by Tom Allen
The return of the Premier League is imminent and less than one month after
Spain lifted football's biggest prize, England's finest clubs now embark on
their journey to claim the country's most coveted trophy.
There is little doubt that La Liga now holds sway in terms of quality but,
while the Spanish top flight is dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid, the
beautiful game in England has never been more competitive.
Chelsea, the defending champions and 13/8 favourites with
Blue Square this
time around, face at least four genuine title challengers and big-spending
Manchester City are a fascinating addition to the mix.
City, now no bigger than 5/1 with
Paddy Power to be crowned champions, have
19 points to make up on the Blues alone however and Roberto Mancini's side may
have to wait just a little bit longer before finishing top of the pile.
Surely it will come one day, with seemingly a bottomless pit of cash at their
disposal, but City look appalling value at present, with so many questions marks
still surrounding their set up, and even the high profile acquisitions of David
Silva, Yaye Toure and Jerome Boateng fail to convince me that they'll be good,
or experienced, enough to challenge.
At an unfathomable two points bigger in the betting, 7/1 chances with Victor
Chandler,
Arsenal looked primed for a serious tilt at top honours and manager Arsene
Wenger will surely reap the benefits of the fact that several of his top men
missed the World Cup for a variety of reasons.
Andrei Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky and, most famously, Theo Walcott
were all absent from the South African party and, providing Robin van Persie
remains healthy, then the Gunners can go very close indeed.
Just two points off the pace with seven matches to go in the Spring, a late
collapse didn't accurately reflect Arsenal's 2009/10 campaign and the Gunners
would have been battling for the title right until the end of the season were it
not for crucial home and away defeats to their two main title rivals which cost
them so dearly.
Fourth favourites with all firms to claim their first trophy since the FA Cup
of 2005, I really like the look of Arsenal at 2/1 in the betting without Chelsea
and Manchester United with Bet365 and will be surprised if they fail to
progress over the next nine months with captain Cesc Fabregas set to remain in
North London.
Wenger has added quality in the shape of striker Marouane Chamakh and central
defender Lauren Koscielny, the latter wisely to replace the troublesome William
Gallas, and his young stars will not get a better chance to make an impact with
doubts surrounding their main challengers.
While Chelsea have waved goodbye to Joe Cole, now at Liverpool, and Michael
Ballack, the returning Michael Essien will feel like a new signing but Carlo
Ancelotti has failed to strengthen elsewhere and likewise Manchester United will rely heavily once again on Wayne Rooney, but last season's 34 goal
hero has to prove that his World Cup flop with England holds no lasting damage
and it's not hard to see Arsenal progressing past last season's runners-up.
Pick: 5pts Back Arsenal (Without Chelsea and Man Utd) @ 2/1 (Bet365)
