Is Arsenal the Team to End Manchester City’s Historic Run?

When Manchester City takes on newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor on August 11, the Citizens do so looking to win their sixth Premier League title in seven years and become the first-ever English team to win four consecutive top division titles. All the best betting sites have Manchester City as the clear favourite to achieve that goal, but Mikel Arteta is confident his young Arsenal squad can upset the apple cart.

Arsenal has been champions of England 13 times, yet one must go back to the 2003-04 season to see when they last held the winner’s trophy aloft. Arsenal went unbeaten during that league campaign, earning the side the “Invincibles”nickname, but the Gunners have failed to replicate the success of that legendary team.

Last season, it looked like Arsenal would win the Premier League title. They never dropped lower than second place in the table and were at the top of the pile for 30 of the 38 game weeks. However, they were not in first place when it mattered, with three defeats from their final six games allowing Manchester City to overtake them and win the league for the third year in a row.

Arsenal’s main issue last year was a lack of strength in depth. Where Manchester City had at least one backup player of Premier League-winning quality for each member of its squad, Arsenal was caught lacking in crucial areas, and it ultimately proved to be their downfall.

Exceptional Dealings in the Transfer Market

For example, French centre-back William Saliba injured his back on March 16 and missed the last 11 fixtures of the campaign. Saliba’s injury coincided with Arsenal’s drop in form, with the Gunners winning five, drawing three, and losing three. Although Saliba is only 22, the Frenchman is the glue that holds the Arsenal defence together. Although a decent defender, Rob Holding is nowhere near Saliba’squality.

Arteta added Jurrien Timber from Ajax for €40 million over the summer. Timber had long been a transfer target for Arsenal, so the London giants acted swiftly when the Dutchman became available. A powerful and flexible defender, Timber will set his sights on a starting XI place, but even if he does not start from the beginning, he adds some much-needed reinforcements to the Arsenal roster.

Arsenal also added Kai Havertz for €75 million from Chelsea. Havertz is a superb player but never lived up to the lofty expectations at Arsenal’s London rivals. Many Arsenal fans wanted their club to spend a similar sum on a striker to help Gabriel Jesus. Still, goals were not a problem for Arsenal last season – they scored 88 in 38 games – despite Jesus spending 15 games on the sidelines through injury.

Capturing Declan Rice for a massive €125 million fee looks like great business for Arsenal. West Ham United was resigned to allowing Rice to leave, and everyone knew Rice preferred to stay in London despite interest from Manchester City. Rice is an incredible player, one of the best midfielders in world football, so capturing a player of his quality is a significant coup for the Gunners.

There have been a handful of outgoing transfers, too, but none will damage Arsenal’s squad overall. Former club captain Granit Xhaka joined Bayer Leverkusen for €15 million, but Rice is at least twice the player of the tough-tackling Swiss star.

On paper, at least, Arsenal is the most likely side to halt Manchester City’s domination. The spine of the team is exceptional, with Aaron Ramsey in goal, Gabriel and Salibain central defence, Rice and Jorginho in defensive midfield, Martin Odergaard and Havertz pulling strings in midfield, and then the likes of Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Martinelli supporting Jesus up front. Whoever finishes above Arsenal at the end of the 2023-24 season will be the champions of England.

Never Write Off Manchester City

Although Arsenal looks like genuine title contenders, it is ridiculous to write off Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who go into the season as odds-on favourites to rewrite Premier League history.

City won the league by five points last season and is the team to beat again this coming campaign, despite a lack of activity in the transfer market. Mateo Kovacic is the only new face in the City squad, having joined from Chelsea for €29 million. Guardiola sanctioned the sale of Riyad Mahrez and allowed Ilkay Gundogan to leave on a free transfer. At the same time, rumours continue circulating about the futures of Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, and others.

One only needs to look at the Manchester City squad to see why they are hot favourites for Premier League glory. Even with the high-profile departures of Mahrez and Gundogan, City has quality throughout its ranks. The enigmatic ErlingHaaland should be even better this season – he scored 36 goals in 35 Premier League games – while Julian Alzarez is a solid Haaland backup. Many believe City needs another striker in case Haaland falls foul to injury, but the Citizens scored 94 goals in the league last year, so scoring goals is not an issue.

Who Else Could Cause an Upset

It is challenging to see anyone, other than Arsenal, pushing Manchester City all the way this season. However, some clubs should see vast improvements compared to the previous campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool struggled for consistency last season, and only a late rally saw them eventually finish fifth. Liverpool signed a pair of superb midfielders in Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, but they are more attack-minded players when it was defensive duties that let down the Reds’ midfield in 2022-23.

Chelsea surely cannot be any worse than last season, when they finished 12, the Blues’ lowest finish since finishing 14th in 1993-94. Chelsea hired Mauricio Pochettino as head coach, who will get this Chelsea team firing on all cylinders. However, Pochettino’s main issue will be finding his best starting XI and helping the players fight for each other as a team. Twenty incoming and 23 outgoing transfers in the past season and close season show a club without a game plan. Pochettino will have a game plan, but turning expensive flops into title contenders after one preseason is too much of an ask for the Argentinian.