Written by Rishikesh Mistry

After the first 7 premier league gameweeks, it starting to become clear who is here for business this season and on the flip side, which teams are struggling to make it work.

Let’s start at the top of the table, where we find an unlikely name, not one we have seen for a long time, Arsenal. It’s clear that this season, Arteta’s plan is working. After two 8th place finishes and narrowly missing out on the ever-so-prized champions league spot to North London rivals, finally, Arsenal fans have a glimmer of hope for this young team. Heavy investment in the summer transfer window has paid for itself in dividends, with signings from title winners Man City in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksander Zinchenko, as well as the return of Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year William Saliba, Fabio Viera from Porto, and a young Brazilian winger Marquinhos. This Arsenal team finally has a balance that fans had been longing for, for the longest time with cynicality in attack and strength in defence. Some critics have said that Arsenal are over-celebrating at this time due to their “easy” fixture, however, I’d have to say that this is far from the truth. Brentford had scored in every game until they faced Arsenal, Liverpool failed to beat both Fulham and Crystal Palace and City couldn’t triumph over Villa. So, it has to be said, if Arsenal had “easy” fixtures how do the most dominant clubs in English football in the past 4 years both fail to beat some of the clubs that Arsenal did? Overall, Arsenal supporters should be excited about the future.

Verdict: Contenders  

Prediction: Top 4

Moving down we have Man City. There is not too much to say about this team other than calling it scary. With a beast in Erling Harland in attack with 11 goals already this season, combined with the unmatched ability of Pep Guardiola, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had over 100 points at the end of the season. With a maestro in midfield, a robot in attack, and one of the most complete defences in the world, there is no doubt that this dominating team is in contention for the premier league title this season.

Verdict: Contenders

Prediction: PL Winners

Let’s go round to the other side where we find Leicester. Winners in 2016, oh how the great have fallen. Here we find a manager who is struggling to contain his frustration at the club’s transfer policy, a hierarchy trying to avoid slipping into financial trouble, and an unsettled group of players — including several who simply do not want to be there. Morale is down and the fan base is losing patience and expressing dissatisfaction with what the club is providing. There is no question Leicester have problems to address and the fear is it could get a lot worse before it starts to get better. With games against Forest, Bournemouth, and Palace for Brendan Rodger’s and his stuttering side, my prediction is that they are only heading one way.

Verdict: Pretenders

Prediction: 16th

Manchester United is next. A tale of two stories really. After a loss to Brighton and a battering by Brentford, they managed to unexpectedly bounce back at Premier League giants Liverpool. Since then, they have won all 4 of their games which included another big name at the top of the table, Arsenal, where debutant Antony showed his finishing ability as well as his useless flair. I think that United genuinely have a contending side, especially since the removal of club captain Harry Maguire and I would controversially add Ronaldo to the list as well, from the starting XI. Now the egos no longer influence the squad, it allows Ten Hag to show what he can do especially with heavy investment from the Glazers. I’m dumbfounded as to why the fans are protesting for the removal of the owners; United have the highest net spend in football in the last 10 year!

Verdict: Contenders

Prediction: 5th

Newly promoted Fulham have coined themselves as a big ‘yo-yo’ club in English football, after coming up and down into the Premier league. But this side has changed a few things since last time which means that they can actually compete in the Premier League. The first one being a new Mitrovich. After tearing up the championship last season, he has managed to carry this form into the new season scoring 6 in 7, second in the golden boot race to only Haaland. New signings have helped a lot as well, a notable name of Leno from Arsenal who helped retain a 3-2 win against Forest. A consistent starting XI and Marco Silva staying loyal to a 4-3-3 formation for the majority of the games seems to be working. After all, they did hold Liverpool to a draw and edged both Arsenal and Tottenham for late wins.

Verdict: Contenders

Prediction: 10th

Forest are another promoted side, but I don’t know what to think about them. After making 21 signings of the summer, it’s clear that they want to try and stay up, but Cooper’s side are yet to click this season. Having said that, they have shown glimpses of their attacking potential in the link-up between Gibbs White, Lingard, and Johnson. When it comes to standout players, however, there I only one name that I could put up, Dean Henderson, who has been immense for Forest this season. Despite a large number of goals against him, he has put in some fine performances and made some terrific saves. Overall, I see them as a team, that could pull off a surprise, but I don’t think they have what it needs to stay in the Prem just quite yet, but I’d be happy to be proved wrong.

Verdict: Pretenders

Prediction: Relegation

Regards,

Rishikesh Mistry