World Magazine 2024
Even though the Premier League has a steady group of teams considered favorites for winning the title every year, we can see that there are moments when we are surprised. The first major surprise in the history of the league was created in 1992. In that season, Blackburn Rovers surprised the group of favorites by winning the league. However, we want to say that this was a respectable team.
More than twenty years later, Leicester City was another team that surprised all the football fans in the world by winning the league. We all remember just how wonderful Leicester City was when Claudio Ranieri was at its helm. Jamie Vardy pretty much repeated the score Alan Shearer managed to achieve back when Blackburn Rovers won the title. It’s funny how history is repeated in a sense.
At the moment, even though Arsenal is a household team, they are unexpectedly in the first place. The team is in wonderful form, and we can see that many sports bettors think they will manage to win the title. The bets made on this occurrence are made on sites such as Soccer Betway. Today, we want to talk about whether Arsenal has the potential to dethrone Manchester City this year.
Table of Contents
Arsenal ─ The Squad
The first thing we want to talk about is the squad. Without any doubt, Arsenal is a talented squad, headed by Mikel Arteta. We know that Arteta has been in the club for a couple of years, and sometimes, it looked like he was going to be sacked. Thankfully, the last season showed the potential of this squad, especially after they managed to secure some signings on the last day of the summer transfer window.
Another thing we want to point out is that Mikel Arteta spent some time as the assistant manager to Pep Guardiola. Some experts point out that this is a crucial time for his development as a manager. When you take a look at how his Arsenal plays, you will see some similarities between his and Guardiola’s approach. Plus, Arsenal did make some signings from the same Manchester City.
The number of exceptionally good players at Arsenal is exciting. Probably the best ones at the moment are a young Bukayo Saka. He is a product of the Arsenal youth team, and fans do not doubt him becoming a captain of the team in the future. The captain of the team at the moment is Martin Odegaard. Young Norwegian has made an exceptional impact at the club after arriving from Real Madrid.
Besides these two, you can find a plethora of great names. Another one that has managed to stand out from the crowd is a young winger, Gabriel Martinelli. A young Brazilian arrived at the club when he was just 14 years old, and now, almost a decade later, is the first choice in the team. The latest signings for Arsenal are some well-known names like Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who came from Man City.
Manchester City ─ The Squad
Manchester City is probably the best team in the league at the moment. Even though they are in second place currently, nobody can deny that their squad is the best one. Just take a look at all the names that play for the club. The latest arrival, Erling Haaland, has already made a mark in the history of the league, by scoring the fastest hat trick ever. Currently, he is the best scorer as well.
Joseph Guardiola has done wonders over the last couple of years, winning several titles and cups. The only trophy he lacks is the Champions League, but his team always advances to the latter stages of the competition. In fact, they have a really good chance of winning it this season. Some even argue that Guardiola is more interested in pursuing the European title than fighting for a domestic one.
But we will all agree that these are all rumors and that they don’t hold much ground. When it comes to the team itself, besides Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, the captain of the team, and arguably the best player at the club, once again has an exceptional season. He scored five goals and made thirteen assists in twenty-six matches. He could be even going for a record-breaking number of assists in his career so far.
Among other players, you will find some names that have a bright future, like Phil Foden and Jack Grealish. The team also has some great experienced players such as Ederson, Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kyle Walker. All of them have experience playing in the best teams in the league for more than a decade. So, when you calculate all the elements you will see that their squad is the best one in the league, without any doubt.
What do the Bookies Say?
Before the start of the season, nobody had any doubt that Manchester City is the favorite for winning the title. They did it last season, and it looked like nobody can stand in front of them and win the match. However, when you take a look at the league table, Arsenal has seven points more, and one game more played. Even though the initial thought would be that they cannot stand their ground, they proved many bookies wrong so far.
But what do ex-players and ex-managers say? Well, the opinions are divided. But the most prominent opinion we could see came from Sir Alex Ferguson. Journalists asked him about his opinion on how the season will end, and he replied that he is simply not interested in what is about to happen. When you think about it, it makes sense since he is a legend of Manchester United, which was a bitter rival of both clubs who are competing for the title.
The Bottom Line
Despite Arsenal being first at the moment, the tier is still pretty close. We believe they will be able to sustain their position. However, we would never write off Joseph Guardiola. We will just have to wait and see what will happen at the end of the season.
