focused primarily on strengthening the offensive line. From Wolverhampton came Matheus Cunha, from Brentford Bryan Mbeumo and from Leipzig Beinamin Sheskowho has been linked in the media with a move to the Emirates Stadium for a long time.
Many media outlets are presenting Manchester's battle with Arsenal as duel between forwards Viktor Gyökeres and Benjamin Šešek. I probably don't need to go into their stories too much, but just to be sure. The Swedish marksman played under Ruben Amorim, the current Manchester United manager, during his time at Sporting Lisbon, and so there was strong speculation that Gyökeres could move to United after the Portuguese moved to the Manchester bench. However, that didn't happen. For the lanky Slovenian striker, it looked quite the opposite. Mikel Arteta had tried to secure the services of Cesc earlier and it was assumed that it was during the summer transfer window that Arsenal management would complete his arrival. Arsenal eventually opted to engage Viktor Gyökers and Benjamin Šeško then rather surprisingly headed to Manchester United. Let's see how both will fare in the Premier League and whether they will assert themselves in the first round, when they will play against each other symbolically.
Match
It's hard to predict how the first game of the new season will look from either side. However the paper favourite is Arsenalwho should outplay Manchester at home thanks to their quality, experience and chemistry. But whether Arsenal will be able to achieve the game dominance and then translate it into the necessary goals remains a question. Although the opinions of various experts differ, Arsenal should manage to win the match with three points. On the other hand, Ruben Amorim's squad has been reinforced by several sound offensive names, so we can expect danger from the home side United as well. We definitely have something to look forward to in the first round!
At the very end, I can't leave out my traditional tip on the exact result. Personally, I believe that Arsenal enter the new Premier League season with a 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
Next match
Arsenal's next game is Saturday 23 August 2025 from 18:30when the Emirates Stadium welcomes in the Premier League newcomer from Leeds.
See you next time, I'll look forward to it!
You might be interested in
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- Arsenal sign Christian Nørgaard from Brentford
- Noni Madueke swapped Chelsea for Arsenal
- Cristian Mosquera strengthens the Gunners' defence
Editor, administrator and editor of the True Gunner Diary website, but above all a devoted Arsenal fan. I started with sports articles at the Tipsport bookmaker, where I have published more than 100 blogs. If you want to know more about me, check out the section of the same name here on the site.