5 insights into the new Premier League season

The third round of games of the Barclays Premier League draws to a close and we are into the inevitable international break, which gives us a chance to sit back and assess the domestic situation. Three game weeks is sufficient for certain things to become apparent, such as which players will be giving defenders a problem and which managers have to change their thinking processes, but it has also given a few insights on how the table might pan out over the course of the season.

1. The two Manchester clubs and Chelsea will be the teams to beat – This is especially true when you consider the depth of their squads and the fact that they have two or three world class players to fill each position on the field. It is impossible in today’s competitive era of the Premier League to win every football match, but the grit and character the players of these teams possess ensures that they do the business in the matches that really matter. Backed by sound and astute managers, consistency is the key to success for them.

2. Arsenal will challenge for the title and may go on to accomplish great things- Defensively, today’s Arsenal are totally different from the Gunners’ teams of the past two or three seasons. There is organization, discipline and a desire to not let anybody through. If the attacking players can link up with each other then Arsenal can be transformed into a match-winning machine and a little bit of calm-head approach will clinch the trophy that this team deserves.

3. Liverpool and Tottenham are going to have extremely difficult seasons – Liverpool’s defence and midfield looks solid but there is a clear lack of cutting edge, and of course, the calamitous errors so characteristic of the Kop will haunt them if things do not change soon. For Spurs, AVB has got to think out of the box once in a while and let’s hope that he handles his players better than he did last season at Chelsea! It could be a struggle for these teams to even finish in the top half this year!

4. The relegation battle is not going down to the wire unless certain teams step up the standard of their game – Among them are Aston Villa and QPR who have looked out of their depth most of the time. The Villa squad shows a marked lack of quality while the multitude of new faces at Rangers will need time to fit in to the team. Southampton and Norwich too have looked shaky and could be sucked into such a hole that the relegation battle could be over by February or early March at the latest.

5. A new generation of footballers is emerging that will define the Premier League for a long time to come – Cast your eyes towards the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Shinji Kagawa, Santi Cazorla, Michu, Petric, Tom Cleverley, Fabio Borini, Lukas Podolski, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse and so many emerging players and you can see why the Premier League will entertain us totally for a long time to come.