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Freepik
Morning all.
With Arsenal not playing until tomorrow lunchtime, I’m sure we’ll all be keeping an eye on the clubs who are playing today.
Chelsea take on Sunderland. Newcastle play Fulham.
Manchester United face Brighton. 5.30pm
Brentford are up against Liverpool. 8pm
Chelsea should, on paper at least, coast to victory, but the other three fixtures could go either way. I actually fancy Brentford and Brighton to win. Because of the midweek European fixtures, there’s a busy fixture list tomorrow with the standouts being our match against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa against Man City and Everton v Totts.
Whilst the media etc keep blabbing on about how Arsenal ‘have to win a trophy this season” there are other clubs in the league who will have a say in what happens over the next seven months. To think or even expect Mikel Arteta’s team to race to a title winning finish or a Championship League trophy is simply ludicrous in my opinion. There is a reason the Premier League has a reputation for being the toughest league in the game because it is.
We go to Burnley and Sunderland in November, Everton in the middle of December, Nottingham in the middle of January, Leeds at the end of January. Thankfully, we’ve already been to Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool.
At the beginning of the season, Liverpool were probably favourites to win a League title for a second time in two years but as we’ve seen, they have been struggling. Reliable players have suddenly become not so reliable and they are seeing players suffer injury. They didn’t have that kind of bad luck last season, unlike so many other clubs in this league. I’m not for one minute suggesting they are out of the title race because that would be foolish in October but it just goes to show that at anytime within a ten month season, things can change.
I don’t think there is a so called favourite to win the league this time around. Yes, there are a number of clubs looking like candidates right now but again, it’s October, far too early to even be thinking about May. Ourselves, City, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Liverpool and even Sunderland and Totts are in and around the top four, but as said, things can change from one week to another.
That’s because this league is so strong, it’s full of clubs who on their day can beat any opposition. I think that’s how Mikel Arteta approaches games too, it’s certainly how he comes across in his pre match press conferences. He’s respectful of the opposition, what they’ve done so far and what threat they pose. No game is a turn up and win, mind you, it never should be but in the past perhaps Arsenal have been guilty of thinking that. Not on Arteta’s watch though, that’s not in his DNA in my opinion.
Tomorrow’s game will be really tough but more on that, well, tomorrow.
Catch up in the comments.