If you were not already optimistic over the new season following last weekends thrashing of football, this weekends results should have more than whetted your appetite.

A comfortable opening day win against Coventry City took us to top of the table, and then the rest of the weekend unrolled.

Firstly we had Manchester United putting the “it was only Coventry” argument to bed by losing to Hull City. Then in the later kick off, Tottenham lost to Brentford.

A few years ago we lost to Brentford on the opening day of the season. Our team was stripped to the bare bones with Covid illness and injury. At the final whistle, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were in with the crowd celebrating. Mikel Arteta was being written off and no mention of our squad issues were discussed.

Following Brentford taking Spurs to the cleaners, their apologists were out to whoever would listen. From “bought a lot of players who need time to settle” to “this was basically Spurs’ B team due to their injuries”. The truth is you can not put lipstick on a pig. Spurs have bought a bunch of mid-table players and suddenly were being labelled as title challengers. Meanwhile out title challenge was being write off just because we tried and failed to sign Vinicus Jr.

Moving into Sunday, we very nearly got a great result with Manchester City v Bournemouth. Man City needing two late goals to come back from the brink. More excuses followed of “sold a lot of players” and “new manager”. But all the game did was reinforce what we all saw in the Community Shield – Man City under the ex-Chelsea boss are not the same as Man City under Pep.

Finally Liverpool. A 98th minute penalty to draw against Newcastle. And as with those before them, pundits were lining up to defend them. The justification was new manager, new players, and key players returning from injury. Claims of more will sign and that will drive them forward.

Tonight we have Chelsea. Will they be another title contender to fail to win on opening day? Or will they grab the 3-points in the West London Derby (is that the worst derby in English football?).

All I know is you can only beat what is in front of you. We beat Coventry. Comfortably. Liverpool, Man U and Spurs all failed to win.

Now I am not crowning us champions already. Liverpool won their first 5 games of last season and looked ready to romp away with the title before losing 6 of their next 7. But anyone that thought we would be worse than last season having not signed Vinicius Jr should have had a wake up call. And anyone who thought Man U, Liverpool, Man City and Tottenham were all going to be hugely better also would have had a wake up call.

Next up is Aston Villa away, who I have not even mentioned yet.

Thrashed 4-nil on the opening day of the season. Lost their best centre back in Ezri Konsa, best midfielder in Youri Tielemans and best attacker in Morgan Rogers, the trio could soon be joined out the door by Ollie Watkins. Villa fans put Unai Emery on a pedestal. Some Arsenal fans still try and make the case that Emery has “proved he is better than Arteta.”

The truth is Emery is what he has always been – someone very good at managing the 6th to 8th best team in the league, getting them to top 5 or 6 consistently, winning the odd minor honour, but never capable of pushing them on to the next level.

I would not be surprised if this is Emery’s last season with Villa. They look like a team who will really struggle. Maybe even a relegation battle ahead. And he will crack under the pressure, as he always does, become a tinkerman and then walk away. Villa fans will then blame is all on the PSR fella.

Enjoy your week. It will be a good one!

Keenos

There’s nothing quite like the first game of a new Premier League season. Everyone’s on zero points, everyone’s got a fresh excuse for optimism, and suddenly every summer signing looks like the missing piece.

For Arsenal, though, Friday night is a little different. They’re not just starting a new campaign — they’re starting the defence of their Premier League title. The Gunners welcome newly promoted Coventry City to the Emirates, with Mikel Arteta’s side expected to get off to a winning start.

And if Arsenal’s Community Shield performance is anything to go by, Coventry could have picked a slightly nicer fixture for their return to the big time.

Arsenal were excellent against Manchester City last weekend, cruising to a 3-0 victory and looking every inch a side ready to go again. Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard got the goals, while new signing Christos Tzolis made an immediate impression with two assists.

That’s probably the biggest headache for Coventry. Arsenal have quality all over the pitch, and they now have even more depth to work with.

Bruno Guimarães is the headline addition, arriving from Newcastle in a £75m deal, although there is a question mark over whether he’ll feature after picking up a leg issue in the Community Shield. Declan Rice may also be managed carefully after only playing 45 minutes last weekend.

Still, even with a couple of players missing or being eased in, Arsenal have plenty of weapons. Bukayo Saka, Ødegaard and Havertz can cause serious problems, while the home side should be looking to dominate possession and pin Coventry back.

For Coventry, this is about as tough as Premier League returns get.

After 25 years away from the top flight, Frank Lampard’s side have been handed a trip to the reigning champions on the opening night. They then face Manchester City in their next fixture, so the fixture computer really hasn’t shown much sympathy.

But that might actually make this a free hit for Coventry. Nobody seriously expects them to stroll into the Emirates and boss Arsenal, so Lampard’s team can simply go out there, compete and see what happens.

Coventry have also invested heavily over the summer, reportedly spending around £100m on new recruits as they prepare for life back in the Premier League. They’ve got every intention of staying up rather than treating this as a one-season adventure.

The key for them will be surviving the early pressure. If they can frustrate Arsenal for the first 20 or 30 minutes, the crowd could get a little twitchy. But if Arsenal score early, it could become a very long evening.

So, what’s the prediction?

It’s difficult to look past Arsenal here. The champions are at home, they’ve already shown good form, and they’ve got the confidence that comes with finally winning the title last season.

Coventry will give it a go, and there’s every chance they make things awkward for a while. But over 90 minutes, Arsenal should simply have too much.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Coventry.

A new season, a new challenge and, Arsenal fans will hope, another title charge. Not a bad way to kick things off.

DJ