How our pre-season Arsenal, Mikel Arteta and Premier League predictions look now
Arsenal have had a largely positive start to their campaign, but did our chief correspondent Kaya Kaynak see it coming?
Months back, on August 9, we asked all of our staff at football.london to deliver their predictions for the coming Premier League season, including where teams would finish at the top end and lower reaches of the table, who would win the trophies domestically and in Europe, as well as who would be the best signings and the biggest flops.
Here are Kaya's predictions for each category from back in August and then his reasons for those choices. At the end of it all we got him to look back in hindsight at his answers.
Kaya Kaynak (Chief Arsenal writer)
Premier League winners: Manchester City
Rest of the top four:Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea
Relegated: Luton, Wolves, Fulham
Golden Boot winner: Erling Haaland
FA Cup winners: Arsenal
Carabao Cup winners: Newcastle
Champions League winners: Manchester City
Europa League winners: Roma
Signing of the summer: Pau Torres
Flop of the season: Mason Mount
Unexpected star of the season: Levi Colwill
I think this season's title race is going to be even closer than last year's but I still think City will pip Arsenal. It's just because they've got that ability to go on a run of 25 wins in a row that is impossible to stop. Arsenal have already shown they're beatable in the Community Shield though and I'd love for them to prove me wrong.
I think people may be sleeping a little bit on Chelsea so far this summer. I really like Levi Colwill so keep an eye out for him as a player who could help get them back in the Champions League. Never underestimate what a lack of European football can do for a team's energy reserves. Elsewhere, I fear a little for Fulham this year, particularly if Mitrovic's head is elsewhere. Manchester United should be a fun watch for fans of schadenfreude too!
Kaya's verdict three months on
I don't want to brag, but I'm feeling pretty good about these predictions so far. I can't exactly call myself Nostradamus for expecting City to be top of the Premier League table. If they win the treble the season before then you'd be mad not to back them. It's the same in the Champions League where they progressed to the knockout stages with two games to spare.
If you look at the text beneath, though, I do qualify that prediction by saying Arsenal have shown that City are beatable. I owe Gabriel Martinelli and Nathan Ake's forehead a thankyou for proving me right.
The reality is that at this stage of the season it's far too early for me to do my victory lap. In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm more convinced that Arsenal will win the league than I was back then, even though Mikel Arteta 's men sit third. I didn't see this level of defensive excellence coming, and quite frankly they've become more boring - an underrated asset if you want to challenge on multiple fronts.
Where I'm feeling less confident though is my Champions League predictions. After an impressive opening day display against Liverpool I fully drank the Mauricio Pochettino Kool-Aid. Don't get me wrong, they are improving but Liverpool look great and they'll have a tough time getting above even Aston Villa, let alone the surprise package that are Tottenham Hotspur. The less said about my Manchester United prediction the better as well...
In the bottom three I'm still confident that Fulham could slip into the relegation zone, but I've made the fatal error of underestimating Gary O'Neil yet again. He's clearly a great manager having saved Bournemouth last season and has done well with Wolves so far. Burnley and Sheffield United are also far worse than I think anyone could have expected.
As for the individual awards, I still think there's more to come from Levi Colwill, while Pau Torres has helped Aston Villa to push for a Champions League spot. Mason Mount meanwhile has been anonymous at United. With the shambles that is that club, I find it hard to see that changing any time soon.
