Arsenal Set to Dominate Premier League Season
Arsenal stride into this Premier League season not just as champions, but as the measuring stick for everyone else.
They look the part. They feel the part. And, right now, most observers agree they are the team to beat.
Mikel Arteta’s side, fresh from ending a 22-year wait for the title last season, have not stood still. They have strengthened a squad that already looked complete, adding Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis to a dressing room packed with quality and continuity.
The signs from August are ominous for the rest.
Arsenal had a trophy in the cabinet before a ball was kicked in the league, dismantling Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield.
They then brushed aside Coventry City at the Emirates by the same scoreline, a 3-0 that flattered the visitors more than the hosts. It could easily have been uglier.
“Yes, they are clear favourites,” Clinton McDubus, a leading football analyst and podcaster, tells DAILY POST. He does not hesitate.
“In fact, this should be a straightforward title for them.
“They have the best squad, the most settled team and the most balanced team.
“They are also the hardest team to beat and have been in title races for the past four seasons.”
The argument is simple: Arsenal are stable, everyone else is scrambling.
“When you consider that Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all have new managers who will need time to get their teams to gel, it becomes clearer.
“None of the three look ready to compete, along with Manchester United,” he stated.
United, on paper, were supposed to be part of the chasing pack. On grass, they looked anything but.
Michael Carrick’s side opened their campaign with a jolt, a 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Hull City on Saturday. Two goals conceded, no response, and questions swirling before the season has even settled.
Blip or warning sign?
“Definitely a manifestation of symptoms,” McDubus replies.
“The fact that both goals came from set pieces is a particular worry that needs addressing, but so is the lack of ideas against an organised Hull defence.
“The lack of intensity was also a factor, but that can be more easily addressed.
“Carrick has a lot of work left to do if they are to have a great season.”
Set-piece fragility, blunt attacking patterns, and a flat tempo: it is a worrying cocktail for a club that expected to close the gap, not widen it.
While United stumble, two other supposed contenders are only just stepping onto the stage.
On Sunday, Manchester City and Liverpool begin their campaigns. City host Bournemouth, the side that effectively ended their title push last term. Liverpool travel to face Newcastle United in a fixture that rarely allows for comfort.
If anyone is to trouble Arsenal, logic suggests it comes from this group, with Chelsea added into the mix.
The sense from McDubus is that United are already slipping out of that conversation.
“It looks like it. I think all three look more likely to threaten Arsenal than Manchester United, despite all having new managers.
“It’s hard to really say just how good they will be this early because we don’t have enough to work with.
“Manchester City’s performance against Arsenal, however, showed why we shouldn’t expect too much from them under Maresca.
“We already saw his flaws at Chelsea, and they were on show yet again. He doesn’t seem capable of maintaining the standards Pep set.”
City, under Enzo Maresca, are being judged against the highest possible bar: the Pep Guardiola era. Early evidence, at least in McDubus’ eyes, suggests a drop-off rather than a seamless handover.
So while Arsenal click and City search, the weekend still holds room for chaos.
Asked what other shocks might be lurking, McDubus does not rule out more turbulence at the top.
“I have a sneaky feeling we might see a surprise result at the Etihad. I can’t confidently back Liverpool to win against Newcastle either,” he said.
Arsenal may look like champions-in-waiting, but the league has a habit of tearing up scripts. The real question is not whether they start as favourites.
It is who, if anyone, can actually live with them over 38 games.
