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3 spots up for grabs? Looking at the current squad I think it is reasonable to say that there are only 3 positions that are not nailed on. Possibly less as there is an argument that the 11 I am about to reveal is first choice for sure with the possible exception of the players in red. David Raya Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli Is Jurrien Timber a certain starter? If all are fit, is there anyone out there to argue that I am wrong? And if I am right, then Arteta has managed to secure a settled first team squad in which substitutions and injuries are the only way to allow others to get games. Over 60 games or whatever means that 15, 16, others will play some part in matches but the default could well be these 11. How will that play out, if opportunities are only short term and players don’t get a settled run of games to stake their claim? Goal and defence may have no spots really In goal, Raya seems certain to get back in straightaway even after an injury. Arrizabalaga seems to be there as second choice only and it is hard to see him snatching the net except with a longterm injury to Raya. Anyone disagree? Ben White won't stay as sub, I am certain Gabriel, Saliba and Lewis Skelly are nailed on, surely? Is Timber also? He could be. However, keeping Ben White happy seems unlikely in that scenario. He has made it clear he doesn’t want to get splinters on the bench. Calafiori also hasn’t come here for a bit part. Zinchenko and Kiwior will need to move as well if opportunities this season are limited. Both are first choice internationals and they will lose out if they play few games. Mosquera will presumably be willing to bide his time and may even be sent out on loan as he is young. So, at most one spot open in defence. Nor is there truly one in midfield Nobody is going to argue that Rice and Odegaard haven’t got their places. That means incredible competition for one place. And over 60 million pounds for Zubimendi indicates that that place is his to lose, not someone else to take. Nwaneri is too strong a talent to leave idle but where can he fit? He does not seem like a holding midfielder anyway so Rice or Odegaard are his targets, or maybe upfront? I am certain of one thing, Nwaneri will need lots of games this year to keep him on board. Merino, Norgaard and Havertz are the others most likely to hunt this possible one spot. Bit part players? Seems unlikely considering all are internationals and Havertz and Merino are with major teams that can win trophies. Martin Zubimendi at 60 million pounds must be first choice? If I am right, though, the eleven posted above will get the majority of games as Arteta seems to trust certain players and uses them a lot if fit. Does anyone disagree with me? Goalkeepers and central defenders only get subbed if injured so midfield and upfront at least allow plenty of appearances if not always a lot of minutes. Maybe even 2 spots in attack? In attack, Saka is certain. Gyokeres also but he will have to score or create a lot of assists, or threats/space to allow others to score. He is this season’s signature signing, relieving the pressure on Zubimendi which should work in the Spaniard’s favour. All indications are that Martinelli is also first choice although the competition is getting fiercer. Mandueke knows he has to take this chance but will he get it? Nwaneri is lurking, as is Trossard. Trossard is, I believe, a favourite of Arteta, because of his reliability to score. Somehow, he rarely seems to be first choice but is often the first sub. I feel that may continue. When we need a goal send on Trossard. Nwaneri must get plenty of games or surely he will go? And whither Havertz? He has come back looking bigger, fitter and more determined than ever. If Gyokeres falls apart he is surely the one to step in? Jesus was supposed to be going out on loan but so far that has not happened. Could this finally be his year? Gyokeres will be under a lot of pressure but if he handles it and does a Haaland then chances for the names I have mentioned will be very limited. And I haven’t even mentioned Max Dowman or the others bursting to appear from the Academy. A lot of unhappy players? So, is that what is going to happen? The top eleven above play the majority of matches and the rest have sore arses? Some really good players could get little opportunities. And of course, lack of game time makes it harder to do well when called upon. Yes, most seasons there are plenty of injuries and last season was for sure one of them, but we may have a fairly clear season this time and that will also generate problems. It is not easy being a manager as only 11 can be on the pitch at any one time. I could be wrong but only Martinelli of the top 11 I have posited is probably not everyone’s first choice. He does seem to be Arteta’s, though. Gabriel Martinelli's position may really be the only one open I feel it is good for the team to have a settled 11. The only way in now is to play superb when chances are given. That is a test of character for players, to handle the pressure of playing well when coming on as sub or replacing a key player as starter when injured. Kiwior did well last season but the problem is that every mistake is magnified when replacing someone key. Gabriel wouldn’t have done that, or Saka or Rice or Odegaard and the fans get frustrated. Two things seem certain this year – we appear to have greater depth but we also need to win a major trophy because of it. The excuses have run out. Winning is the only currency Arteta can invest in. It may be that this is his year, one way or the other. I hope it is his good year, not his last. And Kai Havertz is first choice sub striker and midfielder?

If Unai Emery had stayed? Where would we be now if Unai Emery wasn’t forced out by fans frustrated by an unpopular manager? His stuttering attempts at English became an excuse for comedic jeering, his frantic antics on the sidelines as he worked as an orchestral conductor, manically trying to tell players what to do and how to do it, was a source of annoyance and a distinct counterpart to his predecessor, Arsene Wenger ( who while animated, believed in allowing players express themselves) which all combined to make him unpopular with the fans. With no Arsenal connection. He was not given a true chance to mould Arsenal in his way and we will never know what the outcome would have been if he had been given that chance. Was it really necessary to make fun of a man trying to learn something new? However, logically, we can make some assumptions. If given the power to fix the team which Arteta was given, it seems likely that we would have major trophies by now. His teams have always overperformed and garnered plenty of trophies despite being underdogs. He works well with players who trust him and don’t try to undermine him as senior Arsenal players did with him, and Arteta when he took over. He is good with young players and gave Arsenal starts to Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Ainsley Maitland Niles, Charlie Patino and Ben Cottrell. He made us better First off, Arsenal improved under Emery, we were a close fifth, one position above Wenger’s last term and he got us into the Europa League final despite the fact that players were openly laughing at his English and his tendency to pronounce words the Spanish way. Arteta still has this tendency despite years in British football but Arteta has excellent English and his accent sounds normal for a Spanish person. You would never mistake him for a English person although many long term foreigners have chosen to speak with English accents which may provoke hilarity in their home countries. Buying Saliba was a masterstroke You may say, why am I talking so much about Emery’s English? Surely football prowess is what matters? Because I believe it was the single major reason the Kroenke’s decided to move him on. His own players were videoed poking fun at him and they may well have decided that he didn’t have the respect of the players and would not get it back. Senior star players had become a problem under Wenger and Emery would have needed to clear out this element and build his own team. It took Arteta a while but he now has players he can work with and is getting better performances. A strong argument that he would have succeeded? But, given what Emery has achieved at Aston Villa, there is a strong case that he would have sorted out Arsenal. Villa are now on the verge of being a major force in European football despite being a relegation basket case when he took over mid season in 2022/23 from Steven Gerrard. He immediately transformed them into winners, shooting them up the table and the following year breaking the so-called big six dominance by qualifying for the Champions League despite many players not really being considered true stars. "Martinelli, very early on I was excited about him. He’s become exactly the player I expected. He deserves everything coming his way." Jurgen Klopp What were his transfers like at Arsenal? Edu Gaspar was appointed shortly afterwards and I assume he would have also played a large role in who came in. There are some gems and some misses but a certain amount of understanding is needed for the misses. William Saliba is the prize and has become one of the world’s elite defenders. A gold star for Emery. Gabriel Martinelli is the second and despite some fans losing faith because injuries may have diminished him somewhat, he has still been one of our best players and helped Saka to bloom as, whenever pressure was put on Bukayo, Arsenal would switch to Martinelli and teams can’t put 2 players on both of them. Martinelli has been crucial to our rise; make no mistake, even if he may be pushed out because of incomers. Unlucky with injuries, and no faith in Martinez Kieran Tierney was surely the unluckiest of Emery’s buys. He was crucial from day one, darting forward, keeping wingers in his pocket, and just getting on with the game with no nonsense. We all loved him and still do but injury after injury kept him out and probably lessened his ability. I strongly believe that if he had been injury free he would have kept everyone out and been an Arsenal legend. His first year under Emery was good. Tierney at the back -we loved him Bernd Leno was and is a good keeper but struggles with the ground football beloved of Emery and Arteta. It is hard to say he was a bad buy, though, as his record shows lots of clean sheets for Arsenal and he kept out Emil Martinez, now regarded by many as the best goalkeeper in the world. Pepe – a spectacular miss or a freak run of circumstances? Nicolas Pepe didn’t work out but he did show some flashes of brilliance. The weight of the transfer fee, his struggle to learn English (this again), and the emergence of Bukayo Saka meant that he didn’t get a consistent chance to shine and his confidence plummeted. We will never know if, if everything had gone well for him, he may have become an Arsenal legend. His ability is not in doubt, but without confidence, no player can play well. Pepe - his confidence seemed to drain away Guendouzi is another who definitely had ability but his temperament was suspect. Roy Keane was similar in his younger days but managed to sort himself out. Guendouzi has become a regular at Lazio and at 26, is in the middle of his career. Could be that he will climb better heights. Lucas Torreira was not up to standard David Luiz was hit and miss but apparently he was great with the youngsters and helped them become better players. Dani Ceballos and Denis Suarez came from Real Madrid and could have been expected to do better. It is hard to fault the logic in taking them. Torreira and Lichtsteiner did not work out. Sokratis was not of the standard required. Overall, not a bad transfer record. We would now be winners? The point is, would he be now winning trophies? It is hard not to argue that he would. He would have had almost two more years than Arteta had and his record as a manager is certainly above Arteta’s at this moment. He has transformed Villa’s players and their reputations, he has brought in top players without crazy transfer fees and the players seem to love him, always praising him for their development. Arteta’s style of play is very similar as is his micromanagement of the team from the sidelines. Could we have won our dream trophy under Emery? I wonder if, if his English had not become a joke for everyone, would he have succeeded? Did his struggle with English undermine his connections to the Kroenke’s as well? Arteta has excellent English and seems to have a great connection with his bosses. They have never gone after him despite some bad runs and his lack of trophies. Emery didn’t even manage 2 years despite bringing some improvement on Wenger’s last season. It is a credit to Emery that despite the humiliation he received over his English, he bravely went back to England, took on the basket case that was Gerrard’s Villa, and pushed them close to the top of European football. PSG, the European Champions, had a tough battle against them. Don’t laugh, but we may have had many many very good ebenings if we had stayed with Unai Emery.

Are English managers rubbish? Last year, before the season ended, I looked at who was likely to lose their job as manager, and included Sean Dyche, Mauricio Pochettino, and Roy Hodgson among those likely to get fired before the start of the season. They were. Since then Erik Ten Hag, Steve Cooper, Russell Martin, Julien Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil have also bit the bullet. Which means there are only two English managers in the Premier League, Eddie Howe and Graham Potter. The straightforward argument is that English managers must be rubbish, in fact UK managers must be rubbish as there are few of them either but the Scots have had their successes, but even that seems to be well in the past. Will we see Chris Wilder back in the Premier League? Today I will look at the English ones as, with the quirk of history determining, uniquely throughout the world, that four teams play from the UK and the English league is by far the best of those. Next season, if Sheffield United get through the playoffs, (and they have never won a playoff before) two English managers are likely to come up, Chris Wilder with Sheffield and Scott Parker with Burnley. Providing, of course, that the owners don’t decide they need new managers for the Premier League. Leaving a possible four out of twenty. Three English managers to go? Probably Burnley and Sheffield United will struggle and Graham Potter has not exactly pulled up trees with West Ham meaning that all three of them may go before the end of next season. Eddie Howe also, but only if he leaves the Premier League to go abroad, a scenario that seems unlikely given the standing of English managers. Or if Newcastle have a disastrous run of points lost. Graham Potter - a candidate for the sack? And that seems to be the logical choice. You will win nothing with English managers. Not the Premier League or the Champions League since they were both inaugurated in the 90’s. Even the FA Cup or League Cup have been dominated, since the Premier League era, by non-English managers. It is surely a damning statistic that while English players are near the top of the tree, English managers are near the bottom. Off the top of my head, only Graham Potter and Frank Lampard has had a chance at a top English team in recent years, but neither was given very long, nor were they successful. Just two top managers? We have four Spanish, Guardiola, Iraola, Emery and our own Arteta. Four Portuguese, Amorim, Silva, De Santo and Periera. 3 German, Farke of Leeds, Glasner and Hurzelar. Maresca, Italian , Frank, Denmark, Postecoglou, Australia, Slot, Dutch, and David Moyes a Scottish outlier. And a good evening to you, Unai Emery Only Guardiola and Emery could be regarded as true top managers at this juncture, having garnered many trophies apiece. That is the Premier League as we head into 2025/26. Will any of the above list be gone before next season or soon after? Postecoglou and Amorim seem to be under the most pressure with even winning the Europa League no guarantee of safety but neither are English. Only two sort of top English managers? What does that leave us with? Only Eddie Howe and Gareth Southgate can be rated in any way highly. Top English players have fared disastrously, mostly, as managers in recent years, the Nevilles, Gerrard, Rooney, and Lampard all tried and failed. Michael Carrick is midtable with Middlesbrough in the Championship and I can’t see a top team snapping him up. It all looks disastrous for emerging English talent. Gareth Southgate is the best England manager of recent times Is it perhaps really down to one factor, that the English are terrible at learning languages? With a multi-language squad to navigate, can barking at players in English be effective? Roy Hodgson famously learned many languages and managed across several countries but the only other top ones in fairly recent times, Bobby Robson and Terry Venables didn’t really speak anything other than English. All successful Premier League managers seem to have mastered English sufficiently to be able to handle most tasks without interpreters eventually. At least the foreign managers try to learn English Fun was made of Unai Emery when at Arsenal but his English has improved, and, to his credit, he always went into interviews alone and bravely tried to comprehend the English interviewers often highly idiomatic questions. He has done wonders at Villa after Gerrard nearly brought them to relegation. Eddie Howe - the only English Premier League manager of any substance? We are left with Eddie Howe, in truth. He is the only benchmark we have for English managers. As far as I can find out, he only speaks English, so he relies on his players speaking English or using them or a dedicated interpreter when a player arrives without English. Would he get a chance at a top club? I would say no. I can’t imagine Arsenal fans would be terribly happy if he got the Arsenal job. Tottenham, Man Utd or Chelsea? I am not sure but I expect the owners would prefer a proven winner. Which means he has to do it at Newcastle. I don’t think he will. That may be a step too far. The last time he got in the Champions League Newcastle went backwards. And none coming through? It seems that the dearth of English managers will continue. They first need to be given a chance, and if they get that chance, they must succeed and quickly. Our last English manager was Bruce Rioch who was widely regarded as a disaster although he didn’t do too badly. I can’t see an English manager coming to the Emirates any time soon mostly because I cannot think of a contender. Unless Scott Parker burns the opposition at Burnley To sum up, there are almost no English managers at the top level. There are no obvious contenders coming through. Ergo, we will not see a return to most Premier League managers being English. We may not see another Aussie if Mr Postecoglou gets the boot. Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Italian, Scandinavian and French, yes. English? Sorry we don’t want you. And that is a sad state of affairs, that there are few English role models to aspire to. It has been a downward spiral that doesn’t seem to be stopping. English managers may not really be rubbish but we have no way of finding out one way or the other. Unless someone out there has the answer.

A Spanish DNA and what role has the Academy? We have a Spanish manager, a Brazilian director of football, a French set-piece expert and a German Academy manager. Plus we have American owners. I am not sure how much of our current DNA is English but surely the most crucial element is the Spanish one? And our biggest rivals also have their most crucial element a Spanish one. Are you happy, Pep Guardiola? I have often returned to the theme of how English Arsenal are and it is contradictory. Virtually all the Academy are English bar 2 and yet the full team has only three regulars, Saka, Rice and White. 2 or three others will get games but are unlikely to become regulars this season. We had a huge clearout this season with some 28 players going, mostly from the underage squads. Lots of these were English. Brexit obviously plays a part in the logic but it seems that selling the players is the biggest draw. The Academy, then, is a money-making machine? Wherefore art thou, England? We have six UK players in the first team squad (assuming Nketiah goes, and not counting Academy) with Ramsdale, Nelson and maybe Tierney also possibles for an exit. This is well under what is normal in top teams in the other top European leagues. Most could field a team from their own country (although not necessarily first choice). Definitely most would have more than 3 first choice. And Arsenal are not the worst in this regard at the top of the Premier league. Man City didn’t start one UK player on Saturday against Ipswich. Spurs had 2. Man Utd had 3. Chelsea had 3. Wenger and Emery liked bringing in youngsters Not long ago, Willock, Saka, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Maitland Niles, Balogun and others came in within a few years of each other. Wenger and Unai Emery liked bringing on youngsters. I am not so sure the same is with Arteta. I feel that he believes the old football saying: “You never win anything with kids”. No Academy player has come through with him so far and nailed down a top spot. Set to continue? Looks like it to me. Generate money not a place in the first team? Which means that the Academy needs to be a money machine, capable of generating sales of 10m plus per player to give us money to spend on established pros. Up to £34 million for Smith Rowe, up to £30 million for Nketiah, around £20 million for Balogun and so on gives us a return on the Academy. But under Arteta and Edu, not a road to the first team yet. Are you happy, Mikel Arteta? The average age of the squad has gone up now with most over 25. Only Martinelli, Saka and Timber were under that in Saturday’s game against Villa. We now have a seasoned team, many of whom have won big trophies and are established superstars. Even Arteta now is more in the middle for age for managers as five are now younger than him. Seems like only yesterday he was the youngest manager in the division. The Spanish are Supreme What we do have is a Spanish manager and they are the best. How can I say that? 3 of the CL sides are managed by a Spaniard, Pep, Emery and our boy. The three English managers are nowhere, Howe, Dyche, and O’Neil. Nor the three UK ones. That probably won’t change this season. Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche - a hard year? It seems to me that we have all the elements in place. A top Spanish manager, experienced pros who have won big trophies, 2 players for every position although I covered my reservations about this here last week. We also have players coming through the Academy who can fetch money or maybe even snatch a squad or first choice position. We have one of the biggest stadiums, we have smart business people owners whose main interest is sport, and we have a worldwide fanbase. We seem to have a united team and backroom staff. We have top class training facilities. A gigantic negative It is hard to think of a negative. Maybe our colour as red seems to have slipped down the ranking since 2000. There have been 11 red teams winning the Premier League, Man Utd 8, Arsenal 2 and Liverpool 1, to 14 blues, Man City 8, Chelsea 5 and Leicester 1. But we are left with one big negative, I reckon. Pep Guardiola just seems to up his team when necessary. They truly have strength in depth as top players seem to leave most seasons yet they keep on winning. No player seems truly indispensable. Saka, Odegaard, Rice, Saliba, and Raya look necessary for us. Possibly Gabriel as well. I believe we now have to flip-flop with Pep. Whatever he does, we have to do better. Anything you can do, I can do better 2 seasons ago he got 89 points so we knew we had to match that. We did but he got 91 points. This season we have to beat 91 but will he also then beat that? If we get 95 will he get 96? There is huge pressure on us as there is on him but he seems to get his players into a winning zone when necessary. They always do enough. Klopp, at the end, had a defeated look Our template has to be Klopp and Liverpool. In 2018/19 Man City took everything Liverpool threw at them and won by one point 98 to 97. The following year Klopp was merciless, he kept winning all the time, not giving Pep any chink of light until eventually City sank defeated, on 81 to Klopp’s 99. We must do the same. We must be ruthless, we must be mean, we must kick away all the lesser teams every week until Pep says, ok, boys, we will concentrate on the cups. The problem is that effort seemed to finish Klopp off, Liverpool never seemed to be that brutal machine again, as Pep upped his game from that point to win four in a row. Klopp was defeated by his mighty effort. Is the young lion better than the old one? So can we ask Arteta to take on Guardiola, not just for one season but year after year? Would he burn out like Klopp did in his mighty effort? We know Guardiola is ready for the fight nonstop. This season could be when we find out if Mikel Arteta can go one better then Jurgen Klopp, if he steps up to win and doesn’t have that hunted, haunted demeanour which Jurgen Klopp had in his last years as Liverpool boss. Guardiola was like a supreme predator, who lost one battle, but then destroyed his opponent. Can the old lion Pep be sent off with his head down? Can a smiling, babyfaced Spaniard be the king of the jungle and send Guardiola into retirement? I believe we will have all the indicators in place after this season, even if Arteta doesn’t manage to wrest the title from the lion. I will be watching Pep’s face, and I will know if he cannot stomach another fierce battle. That will be key, not giving Pep any joy until the very end. Arteta has to make it tough, no sleep, no rest, just pressure that never stops until Guardiola is squealing enough, whether I win or lose, I cannot go through this again. Pep did it to Klopp, now Arteta must do it to him.

Our destiny is the Double? And so we have 12 games to destiny. If my prediction of 86 points is correct for the title then we can lose 2 games there and still come out champions. Strangely, the same can be said of the Champions League. We can potentially lose one of the ties in the QF’s and the semi’s and still go through. A win over Unai Emery's Villa will be crucial to winning the mindgames That leaves us 8 games to destiny. We then must win our other five games in the league and the other three in the Champions League. We can have no draws although in the Champions League there can be extra time and penalties. The only true statement that can be made is that if we win all 12 matches we will have completed a double that no Arsenal manager ever really came close to. It will be an astonishing turnaround for an Arsenal side regarded as too soft and struggling for money against richer sides which meant the quality of our players since the Invincibles has steadily declined. We have had to punch above our weight to get this far. It will be a great achievement for a young manager and still a young team. Are we stronger this season? What has made the difference this season to last? Last season was a strange one. Most of the top teams struggled and there were three new teams ending up in the top four from the previous year, ourselves, Newcastle and Man Utd. Only really Arsenal and City were truly competing for the title and we all know what happened. The soft underbelly of Arsenal was exposed. We fell apart. The fact that the other teams struggled gave us that second spot. Is Declan Rice the single biggest improvement this season? This year is totally different. Now the competition is intense. The five teams at the top are collecting points as easily as you get your courtesy points filling up at your local petrol station. Both Tottenham and Villa could get 70 points or more and all three at the top 80 or more. This will be a record. So I need to answer the question I posed at the start of the previous paragraph. Havertz has answered all the questions I believe two factors have come into play. It is difficult to say what the most critical is. One is the advance in years of the players, the new maturity of Odegaard, Saka and the rest. The second are the new players Rice, Havertz, Raya and Timber plus Jorginho and Kiwior who came in January 2023. Rice has become key, making Partey a bit player, but crucially helping a strong defence to become the best so far in the league. Jorginho and Havertz have added guile, the ability to create space, find a crucial pass and set up the conditions for goals which Declan Rice also contributes to. Goals are coming from everywhere which makes Arsenal a difficult team to mark or control. Has Raya made a difference? Raya is a difficult one to assess. If Ramsdale and Raya were outfield players Ramsdale would get on the pitch regularly the same as, for example, Trossard does, and we could make a comparison. The only thing we can say is that Raya has secured his position. Arteta trusts him to fit into his pattern more than Ramsdale. I have to accept that. Arteta believes in Raya Kiwior seems to get better with every game and I feel he will secure that position. He makes the defence better. Timber looked incredible at the start and he could be a superstar of the future. He will probably get some game time now that he is back training. He surely fits exactly to the template that Arteta wants. He has ball ability, he seems to fit into a team structure, and being Dutch, is used to playing to the pattern of the team. If fit, I believe he will cause strong competition next season. The toughest year ever? These two sitting in the Emirates? Incredible! So, last year was weak competition, except for Man City, and this year is much tougher. We are in the world’s premier club competition as well, the Champions League. I would be, strangely maybe, happier with the Champions League as we have never won it. I would still go crazy if we win the league. And the double? Well, that would be whoopy de doo, whoopy de doo and the best year for me since we won another double without expecting it in 1971. Arteta and the players have given us this dream in April. Thank you very much. But I’ll thank you a lot more if you give it to us in reality in May. Lots of my dreams have been fulfilled since I became an Arsenal fan but for masses of you out there this will be the most magical ever if it happens. It will be for me. Update to the Table of Doom Table of Doom Fixtures Current Max Arsenal Villa (h) Spurs (a) 71 92 Liverpool Spurs (h) Villa (a) 71 92 Man City Villa (h) Spurs (a) 70 91 And so it switches again as the mighty Arsenal are back on top. We are still the bookie’s third favourite as City are serial winners and Klopp has pushed them hard for many seasons. We do have the metric of goal difference in our favour but not much else, probably. Next up is Villa at home, one of our tricky ones, whereas City have Luton away and Liverpool Palace at home. Anything short of a win sees the Table of Doom switching again, of that I am certain. Jorginho could be crucial over the next games However, I feel that points will be dropped over the next seven games so even a defeat doesn’t kick us out. I still reckon that my prediction a long time ago of around 86 points is still valid but the consistency shown over the past while by the top three is almost frightening. Our most important players are Saka, Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel, Saliba and White, in my opinion, and an injury to any could just drop us enough points to give the others the chance to win. But this week, with the other two almost guaranteed wins, means we frighten them by winning when they are hoping we drop points. Let’s send Villa home crying and render the Pool and City wins unimportant. We can do it.