Phil Jones: Why Arsenal Will Win 2025–26 Premier League Title
Arsenal are the favourites to win this season’s Premier League title because of the unrivalled versatility of Mikel Arteta’s squad, claims former Manchester United and England defender Phil Jones.
While defending champions Liverpool are struggling and with regular contenders Manchester City looking below their best, Arsenal have surged ahead in the title race, dominating in defence and finding ways to win even the trickiest of fixtures.
Arteta has faced criticism for a perceived reliance on set-pieces, free kicks and throw-ins, but for Jones, this is only part of what makes the Gunners so strong.
“I enjoy it,” Jones said of modern football in his first appearance as a regular voice on Sports Illustrated Football Club, the new weekly show from Sports Illustrated.
“I look at football now and I think I’m glad that throw-ins are back in. I’m glad that deep free kicks and duels are back in the game and it’s not a game of chess all the time because that’s what we loved, we grew up watching and loved so much and, you know, it makes it so competitive now in games.
“I think the best thing you can say about Arsenal at the minute is is that they’re suitable and adaptable to any situation in game. So if they need to get ugly, they can get ugly. If they need to play their way through the thirds, they can play their way through. If they need to play on transition, they can do that.
“They can play any team at any time for any sort of strategy they want to play. And I think that’s the biggest compliment I can pay Arsenal. And that’s why, for me, they will win the league this year. I think this is the year they win it.”
Jones: Physicality on Another Level Compared to Previous Eras
Jones, a key squad player in United’s 2012–13 Premier League title triumph, enjoyed a whirlwind start to his career as he rose through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers.
The centre back quickly attracted global attention and was touted as a future superstar of the game. He would go on to make 229 appearances for the Red Devils across 12 years, but Jones believes he may not reached those heights had he been playing in the current era.
“When I got into Blackburn’s first team, I thought I was good enough technically,” he reflected. “I thought I was good enough, but I was nowhere near sort of the athleticism that some of these players ... the strength that some of these players now are coming into the team with, I didn’t have that.
“I think to myself now, if I was coming through in this day and age ... yes, I think I would have had a good career still, but I’m not sure if I’d have played at that top, top level. I’m not trying to do myself a disservice.
“I think the the strength of these boys coming through now is incredible, at 16, 17 years old, and you have to have that as a defender. You have to be quick now. You don’t really get away with being slow or not being able to play high up the pitch. Teams like to play on the halfway line. If you haven’t got the capability of sprinting back 30, 40 yards, you’ve got a problem.”
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