I went for a walk with management last night. We talked a little about how long that “good vibes” feeling can last. I said a little longer, but I feel like the “party vibe” is starting to die down now. Yesterday I walked through Uxbridge again and saw a few Arsenal shirts, but they are starting to disappear a bit as people realize we all have to get back to normal at some point.
And inevitably, things will now start to turn to “how can we do better?” » when it comes to Europe, but also how we keep our competitors at bay. I feel like there is a huge opportunity for us next season, given the transitional state of so many Premier League clubs. I was asked to give my views for BBC Sport on the risks Arteta may need to take to ensure we stay at the top next season. As I said in the article, this doesn’t have to be a revolution. There will have to be a certain churn rate; we will have to lose some players that we all love, but we also have to trust that those who arrive could be even better.
But what are the risks that our competitors could fear?
Let’s go through the league by standings and see where each team stands, shall we?
Man City
New manager and uncertainty as to whether or not key players will be retained. Maresca is a guy who I think will do a good job at City, but will he be able to pilot them as much as Guardiola? Will it trigger the same period of domination as before? And will the players react as they did with Pep? How is following the greatest manager in the history of English football going for Maresca? There is no doubt that he is in the right mold; he was part of Pep’s team for a few years so clearly knows the infrastructure quite well, but IS THAT enough?
He also has players like Rodri – a key pillar of this team – who talk about ‘Everything about my future will wait until after the World Cup’. – that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement that everything is perfect, is it?
I didn’t even mention the 115…
Men Plain
Much is made of United’s resurgence under Carrick, but it is well established that they have played the fewest games a team can play in a season. They were knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup at the first attempt for them, and likewise in the EFL Cup, meaning they effectively played on average one game per season for the entire season. It certainly won’t happen next season. Michael Carrick will have a whole season to deal with, not just the new manager’s approach, and I know some fans are wondering if it’s a bit of Solskjaer going on. To be fair to him, I think he is a little more tactically astute than the Norwegian, but let’s just wait and see what happens when the first two defeats come for United, having played in the Champions League and Premier League and not had any time off. Luke Shaw has played the most games for them – can he stay fit? Will Bruno Fernandez have another stat-building season at age 31? Casemiro played 35 times and left. They have quite a few questions that need to be answered, I think.
Villa Aston
Villa are odd, as they are just as likely to have another stormy season as they are to completely crash out under Emery. Do they leave after a victory in the Europa League? Well, they are now in the Champions League so their team rotation won’t be as easy as in Europe’s second competition. When they were in the Champions League last season, they finished sixth, although it was a final day defeat to Man United that kept them out of the Champions League, with Newcastle taking top spot. But if the news that we’re sniffing out Morgan Rogers is true, then if they lose him, that poses a big threat that disappears from their team. In all competitions this season, he has recorded 14 goals and 12 assists from midfield. Replacing that could be difficult, unless Villa can resist the team’s overtures (that won’t just be of interest to us). They made good profits from the Champions League last season, but the Europa League won’t have brought them as much (as this article points out). I don’t know enough about Villa’s financial situation to know if they will be able to resist acquiring one or two big names.
Liverpool
Once Slot is gone, they will take Iraola back, which could turn out to be a very good decision. I like it; I think he’s a smart guy who did wonders at Bournemouth, but does that translate to Liverpool? I actually think it’s a better decision than if they had gone with Alonso, because Iraola knows the league. But there is no Salah. Virgil van Dijk turns 35 in July and has played every Premier League game. Time catches up with us all. Tony Adams retired at age 35. At 34 years old and during the 2000/01 season, he played 38 matches in all competitions. During the 2001/02 season he made 13 appearances in all competitions, as age and injuries caught up with him. It might not happen to van Dijk, but I’m sure if I looked hard enough I would find plenty of examples to show that at this age pace, injuries and other aspects catch up with players. Konate still has an uncertain future, Robertson is gone, Leoni has had a long-term injury, Joe Gomez is injury prone, as is Bradley, and Frimpong seems to be a guy that Liverpool fans don’t have as much faith in. Ekitike was a good buy. Isak could suddenly find himself unscathed, but there are so many questions about Liverpool that Iraola will have to answer.
I’m not going to go through the whole league so I’ll leave it there for today, but Bournemouth have a new manager, Sunderland and Brighton have to deal with European football, Chelsea finished 10th for goodness sake! So when you look at where we are right now, you have to say we feel like we’re in a good position.
Let’s just hope the club makes the right decisions this summer to put us in an even more dominant position.
We’ll all see you tomorrow.
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