Category: English Premier League

New managers galore suggest many of the usual suspects will struggle to dethrone the champions, but their own hunger could be the key

Mikel Arteta wants to get his messaging absolutely right. According to him, Arsenal are not about to defend their Premier League title. They are set to attack another one.

Remember Win the dog, who the manager brought in to the club’s training ground a few years back? She must now be called “Won”. But it is when Arteta quibbles over another bout of semantics that he highlights why he is entering the new season with such energy and optimism.

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While Football Daily remains open to the idea that Stanley Kubrick directed the moon landings and the Pentagon is hiding grey aliens in Area 51, we have never had much truck with tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorists when it comes to officiating in football. While refereeing a match in which all 22 participants are expert gaslighters will inevitably lead to mistakes, we’ve always presumed these gaffes can be attributed to good old-fashioned incompetence and not some shadowy cabal who have devoted their life’s work to keeping [insert your team’s name here] firmly in their place. Sadly, a random trawl of assorted Social Media Disgrace platforms on any given day during the season proves there is no shortage of paranoid fans, while “the Folarin Balogun affair” at the Geopolitics World Cup will have added no end of grist to their mill. After all, if an entitled president can successfully agitate to have a player’s suspension swept under the rug, who’s to say dark forces aren’t also at play when it comes to deciding whether the ball went out for a throw-in off Gabriel Martinelli or Enzo Le Fée?

May I be among 1,057 others born in the 1980s to mention that one of Orson Welles’ final film roles was as the voice of Unicron in Transformers: The Movie. His character was an enormous planet which travelled through space, devouring other planets. If that isn’t a suitable metaphor for the Premier League and its transfer windows, I don’t know what is” – Luke Davydaitis (and no others).

I wonder if West Ham and Wolves fans are regretting ever complaining that they had to wait for the last day of Big Website’s Premier League previews? And if Tottenham fans will take it as a hint that said complaining may lead to no preview at all” – Doug Peters.

If Carlos Baleba ends up at Manchester United, I hope we can rely on their fans to finally deliver the ‘Daydream Baleba’ chant the world deserves” – Chris Jersan.

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After a chaotic season under four different coaches, Forest fans will be hoping Oliver Glasner can bring some stability

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 16th

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Today’s fluff awaits the rainbow

A Manchester City clearout is in the offing, which could aid Newcastle’s search for a new central midfielder to replace the departed Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães. Nico González could be packing his bags to head up to St James’ Park, having never quite proved himself at the Etihad Stadium. Attacking players Omar Marmoush and Savinho, meanwhile, are on their way to Tottenham, which should kickstart a busy end to the window at City.

On the other side of Manchester, United are looking to sell off some of their younger players to Arsenal. The Gibraltar international James Scanlon, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Swindon, and Habeeb Ogunneye are set for moves to the Premier League champions. The Gunners are ramping up their recruitment of young players to strengthen quality across the club. On his way out of the Emirates Stadium is another youngster, with Ethan Nwaneri wanted by Fulham and Everton, while RB Leipzig could also come into the mix for a loan move. Gabriel Jesus has also been linked with an exit but the Brazilian wants to stick around at the Emirates.

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After the departure of the manager and some of their best players, fans on Tyneside are braced for a transitional season at best

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 17th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 12th

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Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans will be key to Michael Carrick’s chances of success over a full season and of healing the rift between club and fans

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 3rd

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With the departures of Pep Guardiola and Rodri it looks like the end of an era at City. Will Enzo Maresca be able to sustain their position as a domestic and continental superpower?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 2nd

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Andoni Iraola has his hands full – replacing Mo Salah and restoring faith at Anfield – and will hope big name investors bring stability not disharmony

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 5th

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• Amazon Prime captures strain of manager’s final season

• Club chair says Spaniard threatened to leave ‘100 times’

Pep Guardiola clashed with his captain and almost broke down in tears as he railed at players during his worst run as Manchester City manager.

Guardiola stood down at the end of last season after winning 20 trophies in a 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium. One of the lowest points of his glittering reign came during a testing run in the autumn of 2024, when City lost nine times and won only once in 13 games. Guardiola outwardly showed signs of strain, notably when he scratched his face after City surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League.

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After keeping Leeds up last season and reaching an FA Cup semi-final, Daniel Farke has good reason to expect further improvement at Elland Road

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 14th

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The Community Shield isn’t always a sign of things to come, but City’s form in their defeat to Arsenal is concerning in the wake of Pep Guardiola’s departure

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There are caveats. It was only the Community Shield – and no side has gone on to win the league after lifting the Community Shield since 2018. It was against the league champions, whose pre-season has involved far less strenuous travel than their own. By the time the season really gets going, there will be greater clarity in central midfield, with Rodri set to complete his move to Barcelona imminently. But this was a startlingly bad opening for Enzo Maresca at Manchester City.

Succeeding a manager of Pep Guardiola’s stature is never easy, as numerous clubs have found. But it’s not just Guardiola’s stature, the sense that whoever follows him stands in his shadow. It’s that his style of play is so idiosyncratic that the transition process inevitably becomes more difficult. Even though Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant at City in 2022-23, and his football is Guardiola-inspired, it is not identical, not least because Guardiola was always evolving. Even allowing for all that, though, it was remarkable how poorly City defended in their 3-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.

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They have a new manager and a higher net spend than Manchester City, but will that be enough for Ipswich to avoid another yo-yoing relegation?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 2nd (Championship)

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Playoff winners are expected to go back down, but their owner is optimistic and is investing in the squad

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 20th (NB: this is not necessarily Louise Taylor’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 6th (Championship)

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The Guardian’s fans’ network looks ahead to the new season: fresh talent, weak links, and who will be sacked first

Having finally got the title monkey off our back, and with much of the competition in a state of flux, there’s plenty of optimism. Obviously the target is for Arteta to sustain the same appetite and intensity to mount a credible defence. The big questions are whether we can reproduce the same resilience at the back with Saliba on the long-term missing list, and will the introduction of Guimarães be the catalyst for the sort of midfield chemistry we’ll need to carve open opponents who plan to park the bus?

Bernard Azulay onlinegooner.com; @GoonerN5

Jonathan Pritchard

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With Marco Silva leaving after five years, can the club take advantage of the links their new coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, has with Real Madrid?

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 15th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 11th

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