Arsenal have been here before, and it did not end the way they wanted. In 2022/23 they stormed out of the blocks with 27 points from 10 Premier League matches, led the title race for months, and still finished second, five points behind Manchester City.

On Saturday afternoon at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta’s side arrived back on the same number. A grinding 1-0 over newly promoted Hull City did the job. Martin Ødegaard struck in the 72nd minute, reacting first after Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis had parried a Noni Madueke shot, before poking the loose ball home from close range.

It was a captain’s goal on an afternoon when Arsenal’s rhythm never clicked, and it took the champions into the November international break with nine wins and a single defeat from 10 matches, and a six-point cushion over everyone else.

Ødegaard strikes after 72 goalless minutes

For more than an hour Hull looked capable of taking something from north London. Kai Havertz had squandered a first-half one-on-one, and a loud penalty appeal was waved away in the 44th minute when VAR flagged Havertz offside in the build-up to a challenge from Nobel Mendy.

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Elliot Stroud forced a good save from David Raya at the other end. Hull head coach Sergej Jakirović was content with the shape of the performance.

“We were brave, especially in the defensive phase,” Jakirović said after the match.

Ødegaard’s intervention changed the afternoon, and Madueke could have doubled the margin with a late chance that went begging.

Defending champions arrive at a familiar number

Context matters. The 27 points in 2022/23 came in a chase; the 27 points in 2026/27 come in a defence. Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League title in May 2026 under Arteta, and the question now is whether the club can turn a familiar start into an unfamiliar back-to-back title.

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Arteta kept the focus on the group.

“We need to praise our players for the way they go about every game,” the manager said.

The six-point cushion did not shrink across the rest of the weekend. Manchester City lost at Nottingham Forest, leaving Arsenal’s nearest challengers further adrift before the international break.

Arsenal return on 21 November at St James’ Park, where they have won only once in their last four visits to Newcastle United.

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