What fans of the Premier League big guns are thinking before the start of the new season
Can Zubimendi form an effective partnership with Declan Rice and impose himself as the midfield fulcrum? File picture: John Walton/PA
Optimism abounds in London N5. I had some doubts about Arteta’s ability to keep motivating this group, but this summer’s heavy spend should fix that, reinvigorating the squad. Only time will tell whether the new faces can gel and develop chemistry, but it’s a relief to have the clamour for a centre-forward answered at last. Hopefully come May we’ll be lauding Victor’s veni, vidi, vici Premier League triumph.
Keeping our star turns fit – Gabriel, Rice and Saka – remains crucial. Beyond that there are lots of unknowns. Can Ødegaard rekindle his role as our creator-in-chief, or will Nwaneri force his way in? Can Zubimendi form an effective partnership with Declan Rice and impose himself as our midfield fulcrum? Will Martinelli, Trossard and Madueke chip in with the 10‑15 goals required to alleviate our reliance on Saka, thereby reducing the burden on Gyökeres? And how much will we see of our 15-year-old prodigy Max Dowman?
Nobody will complain if the spending stops here, after half a dozen new arrivals already. But there would also be few arguments if the club managed to land an Eze-like bonus too.
Gyökeres: guaranteed to be the subject of intense media scrutiny. Our days of speculating about what might have been if only we’d signed a striker sooner are over. Now it’s time to find out.
I’m a traditionalist; I think our kits should always be red and white and yellow and blue. This season there’s an all-blue away kit and a white third. Marvellous fashion items, maybe, but if we don’t win in them, they’ll fast lose their allure.
Based on the law of averages, I’ll be right one of these days.
1. Arsenal; 2. Liverpool; 3. Man City; 4. Chelsea.
18. Sunderland; 19. Leeds; 20. Burnley.
Scott Parker.
Bernard Azulay onlinegooner.com; @GoonerN5
I’m cautiously optimistic. The players should be on a high after the Club World Cup, and hopefully Maresca will expand on his tactics and give us the exciting football we all want. This side is totally capable of delivering it. A strong finish to last season should enable us to push on; top four is the minimum expectation, plus a strong showing in the Champions League.
Key again will be James, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo and Palmer, with a lot of rotation among the rest of the squad. I don’t think we’ll get the 30-goal-a-season striker our support craves but João Pedro and Delap should be entertaining, while the stand-out player among the promising youngsters is Estêvão. Weaknesses? While Robert Sánchez had a good end to the season in goal I still see him as an issue.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mike Maignan join us. And Fofana’s ongoing injury concerns may mean we dip in to the market again. But realistically the rest of the window is more about who leaves: Sterling, Chilwell, Disasi and Nkunku are among a long list looking for exits. Maresca’s biggest challenge will again be keeping everyone happy and he won’t have the luxury of the Conference League to give squad players opportunities.
Cole Palmer is becoming the side’s biggest personality, whether that’s intentional or not. His pre- and post-match interviews are gold compared to the usual media-trained Q&As. His double act with Tosin will hopefully encourage others to come out of their shells.
It’s a decent blue. I’d move the tacky Club World Cup badge to the sleeve as it will all look a bit busy if/when we get a new sponsor.
1. Liverpool; 2. Manchester City; 3. Chelsea; 4. Arsenal.
18. West Ham; 19. Sunderland; 20. Burnley.
Daniel Farke.
Paul Baker (in memory of Trizia Fiorellino)
We’ve made some great signings, raided the Bundesliga for Frimpong, Wirtz and Ekitiké and swooped south for Kerkez, with more to come. Our target is clear then: to finish top again and go further in Europe. And we must try without one of our stars, Diogo Jota, whose loss is immeasurable, of course to his family first and foremost. What he meant to the boss, the team, each individual player and the supporters has been evident in the outpourings of love and respect shown in these past weeks. We won’t forget him and in doing all we can to succeed we will honour his memory.
The new signings and how quickly they settle will be vital, but I imagine the influence of Alisson, Van Dijk, Salah and Mac Allister will continue to make the team tick. Weak links can only be in defence if multiple injuries hit at once. The 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha has dazzled in pre-season and I expect he will play a some part, albeit sporadically, and Trey Nyoni continues to look the real deal.
Isak has four goals in six games against us. It would be good to see him score in a red shirt. We definitely need support at the back, too. We’re supposedly monitoring Guéhi at Palace, who is in his last year of his contract, and Parma’s Giovanni Leoni, 18 – one for seasons to come.
Arne Slot. His summer Ibiza jaunt was picked up on social media, and he’s becoming ever more demonstrative on the touchline.
Yes, we’re back with Adidas – the three stripes come with a ton of glorious memories – and it has a traditional feel to it, no fancy detail or frothy, unnecessary collar. A shirt of champions.
1. Liverpool; 2. Manchester City; 3. Arsenal; 4. Chelsea.
18. West Ham; 19. Leeds; 20. Burnley.
Scott Parker.
Steph Jones
I think most people seem to be underrating City going into the new season. Liverpool have obviously done eye-catching business and from a position of strength, too. But City have filled some key holes (such as left-back, central midfield) and bolstered the squad in terms of depth, which was a big problem last season. The target has to be a serious and sustained challenge for the title, plus going deep in the Champions League.
Rodri’s fitness will be fundamental. We’re better placed to cope without him this campaign, but he is obviously brilliant and makes an enormous difference to how we play. We need more from Haaland this season, both in terms of performances and output (as mad as that may sound!). And I’m hopeful that Oscar Bobb should have the breakthrough season injury robbed him of in 2024-25.
The big hole is undoubtedly right-back. Kyle Walker has moved on and we haven’t replaced him. Tino Livramento was the top target, but it sounds like (potentially for diplomatic/political reasons between the ownership groups) City have opted out of a deal. It seems as if we’re deferring solving that problem until next summer. The big talking point for fans now is who leaves from Akanji/Stones/Kovacic/Gündogan, if anyone.
With Grealish in the departure lounge, it’ll be Guardiola. Last season was unquestionably his worst at City, his idiosyncrasies coming to the fore. But hopefully he’ll be lifted by the new coaching setup around him. Even the best need their ideas to be challenged.
Our home and away kits are clean, simple. The less said about the “rain-inspired” third kit the better.
1. Manchester City; 2. Liverpool; 3. Arsenal; 4. Chelsea.
18. Brentford; 19. Sunderland; 20. Burnley.
Scott Parker.
Lloyd Scragg 9320pod.com; @lloyd_scragg
After last season’s heroics we were approaching this season with cautious optimism, tempered by the PSR straitjacket. But the Isak saga has cast a shadow over the summer – and we’ve grown increasingly frustrated by losing out to rivals for transfer targets. A strategy of courting established stars has failed and going into the summer with no director of football, and an outgoing chief executive, couldn’t have helped. It’s astonishing that on the eve of a four-competition season we have ended up with more goalkeepers than senior midfielders. Yet the ace in the pack, Eddie Howe, is still here. We trust him implicitly. As long as we secure reinforcements, a Champions League spot is the aim.
Joelinton, Bruno and Sandro Tonali could go toe-to-toe with anyone in Europe – we’ll need all of their strength, guile and passion to progress. We’re also blessed with two sensational full-backs in Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, while Lewis Miley remains our brightest young hope. But central defence is a concern. Dan Burn and Fabian Schär have legendary status, but they’re not getting any faster, while the injury-blighted Sven Botman is yet to get back to his best.
We’ve needed a new striker for at least two seasons (where was the succession plan for Callum Wilson?) and that remains a priority, as does a pacey, younger centre-half: Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke could fit that bill. A replacement for Sean Longstaff is required too. Conor Gallagher would be ideal, but PSR will put him out of reach.
The irrepressible, effervescent boyhood Toon fan Jacob Murphy. He’s a wind-up merchant who plays with a big grin on his face. Top lad!
It’s smart. The blue piping is a nice touch. Even better with the Champions League badge.
1. Manchester City; 2. Liverpool; 3. Chelsea; 4. Arsenal.
18. Wolves; 19. Sunderland; 20. Burnley.
Graham Potter.
David and Richard Holmes (Remember them?)
It would be hard not to improve. Our new front three scored more league goals between them last season than our entire team managed. But we do still need to replace the keeper and a central midfielder. Amorim has been ruthless in removing players and the negativity that has been hanging over the team, and preseason performances have been promising. I think a top-six finish is achievable. But where we are in the table after the tough opening 10 games will show us whether this group of players have the minerals to dig in and build momentum. Last season we were bullied because we couldn’t handle the physicality.
We couldn’t convert the chances we created last season and so the signings of Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko were a priority. Onana still feels like a disaster waiting to happen, though: his positional play is poor, he is indecisive and the distribution ability that he was bought for seems nonexistent. Amorim continues to play three at the back and Dalot remains poor as a wing back. On the bright side, Diego León, our 18-year-old left-back, looks like a mini Hulk. I expect him to become a regular.
If we can get rid of Garnacho, Antony and Sancho to stay onside with PSR, I’d love to see us go for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand and PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Bruno Fernandes. He carried us last season and recently called out the owners, saying we need signings to raise standards.
They’re all the same. Some bright spark has had “Theatre of Dreams” embroidered into the back. “The Temple of Doom” may be more apt after these opening 10 games.
1. Liverpool; 2. Manchester City; 3. Arsenal; 4. Chelsea.
18. Sunderland; 19. Wolves; 20. Leeds. First manager sacked Keith Andrews.
Shaun O’Donnell
Considering we don’t do “blueprints” or allow a “project” to evolve, Spurs still occasionally find solace among the chaos. Being optimistic should be the default starting point for every supporter. However, the crowing caveat here is more cock-a-doodle-don’t than do. The target is to avoid a debacle by playing decent football, a sense of that mystical evolution and the avoidance of 22 league defeats. Frankly, I think we’ll be fine.
Cuti Romero is likely to be named captain, meaning it’s a case of collective accountability throughout the squad to galvanise a side that will be having to cope without the legend Son. All our kids are going out on loan; Mikey Moore was the one breaking through last season, but this term he’ll be doing that for Rangers instead.
What we need every window; the essentials. This summer, that would mean a full-back, a No 10 (as James Maddison is cursed) and a striker. Doing so would prove we want to compete. The reality of it is that we’ll just plod on and see if we can wing it again.
Son was the last remaining treasure of the Mauricio Pochettino puzzle where all the pieces are now lost for ever. So I may as well nominate Mo Kudus, who will no doubt get a rousing standing ovation on his return to the Olympic Stadium.
Liking or disliking a kit will ultimately be defined by the football on the pitch because your memories will be tethered to what the players are wearing when they do whatever it is they do. Win another cup and the new kit will be iconic. The black away shirt is delicious either way, though.
Add a 1 in front of that later in the season.
1. Liverpool; 2. Manchester City; 3. Arsenal; 4. Chelsea.
18. Burnley; 19. Sunderland; 20. Nottingham Forest. Cheeky bid for Gibbs-White next summer?
Graham Potter.
Spooky Original The Fighting Cock podcaster
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