Will Manchester City reign supreme again? Can Arsenal or Liverpool bridge the gap? Join our panel of expert guests to see how the new Premier League season will unfold.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Liverpool started brightly and faded down the homestretch, but will things be a little
00:03bit different in the Arnaslott era? Michael, how do you think Liverpool are shaping up so far?
00:10I mean, this isn't a great answer for a podcast, but I really don't know.
00:14Thanks, mate. Rahman, how are Liverpool shaping up so far? Go on, Michael.
00:23Hello, I'm Matthew Gregory, and welcome to a brand new series of the Premier League panel.
00:27Every week throughout the season, I'll be joined by some expert guests to discuss the biggest
00:31talking points from the top flight. And to kick us off with the season just a few days away,
00:35we're going to take a look at the title race and see how things might pan out.
00:39To help me figure out who will be lifting the trophy in nine months' time, I'm thrilled to
00:42be joined by Manchester World football reporter Michael Plant, a London World reporter and co-host
00:47of the Made in Africa podcast, Rahman Osman. Michael, we should probably start with the
00:51reigning champions. Manchester City have won it for six of the last seven seasons and been
00:55pretty consistently dominant under Pep Guardiola. But is there anything you've seen on the pitch
00:59through pre-season or anything that's cropped up over the summer that makes you think they
01:03might relinquish their grip on the title this time around? Possibly. I think there's a couple of
01:08questions going into the new season. I think there's a couple of questions about squad depth
01:12and a few areas where they're maybe lacking a few bodies. The main one, I suppose, being in
01:16defensive midfield. Rodri has played an awful lot of football in the last couple of years,
01:22has spoken about how he hasn't had a break, referenced the fact that he was tired at one
01:26point during last season. So I think that City's over-reliance on him could be an issue. Likewise,
01:34with Julian Alvarez leaving, the reliance on Erling Haaland as well to play up front.
01:39He's obviously picked up a couple of injuries as well in pre-season. He had a couple of knocks
01:42last season as well. So I think there are two potential problems and maybe a little bit of a
01:47lack of depth. I think they're going to come into this season slightly undercooked as well.
01:51They had 15 members of the current squad were away between the Euros and Copa America this summer.
01:58Pep Guardiola has admitted that they're not going to be firing on all cylinders when they do start
02:02the new campaign. So it only takes a couple of bad results at the start of the season to maybe set
02:07you off on a bad note. What's that old saying? You can't win the league in the first few months,
02:12but you can lose it. I don't think that necessarily will be the case, but I suppose that's one issue
02:16maybe for them. And just in general, how many games are they going to have to play? How many
02:20matches are they going to have to contend with this year? They also have the Club World Cup
02:24at the end of the campaign. So a couple of little issues and I think that they are going to come up
02:28against a very strong Arsenal side who have strengthened in the summer as well. So while
02:33I don't think it'd be a mistake certainly to back Manchester City to win the title,
02:40I do think that perhaps coming into this season there are a couple of question marks around and
02:43a few things. Yeah, but it has been a pretty quiet transfer window for Manchester City.
02:48Savino has been the only big senior signing. We did see Pep Guardiola give some of the younger
02:52players a bit of a chance in the community. Shielding, obviously you've got some talent
02:55coming through, you know, Oscar Bob, Rico Lewis, players like Makti and O'Reilly,
02:59but it's been a bit of a problem over the course of Guardiola's reign where only really
03:03Phil Foden's properly sort of made the transition from academy through to first team regular.
03:08Do you think the kids will be given a chance to be their backup? Do you think they'll be
03:11strong enough depth if they're required this year? Yeah, it's a good question and it could
03:16well define how the season goes because Guardiola is reluctant to put players in unless he is 100%
03:22sure they are ready to go into the team. The big example being Calvin Phillips, he just has not been
03:27ready to put him into the side. Jack Grealish at times has faced that problem as well, particularly
03:31in his first season, but the latter stages of last season he couldn't get a kick to be honest,
03:36I don't think he played the last four matches of the season. So, and if he can't turn to those
03:39young players that leaves us with a very limited squad option. I think there's a lot of hope for
03:45James McAtee, that he is a player that they really like, that hopefully he can step up and play a
03:51bigger role this campaign. There's obviously as well Rico Lewis who has come into the side over
03:56the last two years but hasn't occupied a regular place in the team. I think there's, you know,
04:01we talked about Rodri and the lack of options there, that is a potential solution that he plays
04:06at the base of midfield and Lewis has spoken in the summer about how he sees himself as a midfielder
04:10and that's the role that he wants to play this season. So that's a possibility, but
04:16are we going to be talking at the end of the season that Nico O'Reilly has started,
04:20you know, double figures worth of games? I'd be surprised, probably would be surprised with
04:24McAtee as well. So at this stage, I'm not totally sure whether Guardiola is ready to, I suppose,
04:30give these players a run out and let them start lots of games going into the new season.
04:35Well, I suppose we do have to ask as well about the 115 charges relating to breaches of the
04:40Premier League's financial rules, which hang over Manchester City's head coming into this season.
04:44Hearing into the allegations is due to start in September, City deny all of the charges and
04:48obviously we can only speculate as to the outcome, but how do you think that's going to affect the
04:52season? I mean, obviously we don't know the outcome, we don't know if they'll be found
04:54guilty or what punishments might be handed down, but do you think just having that process going
04:58on in the background is going to be an issue for Manchester City? I don't think it'll be
05:03an issue on the pitch because Guardiola has kind of reinforced this them against us type mentality
05:09with the charges and everything that's come with it. I think that Guardiola, certainly what he
05:15says publicly, seems very confident that City have done nothing wrong. And of course, as you mentioned,
05:20the club have denied all wrongdoing whatsoever. And I think he will look, as I say, to make it a
05:26bit of a siege mentality. And I think sometimes these things can trickle through to the players,
05:31but at the same time, City, they're such professionals, they're so used to winning
05:35football games. I think they will just focus on the task at hand on the pitch, even if it will be
05:40a bit of a distraction. I think that I'm going to spend the next couple of months writing a letter
05:45as much about off-field issues as on-field issues with that. And listen, it is a huge,
05:51huge story one way or the other. And obviously you've got these associated party transaction
05:57rules as well, which, you know, that case is ongoing. That is going to be a massive case in
06:01itself, let alone the 115 charges. So it's going to be a season that throughout the course of it,
06:08there's going to be as much talk about what's going on in courtrooms as there are between the
06:12white lines, I suppose. You'll be enough of a legal expert to sort of have a new career as a
06:17lawyer by the end of the season, I suspect. But we should probably bring in Arsenal at this point,
06:22of course. Rahman, they've been the second best team for the last couple of seasons.
06:25Under Mikel Arteta, they've pretty much consistently improved, but not quite been
06:29able to catch up to Manchester City. Do you think they've done enough this summer to bridge
06:33that gap? They obviously haven't done a huge amount in the transfer market at the time of
06:36recording. The only additions have been David Raya permanently from Brentford and Bologna's
06:41Riccardo Calafiore have been added to defence. Do you think they've changed enough? Do you think
06:45they can bridge that gap this season, Rahman? It's tough. The only team that will determine
06:54if Arsenal win the league title is Man City. If City are on it, they win it. That's just what I
07:01feel. I feel that a lot of things will come into play. One of them will just be in the mood of
07:06City. A lot of people think that, and you asked a really brilliant question about if all that's
07:12happening, the 115 charges could distract them. I think that's the fool they need, actually. I
07:17think that if City channel that and say, okay, fine, you guys say we cheated and blah, we're
07:22going to dominate on the pitch and win it. It happened two seasons ago when the reports
07:28finally broke. If you pay attention, I remember that day I was at Tottenham and City lost to
07:34Tottenham. That was the week the reports broke that City were facing charges. The next weekend,
07:43Pep went on a press conference and said, I'm not leaving this seat. He mentioned one old Man City
07:52player, Samavel or something, that will play. Then from there onward, they just kept crushing
07:57and crushing teams. I feel like also Pep wants to prove a point because if you're paying attention
08:05to some of the things he's been saying, sometimes a little bit is like everybody spends money,
08:11but when Man City spend money, it's an issue. I feel like those little, little things are just
08:16throwing in a point, just trying to jab other people and say, okay, you guys say we cheated.
08:21Pep likes motivation. Pep actually thrives when his back is against the wall. When he first came
08:29to England, a lot of people said he wasn't going to do it. I remember Stan Collie was saying he
08:34had no chance because he didn't train tackles. In all, the success and failure of this season
08:41will be based on the mood in which Man City will be in. Arsenal are a terrific side. I feel like
08:47last season they should have won it for so many reasons. It would have been the 20th anniversary
08:51of the Invincibles. Mikel has been able to transform them to being inconsistent to an
08:59absolute winning machine. Riccardo Calafiori was a player. If you saw him at the Euro, he was
09:06amazing. If you're somebody who just watches European football, not just English football,
09:11you would have known of him from Bologna and he was really key to what Thiago Mota was doing.
09:18He's an upgrade on the left back they've got, who is a really good fighter. I mean, I
09:24kind of like Zinchenko and I think that Zinchenko, and for most people watching us,
09:29who didn't know, Zinchenko arrived at Man City as a number 10 and he was nearly pushed out and he
09:36had to reinvent himself and play as a left back. And he ended up playing left back on multiple
09:41occasions and winning the Premier League and finding a place for himself and went to Arsenal
09:47and a left back who can invert into midfield. And now that's the beginning of, well, that's what a
09:52lot of people do this time. But Riccardo Calafiori is an upgrade on Zinchenko in that specialized
09:59position. And that kind of signing is kind of, it's intense. And Mikel is, if you saw them in
10:05pre-season and you'd see that they've got momentum, they've got consistency and the
10:12mentality of the team is as important as the physical fitness of the team. And I think Arsenal
10:17will push Man City, but City are still the team to beat from the time we're recording.
10:25You mentioned pre-season. Arsenal, as you said, have had a pretty positive pre-season.
10:29When I went to check the results earlier on Google, I got a bunch of firework graphics going
10:33off in my face, which then a sign informing me they won the Emirates Cup with a 2-0 win over
10:38Lyon. That trophy cabinet is bulging already. I mean, can we read much into pre-season results,
10:43Rahman? Because Arsenal have had a good pre-season. City actually haven't had a great pre-season,
10:47lost to Celtic, lost to AC Milan, lost to Barcelona on penalties. I mean, does that mean anything?
10:53Yeah, it does. Again, Man City is the only team that you can't read too much into their pre-season
11:00and that's solely because they've become such a really, like the way Pep wants them to do,
11:04they really don't hit top gear till after November. And I think that is kind of strategic
11:11because they then, that's where the games come taking part because from there always till
11:17Christmas, there are a lot of games with little recovery times and you need to win that side. So
11:21that by the time March comes in, you're literally going on the 100 metres and you have pace and
11:26momentum. That's something. But a lot of teams need to make sure they don't miss out on points
11:32at the beginning because you're taking on a winning machine that can go maybe 15 games.
11:38Like imagine you play 15 games and you pick three, three, three points, 15. Like the margin
11:43for error. Last season, one of the best things, one of the best goals Mikel gave us was like,
11:47they're like, mate, we've won our last 11 games and we're still a point behind.
12:06Right, we've looked at last season's top two already, but until the last month or so,
12:09it really was a three horse race. Liverpool started brightly and faded down the homestretch,
12:14but will things be a little bit different in the Arnaud Slot era? Michael, how do you think
12:18Liverpool are shaping up so far? I mean, this isn't a great answer for a podcast, but I really
12:24don't know. Thanks mate, Rahman, how are Liverpool shaping up so far? Go on Michael. I just don't
12:32really know what to expect from them because obviously Klopp has been there for so long.
12:36It's going to be such a huge change to go from Klopp to Slot. Transfer wise, I don't really know
12:42if they're going to go and strengthen. I think if they bring in one or two, I think they could
12:46have a really good season, but I don't know. The squad at the moment just feels like it needs a
12:51little bit of a boost from last season. I think, obviously, they lost Joe Matip, who they haven't
12:56really replaced. I love that as well. Leaves them a little bit light in centre back options.
13:00But I still think the foundations of a very good Liverpool team are there. And obviously, as you
13:04said, they had a good season last season. Went, you know, up until the last six or seven games,
13:12looked like they were going to be right in the title race to the end. It was only,
13:15you know, a couple of years ago that they were pushing for the quadruple up until the last few
13:19matches. And the basis of that team is still there, albeit a little bit older now. So I think
13:23they'll have a good season. Do I think they'll challenge for the Premier League title? Probably
13:26not. I think it will be between City and Arsenal, ultimately, when we get to the latter stages of
13:30the campaign. But I still think that Liverpool will certainly be top four. That's what I think.
13:36And what do you reckon, Rahman? Because obviously it is going to be a big change
13:40moving from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slott. And it might not be quite David Moyes taking over from
13:45Alex Ferguson, but it's still, you know, taking over from someone who's had such a sort of long
13:49tenure and such an impressive tenure, so well respected at the club. It's got to be a big
13:53challenge. Do you think it's going to be particularly difficult for Slott to get a
13:56tune out of Liverpool this season? Or do you think they're just sort of capable of carrying on,
14:00you know, kind of as is? Because the tactics aren't going to be very different or they
14:03shouldn't be. So do you think it'll be continuity or change?
14:07You see, one of the last things you always, if you speak to players, I tell you, the last least
14:13important thing about being a manager of a team is a tactic. That's the least. So the most
14:21important thing is how that dressing room receives him, how they take on board his personality and
14:28the kind of football he wants to play. I don't see Liverpool in top four this season. I think
14:34there are a lot of teams that are going to try to push them out of them. Off the top of my head,
14:39I can name two teams that will try to get them out of top four. And to be honest, it's hard to
14:45tell. And I don't want to sound repetitive or going like what Michael said, but it's kind of,
14:51nobody knows. One thing is certain, it's difficult to follow in the footsteps of a great manager,
14:58especially one who's been there for a very long time, because people are used to a certain way
15:02of working. So change is not easy. It takes a while for people to get used to stuff like that.
15:07So it's going to be tough. And the key point is, most of the key players are getting old. I don't
15:13think Van Dijk is as swift as he was a few seasons ago. Mohamed Salah would still be a good goal
15:20scorer, but he's not the same as he was a couple of seasons ago. And then there's more and more,
15:24and they've lost some really experienced heads. And one of the reasons that made Liverpool great
15:30was that they were a reflection of what Jurgen Klopp was. He was spicy, he was competitive,
15:35and he was quite really a winner, which that was represented every time they played. So
15:42I think we will have a different view if we see them play four times this season.
15:45But it's going to be challenging for them, not the top four side for me.
15:49I suppose one of the advantages that sort of, it looks like they do have from where I'm sat at
15:53least, is they perhaps do have a little bit more depth than Arsenal and Manchester City.
15:58One of the things I thought last season was that both City and Arsenal were
16:02maybe a little bit lucky not to get sort of too many serious injuries to big players.
16:05You look at Arsenal, say, you wonder if there was a month where they didn't have access to
16:09Saka and Derdegaard, for the sake of argument, or Rice, someone like that.
16:13They've really struggled to sort of fill those holes. Whereas Liverpool, perhaps excluding
16:17defence, do have a little bit more in terms of manpower and midfield. They've got tons of
16:20options, a lot of attackers, even if arguably none of them are as good as Mohamed Salah,
16:25for instance. I mean, do you think that's going to count this season?
16:28Or do you think that's just sort of not really going to make a telling difference?
16:32Yeah, depth is always a good thing, especially, maybe not at the beginning, but as the Champions
16:39League comes in, the FA Cup comes in and more competition comes in, you need to keep your tip
16:43right. They've got that. And Jürgen Klopp also, he was quite really good with the way he rotated
16:49the team. So it wasn't necessarily about the depth, it was the way he used the players that
16:52were available to him. And I remember last season when Chelsea played them in the League Cup final,
17:00they had a lot of injuries and he just used the academy players, a lot of the academy players,
17:06and they still were able to win the league title. That was one that got away from Chelsea. So
17:10it wasn't necessarily the quality of the depth, it was the way he used the depth. And that itself
17:16is a skill. It's knowing the squad and being around for a very long time. So knowing who
17:20can come in and the quality will remain the same. So that's the very important point.
17:31I was just going to say, you're right, obviously Liverpool were pretty much the only team in that
17:34title race who had a genuine injury crisis at one point in the season and they came through it. That
17:39wasn't really what hamstrung them when they came down the home stretch. So it will be interesting
17:43to see if that sort of counts this season. And obviously, as you say, we don't really know what's
17:47going to happen under Arnaslot, but they have had a good pre-season. So definitely worth keeping
17:51them in the conversation. But I mean, Michael, I'll come back to you first to ask about what
17:55other teams might be able to launch a bit of a challenge. I mean, we obviously saw, you know,
17:59Villa and Spurs scrapping for top four teams like Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea,
18:04spending a lot of money over the last couple of years. They're good teams.
18:07Can anyone sort of break from the sort of chasing pack and have a crack this season?
18:11I don't think so. Sorry to say. I think the top two from last season will be the top two
18:18again this season, probably by a little bit of a distance. I think if one team were going to
18:22challenge Spurs, maybe could. I think they obviously made a lot of positive steps last
18:26season with Postacoglou and it tapered away a little bit at the end of the campaign. But I
18:32think they made some good signings. I think Solange will bring a lot more attacking impetus
18:38for them. I think that Gray from Leeds will be a good signing as well. Archie, yes, Archie Gray
18:46will be a good signing for Leeds. And so I think they could have a good campaign.
18:52Yeah, I mean, I think you mentioned Chelsea.
19:00I don't know who plays Chelsea anymore. I don't even know.
19:05I think Villa will fall away a little bit from last campaign. I think the implications of
19:12Champions League football will affect them as well. I just think it'll be a lot more for the
19:16squad to contend with. So no, I don't think there'll be anyone that will step up. But I
19:20think, I mean, I mentioned earlier that I think Liverpool will be top four. Obviously, I think
19:23Arsenal and City will be as well. I think Spurs will be the fourth team in the top four
19:27and could be potentially the closest to the top two.
19:32What about you, Roman? Do you reckon anyone can sort of bridge that gap? Because for starters,
19:36you probably know who plays for Chelsea at this point, seeing as you reported them on the regular.
19:39But because I don't, Planty doesn't, you know, does Enzo Maresca know who plays for Chelsea?
19:46I think you do and Planty does, but he's just being sarcastic.
19:48Well, I've got a problem because I'm going to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. So I'm going to have
19:53to Google who plays for Chelsea ahead of time.
19:58That'll be like three pages deep on Google and you'll still be getting new players.
20:03But mate, you guys are laying down Newcastle. Newcastle without Champions League football
20:08a massive start. I think Newcastle will try to challenge for the league title. Mate, last season,
20:14one of the things I really took Newcastle out with was injuries. They didn't just have the squad,
20:19I think that Champions League football stretched them to the limit. It was the first time and they
20:24had a really difficult group. They were in the same group with Milan, PSG, Dortmund. Like it was
20:30the most difficult group you could get. So I think Newcastle will be up there. Villar,
20:36it depends on how far they want to go, but yeah, they would be. Spurs have a chance, but then
20:43it's the history. They just tend to fall away when everybody expects them and that kind of thing
20:51haunts them. And don't rule out Chelsea, especially on top four. I know this is quite really silly,
20:57but I saw Chelsea play against Inter Milan just over the weekend. I thought they played quite
21:01really well. And sometimes because of what's happened in the last few years, everybody tends
21:06to say, oh, Chelsea don't have a chance. But if they hit form, they've got quality enough to be
21:11able to go on and do really interesting stuff. So yeah, these are the things. But yeah, Newcastle
21:17for me, don't ride them out. Well, I'll put you on the spot then, Roman. What's your top four in order?
21:24Yeah, that's a really tough one. City, Arsenal,
21:31Newcastle, Chelsea. Well, you've just earned yourself quite a lot of new followers up in
21:37the North East, I suspect. Yeah. I mean, again, Man United. But yeah, yeah.
21:45I mean, Michael, I'll ask you quickly as we're running out of time, but any sort of quick
21:49thoughts on Manchester United? They've obviously spent quite a lot of money already this summer.
21:52And by the time people watch this, it might well be a little bit more. Do you think they've done
21:56enough to make a difference? Do you think there was enough encouragement for the performance in
21:59the Community Shields? Do you think they could at least crack top four? I think the encouraging
22:04thing from the Community Shield was that they weren't laid open in the middle. I think obviously
22:09last season that was their Achilles heel and they were just so vulnerable through the centre.
22:12Casemiro played better, but I do wonder if that's a specific approach for playing against a team
22:18like City. So I don't know. I mean, Fulham on Friday night would probably be a better indication.
22:23I mean, United, listen, by the time this video goes out, they'll have probably completed the
22:26signings of De Ligt and Masraoui. I think there'll be at least another one comes in,
22:31maybe two. I think they'll bring in a midfielder. They need a left-back, urgently need a left-back
22:37this season. I know Masraoui's been brought into play there as well, but they need another option.
22:42What do I think this season? I don't know. I don't know. It's a common theme for me. I don't know.
22:48I think they'll be better than last season. And because, you know, last season was a bit small
22:53for Man United. It was, in my opinion, the worst Premier League spot. I mean, my opinion and
22:56actually statistically the worst Premier League season ever. I think they'll improve on that.
23:01I think they'll be in there in the top four race, but I don't think there'll be anyone near the
23:05title or anything like that. And I think that Tenhike just needs to get a bit more of his style
23:10on the side and needs to improve in terms of just the way they play week in, week out.
23:15They need to vastly improve on that compared to last time.