Michael Owen has made a daring prediction for the Premier League season, forecasting that Arsenal will break their long title drought.
Owen predicts that Manchester City, who are seeking a historic fifth consecutive title, will drop to fourth place behind Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.
He also suggests that if City struggles early in the season, their priorities might change. Additionally, the former Liverpool striker expects newly promoted teams Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton to face immediate relegation.
He told Casino Hawks: "Arsenal and Manchester City will go in virtually everybody's top four predictions and I think Liverpool will probably be in there as well despite there being some questions over how well Arne Slot will fit in.
"I had a thought about Newcastle but Aston Villa are solid and look to be still improving.
In terms of the order, my thought process is if City are not gonna win it, they could actually drop away a little bit.
"It's almost like if City are not going be really in the race after 10 games then their priority could go elsewhere - I think there could be a big surprise this season.
"I’m going to go for Arsenal first, Liverpool second, Aston Villa third and Manchester City fourth."
The ex-England international continued: "The title is Manchester City’s to lose, but I think they could slip up this year. They have really put their foot down when they have needed to and went on an incredible run last year, but at some point, they’re going to fall short.
"When other challengers get stronger and wiser it’ll get tougher for them and I wouldn’t rule out that being this season. They’ve also got the investigation hanging over them and Pep Guardiola is not going to be there forever. This could be his last season.
"There's always things that test you throughout the season and they've navigated that so far, but something might knock them off the rail this season. With Arsenal being so good last season and with no signs of them going away with more signings coming in, they are viable challengers again."
"When other challengers get stronger and wiser it’ll get tougher for them and I wouldn’t rule out that being this season. They’ve also got the investigation hanging over them and Pep Guardiola is not going to be there forever. This could be his last season."
Follow Think Football Ideas across our social channels, on Facebook, [X] Twitter and Instagram.
Comments