Alan Smith’s Premier League preview: Fulham vs Arsenal, Tottenham vs Everton, Crystal Palace vs Southampton, West Ham vs Newcastle

Arsenal are on the top under Mikel Arteta
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Alan Smith11 September 2020

Arsenal can continue climb... as long as they keep to Mikel Arteta’s masterplan.

It has been quite a while since the Gunners started a season with so much optimism.

Granted, Unai Emery offered hope on first arriving, before his limitations sadly came to the fore. But this feels different. I don’t know of many who expect Mikel Arteta to disappoint as he tries to haul the club back to the top.

The Spaniard certainly has the tools in terms of coaching, discipline and overall ethos. The only things holding him back are financial restrictions that mean he has to be creative in the transfer market.

That said, I can only see them improving from this point on, as Arteta continues to instil a doctrine that has already been proved to work. When that penny drops, you get a group of people totally engaged in the project. That’s actually a very difficult thing to achieve in an era when players are so much more independent, liable to go their own way if the tide turns against them.

Right now, this squad looks united, determined to build on the momentum created by winning the FA Cup. And the dressing room will be even more buoyant when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally signs his new contract.

Photo: Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal FC via Getty Images

To put things in perspective, though, my old club isn’t going to win the League. There’s a long way to go before reaching those standards. But a return to the top four isn’t out of the question.

For Fulham, of course, objectives are different. It’s all about building on last season’s achievement; to not just survive, but try to make a mark in the big league. Scott Parker will have noted the success of Sheffield United, who took on the challenge last season in a very positive way.

That said, Parker watched from the dugout when Slavisa Jokanovic failed to strike the right balance two years ago. Far too open and undisciplined, Fulham never really got going.

You can understand, therefore, why Parker is trying to build a solid base.

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has arrived on loan, as has Mario Lemina, the combative midfielder from Southampton. Ola Aina is another interesting signing. A Chelsea academy product, the full-back has just enjoyed a couple of seasons in Serie A with Torino.

These opening games are always unpredictable but, nevertheless, it might just give a clue of the journeys to come.

Fair play to Palace for trying to address the big problem. As the Premier League’s second-lowest scorers last season, Roy Hodgson simply had to introduce more oomph in attack. The return of Michy Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea should partly help. The striker looked sharp in his first spell at Selhurst Park. Eberechi Eze, in turn, offers the unexpected in a very entertaining way. That kind of excitement has been sadly lacking in a team suffering from Wilfried Zaha’s inconsistency.

In Pictures | Crystal Palace sign Eberechi Eze | 28/08/2020

1/8

This should be a stiff test for a Spurs side still searching for identity under Jose Mourinho. But, like all managers, the Portuguese might feel a bit better now he’s had some sort of a pre-season, even though it’s been heavily disrupted. Matt Doherty should improve the defence, offering more reliability at right-back, but incomings have been few, unlike at Everton, where Carlo Ancelotti has had his way with the chequebook.

This West Ham team has far too much ability to be struggling once again at the wrong end of the table, but you can see why boss David Moyes wants to buy Burnley defender James Tarkowski. The side lacked resolve last term in conceding too many goals and letting leads slip. Someone like the stubborn Tarkowski would help plug the gap. The home side has got to be careful in this opener, though, seeing as Newcastle have made some very useful signings.

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