Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit believes that it will be "difficult" for Manchester City to keep hold of their Premier League crown in the 2024-25 season amid pressure from the Gunners.
After their gripping battles for top-flight supremacy with Liverpool, Pep Guardiola's side have now faced an Arsenal-shaped title fight in the past two campaigns, narrowly coming out on top each time.
A serious injury to William Saliba derailed Arsenal's title charge in the 2022-23 season, but the Gunners took the fight for supremacy right up to the final day last season, only to come out second best again.
Since their second successive silver medal placement, Arsenal have signed David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori on permanent deals and are also working to bring Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino to the Emirates for the 2024-25 campaign.
Meanwhile, Man City have only signed winger Savinho from Troyes, while selling Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid in a big-money deal, and speculation is rife surrounding the futures of key cogs such as Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
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Petit: 'Arsenal need to do what they have been doing'
Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole with BetVictor, Petit - who was a part of the Gunners' 1997-98 title-winning squad - claimed that Arsenal simply need to continue down the same path to end 21 years of Premier League hurt, suggesting that Man City's ageing stars and imminent hearing over 115 charges could have an impact.
However, the Frenchman also insisted that the Gunners "have" to win a trophy in 2024-25 campaign to ensure that the players' ambitions are fulfilled, saying: "They have to follow what they have been doing for the last two years, I think they have improved a lot.
"Step by step they have reduced the gap to Man City. When I look to Man City, you have the speculation about the financial rules and what's going on with that. Some big players are ageing as well.
"I think they [Arsenal] have to keep exactly what they are doing, the same motivation, the same ambition, the same work altogether. They need to add a little bit more in the transfer market but for me, sooner or later, they're going to win something.
"They have to win something this season, this is something very important for Arteta and Arsenal. If you want to keep the players' ambition and the confidence from the players, you need to win silverware, this is very important for me.
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"Arsenal will win something sooner or later"
"When you look at the Premier League, I think if Arsenal keep doing exactly what they are doing, sooner or later they're going to win something. For sure, this season it's going to be difficult for City to keep their crown."
In addition to the 1997-98 Premier League title, Petit clinched one FA Cup and two Community Shields with the Gunners, while also becoming a World Cup winner and European champion with France.
Ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, Arsenal made a winning return to Emirates soil earlier this month, thrashing Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 before retaining the Emirates Cup with a 2-0 win over Lyon.
The Gunners kick off their new Premier League season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, and Arteta has been handed a significant injury boost ahead of the visit of Gary O'Neil's side.
Victory for Arsenal could also see key defender William Saliba set a new club record, as he aims to record his 50th victory from just 66 games in the red and white strip.
Ben Knapton
