This season’s predictions will start with team by team analysis from Arsenal to Wolves. Arsenal and Aston Villa are two teams that thanks to their alphabetical placing, sat at the top of the table before a ball was kicked this season. It is only 4 rounds into the 38 rounds season, but the ease with which both relinquished their top of the table status for the current 12th and 8th positions they respectively occupy will give fans little optimism that they will return to the top.
Arsenal fans hoped that they would seek quality defensive reinforcements to allow them sustain a title challenge following last season’s late painful collapse. They were frustrated at the lack of transfer activity to address this obvious weakness as the season kicked off. As painful an experience as the massacre at Old Trafford was for Arsenal fans, it finally kicked reality into Wenger’s head and he responded by bringing his summer expenditure to a whopping £ 51 million! Desperate times call for drastic measures and indeed Wenger signed 5 players over 25 years old to bring much needed experience. That 5 of Arsenal’s 8 signings came in the last 3 days of the window, just after they were thrashed may have indicated panic, but this recklessness may have finally brought together the variety in style, experience and stature the Gunners have been desperate for to attain success. Contrary to the excuse that youth is the reason for Arsenal’s lack of silverware in recent years, the squad was simply too similar in style, stature and attitude. While fans’ optimism is growing mainly because of the signings of Gervinho, Arteta and Mertesacker, it is the emergence of Frimpong that may just allow Wenger to end the season with his reputation as a developer of young talent intact.
Aston Villa fans were in rage when the idea of signing manager Alex McLeish from bitter rivals Birmingham was floated. The owner ignored their protests to sign Alex and went ahead to start balancing the club’s books following lavish spending of the Gerard Houllier and Martin O'Neill eras. The club is now returning to relative calm as McLeish demonstrated during the transfer window that he could wisely deal by signing real quality in Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia. There is no doubt that the latter cannot make up for the loss Downing and Young, but the loan signing of Jermaine Jenas may bring much improvement to the middle of the park, an area that was desperately weak last season. The only positive for Villa last season was the development of Marc Albrighton, and if he continues developing at the same pace this season, Villa fans may continue to enjoy real quality wing play. Most critical though for McLeish will be reviving loyalty and belief from players like Stephen Ireland, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Stephen Warnock. If these players can play to their potential, they will all be like quality new signings for Villa and the fans could ironically warm up to the man they once considered enemy.
Fans from both Arsenal and Aston Villa endured a summer to forget, mainly disgruntled at the loss of two of their respective biggest stars to greener pastures. Disappointed as they were at their loss, no fan can argue with the fact that their former heroes were justified in moving on, if there is truth in their stated reasons of leaving for silverware rather than money. The new reality to fans of these two clubs is probably as painful as it is most households in today’s economy as adjustments to expectations are made. For Arsenal, recent seasons begun with talk about reclaiming the title, while this season’s talk is about whether they can hold off the challenge of big spending Liverpool and make it 15 consecutive seasons in the champion’s league. Aston Villa on the other hand, as recently as three seasons ago were disappointed with missing out on Champions League football but would now give anything to get into the Europa League this season.
ARSENAL
Players in: Carl Jenkinson (Charlton, £1m*), Gervinho (Lille, £10.7m*), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton, initial £12million), Joel Campbell (Deportivo Saprissa, undisclosed), Park Chu-young (Monaco, £3m-5m*), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce, £6.2m*), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen, £8m*), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, season loan), Mikel Arteta (Everton, £10million).
Players out: Gael Clichy (Manchester City, £7m*), Denilson (Sao Paulo, season loan), Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich, £1.5m-£2m*), Kyle Bartley (Rangers, season loan), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, £35m*), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray, £3m*), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad, season loan), Samir Nasri (Manchester City, £25m*), Armand Traore (QPR, undisclosed), Joel Campbell (Lorient, season loan), Gilles Sunu (Lorient, undisclosed), Henri Lansbury (West Ham, season loan), Nicklas Bendtner (Sunderland, season loan).
ASTON VILLA
Players in: Shay Given (Manchester City, £3.5m*), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan, £9.5m*), Alan Hutton (Tottenham, undisclosed), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham, season loan).
Players out: Nigel Reo-Coker (Bolton, free), John Carew (West Ham, free), Robert Pires, Moustapha Salifou, Isaiah Osbourne (all released), Brad Friedel (Tottenham, free), Ashley Young (Manchester United, £16m*), Stewart Downing (Liverpool, £20m*), Luke Young (QPR, undisclosed), Jean Makoun (Olympiacos, season loan).
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