Premier League 2016-17 preview, predictions: No. 4, Arsenal
With the 2016-17 Premier League season kicking off this weekend, FC Yahoo is rolling out previews for all 20 teams. We’ll be working our way up from the bottom of our predicted table, all the way to the champions.
Last season: Arsenal achieved its highest finish in over a decade in 2015-16, but it was nonetheless a disappointment. The league was there for the taking, and the Gunners couldn’t snatch it. The most maddening thing for fans was that the same problems that have incessantly haunted manager Arsene Wenger in recent years — no alternative to Olivier Giroud up top, no defensive midfield depth — once again preempted a true title challenge.
What’s changed: Consider one of those two nagging problems solved … probably. Wenger put aside his frugality and spent £34 million to capture Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach. Injuries to center backs have also compelled Wenger to move for Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, and that deal appears to be close. But there has not yet been an attacking move of note. The striker search remains ongoing.
FC YAHOO TAKE
Henry Bushnell: In a year with so much uncertainty swirling around the top of the Premier League, Arsenal is still Arsenal — and that’s not a bad thing. It’s especially not a bad thing when you consider that Xhaka and Mustafi might make this year’s Arsenal the best Arsenal of the past decade. And while it still has its faults, there’s something to be said for consistency. Mesut Ozil is one of the best chance creators the Premier League has ever seen; Alexis Sanchez is dynamite when healthy; Aaron Ramsey is quietly brilliant; Olivier Giroud isn’t as bad as moaning fans make him out to be; and all these players have been playing together for at least two full seasons. These Gunners don’t have the upside of the Manchester clubs, but if new managers don’t turn the league’s three financial giants into world-beaters right away — a very real possibility — Wenger and co. have the talent and stability to outlast all of them and end the title drought.
Joey Gulino: If Arsenal couldn’t win the top flight last year, it sure won’t happen this year. Moreover, there will be more competition for Champions League spots than at any other point in the Premier League era. Once again, a summer transfer window appears to be coming and going with only token strengthening to show for it. A Xhaka here, a young player nobody’s heard of there. The Gunners can’t be counted on to stay healthy, they can’t be counted on to consistently pick up points they should, and there are still glaring depth issues at center back and striker. Oh, and Arsene Wenger’s contract has yet to be extended past the end of the season. That won’t hang like the Sword of Damocles over these players or anything. For the first time in two decades, Arsenal will drop out of the top four.
Bookmakers say: Point total over/under: 71.5 | Title odds: 6/1 | Relegation odds: 1000/1
FC YAHOO PREDICTIONS
Shahan Ahmed: 3 | Ryan Bailey: 3 | Alex Baker: 2 | Henry Bushnell: 1 | Joey Gulino: 6 | Joe Lago: 4 | Leander Schaerlaeckens: 6 | Average: 3.6 (4th)
More Previews
Arsenal | Bournemouth | Burnley | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Hull City | Leicester City | Liverpool | Manchester City | Manchester United | Middlesbrough | Southampton | Stoke City | Sunderland | Swansea City | Tottenham | Watford | West Brom | West Ham
