Arsenal fans could still be given something to worry about from the opening performances of Manchester United and Chelsea, or even the Liverpool side we face later, but none of them have been overly impressive in the pre-season games so far and with new managers in charge as well as new players to bed in, we can at least hope that they do not hit top form straight away.
A lot of people are questioning the title credentials of Arsenal, but we are perhaps the most stable club and squad of players and there was plenty of reason for optimism from the performances of our other Premier League rivals yesterday.
First up was the champions Leicester City and the theory that Claudio Ranieri’s men would struggle to replicate the surprise success of last season was backed up with a patchy performance and a defeat to newly promoted Hull City. Then we saw Tottenham salvage a point after trailing to Everton for around an hour, which is hopefully an early sign that our north London rivals bubble has burst.
The favourites to win it are Pep Guardiola’s Man City and they did manage a win, but it was far from convincing despite them having almost 77 percent possession. The win, however, came thanks to a late own goal and their opener was from the penalty spot after a clumsy tackle from a Sunderland defender.
City may have dominated the ball but they had just four shots on target throughout the match, while the Black Cats had three and were away from home. So far I would say that Arsenal do not have too much to worry about, but will we still be able to say that tonight?
Bob.