The Premier League season began on Friday, August 13th, with Arsenal’s visit to Premier League newcomers Brentford. The day proved to be an unlucky one for Mikel Arteta and his men as they fell to an unexpected 2-0 loss that in truth, could have been much, much worse.
What stood out most from that game though was the special atmosphere inside the Brentford Community Stadium as a sell-out crowd returned to top flight football in this country for the first time since March 9th, 2020.
As it happens, that special night in West London could turn out to be the amazing first chapter in what could potentially be, the greatest Premier League season yet. Not sold on that idea? Read on to find out why 2021-2022 could well be the most iconic season in Premier League history.
A Titanic Title Race
At the time of writing the Premier League season is a little over a quarter of the way through and the top three of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are separated by just 2 points and have all played each other once.
All three have more than realistic ambitions on lifting the Premier League trophy in May, but predicting who it will be is a different matter. If you regularly bet on football, you’d have to be either brave or foolish to put a big bet on one team over the other two right now.
Manchester City of course have the most experience of lifting the title in recent years but Liverpool also knows what it takes to finish top of the pile and have looked in imperious form all season. Then of course there is Chelsea who have an incredible squad and an incredible manager to boot.
There is so little to separate these three teams that the title race looks set to go down to the wire this season which is great news for fans!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZnFnQT0g5j0
(The top of the table clashes thus far this season have already been epic, with more on the line in the second half of the campaign they’ll be even more dramatic!)
Giants’ Downfall
It has been 17 years since Arsenal last won the Premier League title and 8 years since the Premier League trophy was raised at Old Trafford. In those barren periods both Arsenal and Manchester United have lurched from crisis to crisis managing to pull themselves back from the precipice at the last moment.
This season though it appears that both clubs luck is beginning to run out and that the consequences of their actions are beginning to catch up with them. Arsenal who have recruited poorly for the better part of a decade are now settling in to life as a mid-table club.
United, who have asked a failed Championship manager to knock a team of multi-million superstars into action are also reaping their karma. The devastating 5-0 home loss to Liverpool should be rock bottom, but somehow it feels like the Red Devils under Solskjaer have even further depths to plummet to.
If you’re a fan of schadenfreude and want to see the old giants of the late 90s and early 00s suffer, this could be your favourite Premier League season yet.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=meuYMrjJ-oc
(If you’re not a fan of Manchester United there’s something almost brilliant about seeing their implosion since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.)
Newcastle Doing Newcastle Things
The news that the Saudi Arabian Private Investment Fund (PIF) had taken over from Mike Ashley at Newcastle was greeted with fanfare by excited Geordies. With the wealth of the Saudi nation behind them, the sky should be the limit for Newcastle United, but there is one small problem.
They are in the relegation zone and have an abject squad of lower Premier League players and upper-end Championship players. Steve Bruce and Mike Ashley may have gone but the heart of Newcastle United still remains and would there be anything more ‘Newcastle’ than getting relegated to the Championship as soon as they became the richest club in global sport?
Even if they don’t go down, the upheaval at St. James Park will be primetime viewing.
(Newcastle United have been relegated twice under Mike Ashley, will they rack up another demotion under their new regime?)
Norwich Doing a Derby
It’s not quite the same as saying you were there for Live Aid or when the Berlin Wall came down, but for those of us over the age of 25 it’s a badge of honour to say we remember that wretched Derby County team of 2007-2008.
To this day, they remain the worst team to have graced the Premier League, winning just one match all season, naturally against Newcastle United.
However, Daniel Farke’s Norwich City look more than capable of going one further and becoming the new ‘worst team ever’. After 9 games they sit rock bottom with no wins to their name and a goal difference of -21.
Will the Canaries do better than Derby did in 2008 and finish with more than 11 points? It doesn’t seem likely right now…
What else are you looking forward to from the Premier League this season? Let us know in the comments section below.
