After three second-place finishes, Arsenal finally start a Premier League season as the reigning champions. Their clash with Coventry City on Friday night will be the third time they have opened a Premier League season in the last five years, doing so against Brentford and Crystal Palace in 2021 and 2022, but this time they will boast golden badges on their sleeves.Here, Art de Roché looks ahead to the new season.What are the expectations inside the club?Arsenal will not only be looking to retain the league title for the first time since 1935 , but take even bigger strides in dominating English football and breaking new ground in Europe. Mikel Arteta has repeatedly spoken of a desire to widen the margins between his team and the opposition this summer, which would be welcome considering how tight and tense most of their title-winning campaign was.There will also be hope that their Champions League progress of quarter-finals in 2024, semi-finals in 2025 and the final in 2026 could help them take that final step in Madrid on June 5, 2027.Who have they signed?In chronological order, Piero Hincapie’s loan move from Bayer Leverkusen became permanent, Illan Meslier joined as a free agent after leaving Leeds United, Christos Tzolis signed for €40million from Club Brugge in July and their long pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United came to an end earlier this month.Christos Tzolis is an exciting new arrival at Arsenal this season (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)What is their transfer priority before the window closes?Arsenal are still keen to add a defender and an attacker to their ranks.Their desire for a defender came after William Saliba aggravated a back issue he had been carrying for months while at the World Cup, something that will keep him out for an extended period. Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa is Arsenal’s top defensive target as Bayer Leverkusen have no intention of selling Jarell Quansah.In attack, Arsenal are still keen on Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz and Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez. Both were deemed not for sale earlier in the window, but Arsenal are waiting to see if the market renders one available. Otherwise, they will have to move on to other targets.Arsenal have been linked with a move for Julian Alvarez this summer (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)What else is new?Arsenal’s squad has not changed too much in the main, which should be seen as an advantage when mounting a title defence. Most of their changes have come off the pitch, which we will get to later. On it though, their subtle personnel changes should be beneficial.Who’s been the best player in pre-season?Tzolis has arguably been Arsenal’s most consistent performer. The winger arrived at Arsenal in good shape having already participated in two weeks of pre-season with Club Brugge and has hit the ground running. The 24-year-old has been efficient in the final third, contributing goals and assists, while being composed and attentive with and without the ball in deeper areas.