Martin Keown believes Arsenal have a specific advantage over Liverpool and Manchester City that will help them hit the ground running.
The new season kicks off on Friday, with Arne Slot’s team hosting Bournemouth at Anfield in the Premier League’s curtain raiser.
Arsenal commence their campaign on Sunday away at Manchester United, in a huge clash which will set the tone for the Gunners.
The encounter with the Red Devils marks the start of a gruelling opening period for Mikel Arteta’s men, which involves trips to Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as a home match against Manchester City, before the end of September.
Martin Keown says Arsenal have an early season advantage over Manchester City and Liverpool
Arsenal have added six players to their ranks this summer.
Viktor Gyokeres has signed from Sporting CP for £63 million, while Martin Zubimendi has joined from Real Sociedad.
While this many additions in one summer can require some adaptation time, only the aforementioned duo are likely to be regular starters.
Thus, the Gunners should go into the season with a lot of continuity from last season, and Keown believes this will be an advantage for Arteta’s side early in the campaign, despite their tough fixture list.
“The first six games of the season – including Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle away, and Manchester City at home – are going to be key,” Keown wrote for BBC Sport.
“But I am going to turn what might have been a negative for Arsenal into a positive, because Liverpool’s new players will be bedding in, City have had a reset and Newcastle have endured a difficult summer.
“The title race is still going to be very close, but if Arsenal and Viktor Gyokeres can click straight away, then the solid building blocks they need to be champions are already in place.”
Arteta’s system will closely mirror what it has looked like in the past, and Zubimendi and Gyokeres should slot in seamlessly.
It’s been a summer of change for Liverpool and Manchester City
While Arsenal’s team will look very similar to last season, Liverpool and Manchester City have both made some major changes across their respective squads.
The Merseysiders have lost Trent Alexander-Arnold, their primary source of ball progression, and replaced him with a very different style of full-back in Jeremie Frimpong.
The Dutch defender will offer Mohamed Salah a relentless overlapping option, but none of the passing Alexander-Arnold flaunted, and this will certainly be a stylistic change that Slot’s team will take some time to get used to.
Meanwhile, the Reds have also overhauled their attack, adding Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, both of whom are exceptionally talented but will need time to gel.
As for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has overseen something of a rebuild in the last two transfer windows.
Key creative midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has gone, and a new-look midfield has been assembled, including signings Rayan Cherki and Tijani Reijnders.
This new congregation won’t click into gear immediately, and thus, Keown’s verdict about Arsenal being in a better position than their direct rivals to attack the campaign early is certainly valid.
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