Arsenal Set for Title Glory with Bruno Guimaraes Addition
If this season goes anything like the predictions, Arsenal might as well start polishing the trophy now.
Across a panel of writers, only one voice seriously swerved the Gunners. The rest? Convinced that a summer of calm, smart business and the capture of Bruno Guimaraes has turned last season’s champions into something close to a domestic certainty.
Sarah Winterburn went strongest, calling anyone backing another club “unhinged” and insisting no side will finish within 10 points of Mikel Arteta’s team. Matt Stead declared “phase five is upon us.” Dave Tickner, far more tentative 12 months ago, now leans in fully, arguing Arsenal will finally “cash in” on being the only truly settled heavyweight while rivals fumble through year-one rebuilds.
Ian Watson, Jason Soutar, Lewis Oldham, Michael Lee and Nestor Watach all line up behind Arsenal too, each pointing to the same core themes: stability, evolution, and everyone else looking a mess in comparison. Samuel Bannister stops just short of coronation, calling them “favourites” but predicting a tighter race, likening their new mentality to PSG finally cracking the Champions League and then backing it up.
Only John Nicholson breaks ranks. He goes for Manchester United, leaning on their form under Michael Carrick and insisting “them’s the facts” as he tips United to reclaim the title.
Chaos behind Arsenal: who makes the top four?
If the title race looks oddly straightforward on paper, the rest of the top four is a complete guessing game.
Winterburn sticks Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City behind Arsenal, with United nudged into fifth as a “bonus” pick. Stead goes for “Cobham Current Gen” – Chelsea’s academy-fuelled reboot – then City and Liverpool. Nicholson has Chelsea, City and Aston Villa.
Tickner openly mocks the task as “infamously impossible” this year and throws out Chelsea, Liverpool and City “with almost zero confidence.” Watson more or less shrugs his way to Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham, while Soutar mirrors that with Chelsea, City and Spurs.
Oldham expects City to miss out on the title by a similar margin to last season but still finish second, with Chelsea third and Liverpool fourth, just ahead of United. Lee’s order is Chelsea, City, Liverpool, while Watach calls a “boring” wage-bill correction: City, Liverpool, United, with Chelsea fifth – which he expects will still be enough for the Champions League.
Bannister flips it again: Liverpool, City, Chelsea. He predicts Alexander Isak under Andoni Iraola will lift Liverpool, questions City post-Pep but still sees momentum, and backs a Europe-free Chelsea to exploit the clear calendar.
Relegation roulette: promoted trio in the firing line
At the bottom, sympathy runs thin for the new arrivals.
Ipswich, Coventry and Hull are Winterburn’s picks to go straight back down. Watson agrees entirely. Tickner and Watach both go for the full promoted trio too, calling it a grim return to the recent trend and doubting any of them can repeat the Leeds or Sunderland escape acts of last season. Bannister also tips all three to drop, though he expects Coventry to make the best fight of it and sees Crystal Palace as the existing side most likely to flirt with danger.
Stead is slightly kinder. He has Hull and Coventry going, but thinks Ipswich survive by “initiating the Leeds Protocol” and signing a load of six-footers, while Sunderland get “xG’d” into trouble instead. Nicholson goes bolder, pairing Hull with Newcastle and Crystal Palace, both suffering from new-manager collapses.
Soutar calls Fulham doomed – “you have to fear for them, you really do” – and then labels Ipswich “rubbish” and Hull “proper rubbish.” Oldham is adamant Hull and Ipswich are certainties for the drop but believes Coventry’s momentum under Frank Lampard will keep them up, pushing Fulham into 18th. Michael Lee sends Sunderland, Coventry and Hull down, trusting Ipswich’s “tidy signings” and warning Sunderland will be distracted by Europe after overachieving last year.
Leeds, Newcastle, Coventry… who shocks the league?
Ask for a “pleasant surprise” and the answers split between romantic stories and schadenfreude.
Leeds United get the loudest backing. Winterburn thinks they’ve “bought well” and could finish top eight. Nicholson goes even higher, tipping them to finish sixth after smart upgrades in goal, defence, midfield and attack. Oldham believes they can sneak into the top ten, while Lee says they’re “Winning the Window” and expects Forest, not Leeds, to be the ones who crash back into Europe. Watach is equally bullish, pointing to a strong second half of last season and a deeper Daniel Farke squad capable of a push for the Conference League.
Tickner toys with the idea that in modern football, the only true “pleasant surprise” is a Spurs or Manchester United implosion. He eventually settles on Crystal Palace as the Brentford-style story, arguing they’ve appointed a better manager than fellow strugglers like Fulham, Bournemouth or Newcastle, while also floating Chelsea as genuine title contenders – though he admits that’s not exactly “pleasant.”
Soutar sees Coventry’s 15th-place finish as the nicer tale, even as he tips Chelsea for a top-two shock. Lee’s “pleasant” criteria rule out the big boys, so he leans toward Forest returning to Europe. Bannister throws Newcastle into the mix, convinced they can’t be as flat as last season and that their young signings will drag them back into the top half.
Golden Boot: all roads lead to Haaland
On the Golden Boot, there is barely a debate.
Winterburn, Stead, Nicholson, Watson, Soutar, Oldham, Lee, Watach and Bannister all land on the same name: Erling Haaland. Some barely bother to justify it. “Daft question,” says Winterburn. “Erling Haaland will win it.” Stead calls it “silly” to say anyone else. Watach notes there isn’t another Premier League scorer “in the same stratosphere.”
Tickner dubs him the “Goalbot 3000,” predicting another fast start – 12 in the first nine games – on the way to roughly 30 goals. He only looks elsewhere for each-way betting value, floating Matheus Cunha and Cody Gakpo as long-odds punts. Oldham thinks Alexander Isak will run Haaland close, while Nicholson and others see Isak or Benjamin Sesko as likely runners-up.
New signings: Trafford, Bruno G and a flurry of hype
The question of which new signing will make the biggest positive impact throws up one clear trend: belief in Leeds’ overhaul and Arsenal’s marquee midfield addition.
Watson and others rave about Bruno Guimaraes at Arsenal, Watson calling him potentially “great” for the champions and the creative unlock they’ve been missing. Winterburn also references him when talking about Arsenal’s dominance.
Leeds, though, dominate this section. Stead calls James Trafford the answer “by definition,” while Watson says he should transform Leeds simply by not being “dicey as f***.” Soutar loves all three of Leeds’ early arrivals – Trafford, Harry Wilson and Tarik Muharemovic – and takes them as a collective pick. Oldham goes even further, suggesting Trafford could end the season as England’s No.1. Watach highlights Muharemovic as an “extraordinarily good” upgrade on Pascal Struijk, predicting Champions League links within a year. Bannister accepts Leeds may have overpaid for Trafford but still thinks he’ll give them the security they’ve been craving in goal.
Elsewhere, Winterburn hails Mamadou Sangare as a “massive upgrade” on Jordan Henderson at Brentford. Stead points to Jeremy Jacquet as a huge improvement on the current version of Ibrahima Konate. Nicholson argues Morgan Rogers is exactly what Chelsea need, while Tickner and Bannister both namecheck Christos Tzolis after his eye-catching Community Shield display.
Flops in waiting: Elliot Anderson under the microscope
When it comes to potential disasters, one name keeps returning: Elliot Anderson at Manchester City.
Winterburn says a “massive flop” needs a massive fee and calls Anderson’s price “frankly ridiculous,” doubting his running and work-rate alone will cut it at City’s level. Tickner brands him the “most egregious” of the summer’s many overspends in midfield. Lee echoes that, labelling £116m “extortionate” and fearing he’s joined at the wrong time. Bannister expects the fee to weigh heavily on him and doubts he’ll convince.
Tottenham’s Sandro Tonali is Nicholson’s pick, fitting the “expensive Spurs signing who was good elsewhere” tradition. Watson fears for Morgan Rogers under the burden of his price tag and also tips Alejandro Garnacho to struggle. Soutar bluntly calls Ronald Araujo “proper bobbins” and throws Victor Munoz into the same bracket. Oldham suspects £50m for Andrey Santos is simply “A LOT.” Watach circles back to Rogers again, incredulous at him becoming the second-most expensive signing in Premier League history.
Bargains: Tielemans ‘steal’, Wilson for free, hidden value
In a market everyone agrees is overheated, the hunt for bargains turns into a search for relative sanity.
Winterburn goes straight to Youri Tielemans at £35m, calling it a “steal.” Bannister also lands there, though he wonders if limited resale value muddies the definition of “bargain.” He offers Christos Tzolis at Arsenal as another candidate, insisting worse wingers have already moved for more than £34m.
Leeds again hoover up praise. Stead, Nicholson, Tickner, Watson, Soutar and Lee all highlight Harry Wilson’s free transfer as outstanding business after his best ever season. Tickner admits free transfers feel like cheating in this category but says Wilson still counts because Leeds had tried to buy him for a fee last year. Watson also throws Xaver Schlager into the free-transfer mix, while Lee suggests Leeds’ record outlay on Trafford will still prove value given the points he’ll save.
Oldham picks out Christian Norgaard as a “great pick-up” for Everton after a superb year at Brentford. Watach flags Hayden Hackney’s initial £16m fee as “crazily low” in a summer where “lesser players have moved for twice that.”
PFA Player of the Year: Rice, Bruno G and the usual suspects
Predicting the PFA Player of the Year produces a spread of midfielders and one inevitable striker.
Winterburn admits nobody would have tipped Bruno Fernandes last season and now goes for Bruno Guimaraes, believing he can add extra creativity to the champions. Oldham also leans on the “player from the champions” logic and picks Guimaraes after his strong World Cup and expected partnership with Declan Rice.
Rice himself gets heavy backing. Tickner thinks a slightly lighter workload in a deeper Arsenal midfield will actually increase his influence after he ended the World Cup as “football’s weariest human.” Watson and Watach both name him too, assuming he’s properly rested and ready to dominate.
Stead goes for Bukayo Saka, fresh from his World Cup hat-trick. Nicholson picks Elliot Anderson to peak, with Brian Madjo as Young Player of the Year. Lee and Soutar both choose David Raya. Bannister keeps it simple: if Haaland scores the goals he’s predicted for, he expects the Norwegian to scoop the award again.
First manager out: Fulham fears, Hull nerves, Sunderland warning
The managerial sack race looks as unpredictable as the league table – but a few names keep popping up.
Winterburn and Oldham both point to Alvaro Arbeloa at Fulham, saying the fit “doesn’t feel quite right” and fearing a poor start will cost him. Watson agrees Fulham look vulnerable and also mentions “Diet Pep” at City as a possible early target if results wobble.
Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic is another popular fall guy. Nicholson, Lee and Watach all single him out, with Watach saying he has the expendable vibe of a “bit-part character you instantly forget in the first 10 minutes of a horror film.” Lee even predicts Hull’s owner becoming a “Main Character” and sparking Greece-Turkey style beef with Nottingham Forest’s Evangelos Marinakis.
Tickner sticks with a proven formula and chooses Oliver Glasner at Forest, arguing Marinakis’ trigger-happy record makes him the safest bet. Soutar simply writes off “the bloke from Hull” as “doomed.” Bannister, looking higher up the table, flags Regis Le Bris at Sunderland as a second-season-syndrome casualty, suggesting he might have overachieved too quickly and now faces accelerated expectations. Stead tosses David Moyes into the mix, acknowledging the sheer futility of trying to call this one.
Europe’s biggest prize: Barcelona, PSG, or Arsenal’s next step?
On the Champions League, the panel splits between three superpowers – and one data-driven Arsenal prophecy.
Winterburn and Lee both go for Barcelona, each pointing to Rodri as the missing piece if they can add a proper centre-back alongside Pau Cubarsi. Watach also backs Barça, convinced Rodri will allow them to play with the same total control that powered Spain’s World Cup triumph.
PSG still have their believers. Nicholson expects them to be “hard to beat again,” while Oldham and Lee both lean towards another French triumph if Barcelona don’t fully fix their defence. Bannister goes the furthest, predicting PSG will make it three in a row now that something has finally “clicked” for them in Europe.
Watson sticks with Real Madrid on pure pedigree. Tickner and Soutar, though, follow the Arsenal arc: quarter-finals in 2024, semi-finals in 2025, runners-up in 2026. By that logic, they say, the only step left is to win it in 2027 – with Tickner even tipping them for a Premier League–Champions League double and branding anything less “Fraud McBottlejobs.”
And what are they most excited about?
Strip everything else away and you’re left with the essence of a season: chaos, novelty, and the weird little subplots that make nine months feel like a soap opera.
Winterburn relishes “so very many new managers.” Stead looks forward to “an offside penis; not Richarlison.” Nicholson has an eye on Montrose in Scottish League One. Tickner anticipates a “neverending moral panic about corners.” Watson just wants “Tottenham Hotspur making Tickers smile.”
Soutar is bizarrely excited for the return of the Keys and Gray podcast. Oldham clings to the possibility of Rotherham United winning more games. Lee delights in the absence of VAR in the Championship. And Watach, perhaps summing up the Premier League mood better than anyone, distils it into five words:
“New managers; uncertainty, unpredictability, chaos.”
