Analysis

Two talking points ahead of the new Premier League season

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Last weekend, the curtain was raised on the new English football season. The EFL had their opening weekend and Liverpool beat Manchester City to lift the Community Shield. But on Friday, the greatest league on the planet is back, and once again it is Arsenal who are first up. Mikel Arteta’s side will face Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Friday night hoping to build on an impressive preseason and set down an early marker for the upcoming campaign.

Quite bizarrely, this is the third season in a row that The Gunners have featured in the opening game of the Premier League season. And just as is the case on Friday, on both occasions the fixtures have been London derbies. Last year, they lost 2-0 away at Brentford, with goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard securing a deserved win for the newly-promoted side. The year before that it was another newly promoted side that the Gunners travelled to, namely Fulham. They fared much better that time, however, when goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Gabriel sealed a comfortable 3-0 victory.

And those aren’t the only times that the Gunners have featured in the opening game of the season. At the start of the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, they hosted a Leicester City side that had stunned the footballing world one year prior, and the match didn’t disappoint. Arsenal led early through Lacazette’s debut goal only to be pegged back immediately. Jamie Vardy then gave the travelling Foxes the lead and although the hosts equalised, they would concede again. The ever menacing Vardy got his second and with seven minutes remaining, Arsenal trailed 3-2. They then came roaring back, however. Goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud ensured a 4-3 win and a hard-earned three points.

If the game at Selhurst Park on Friday is half as entertaining as that one five years ago, then we will be in for a treat. Let’s take a look at two talking points ahead of this weekend’s clash.

Will Gabriel Jesus prove to be the missing piece of the puzzle?

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Mikel Arteta has once again had another impressive transfer window. The additions of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fábio Vieira looks to be astute pieces of business. The Gunners’ strength in depth is now on another level. But the signing that has captured the interest of the home faithful is of course that of Gabriel Jesus. The club chased the Brazilian centre-forward all summer long and they eventually got their man, reaching a £47m agreement with Manchester City.

Despite still being just 25 years old, the former Palmeiras-man already has 159 Premier League appearances under his belt. The new number nine managed 233 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side during his five years at the Etihad, scoring 95 times and providing 46 assists. He has looked at his imperious best throughout his first preseason in North London, scoring seven goals including a phenomenal hat trick in the recent 6-0 drubbing of Sevilla. Last season, all Arteta’s side was missing was a goal scorer, and it appears they now finally have that. Who knows where he may have led the club to between now and May.

Who will start at the heart of the Arsenal defence?

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When Mikel Arteta first took over the club back in December 2019, the central defenders he inherited were Sokratis, David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi. Ahead of the new campaign, he has the luxury of choosing from William Saliba, Gabriel and Ben White, with Rob Holding and Pablo Mari also available. But that aforementioned trio is a far cry from what the squad contained for barely two-and-a-half years. Gabriel and White built up a good understanding last term.

William Saliba has come on leaps and bounds during his last three years spent on loan in France. For Marseille last season, he made 51 appearances in all competitions. His form was that impressive that he secured a spot in the starting eleven of Didier Deschamps’ French national team, and he looks set for a starting berth in Qatar this winter. He must surely be Arsenal’s first-choice centre-back, but who will be selected alongside him?

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