Arsenal kicks off their Premiership campaign today while Chelsea start on Sunday – a look at their news and match previews.
Chelsea
Chelsea sign Boulharouz – a prelude to Gallas leaving (this year or the next)? Mourinho has said several times that Chelsea will not sell Gallas and that no offers had been received for him, but with 12 days to go there is always a chance that a late bid could come in, especially now that Mourinho has brought in backup.
If Gallas stays, his attitude will determine whether he gets a game or is relegated to the reserves. Hopefully, Gallas and Chelsea can sort their differences, but if the player wants to go, then really, let him go. Convince him, but don’t hold him against his will.
Chelsea play Manchester City at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, and despite Mourinho claiming that his side aren’t ready for the season, City’s abysmal form last season (9 loses in 10 outings) and Chelsea’s quality will mean that the champions will scrape through with a win (whether it gets as close as it did with Wigan last season remains to be seen).
Prediction: Chelsea win comfortably with at least a 2-goal margin (they will falter, but not against Man City).
Arsenal
What do Milan, Chelsea, Arsenal and Lyon have in common? All four have players that Real Madrid want, and all of them hate Madrid for trying to ‘unsettle‘ their players.
Wenger is not happy with how Madrid have handled their pursuit of Arsenal player Reyes, but really, what do you expect them to do? They target a player who has wanted to play for Real Madrid for quite some time, and they make a offer that they think is right. It’s hard to say whether Madrid are being cheap or Arsenal are just extorting other clubs – I don’t see anything wrong with Madrid bidding 10 mil (which is low, I admit) when they are after a player who clearly wants to leave his club.
Arsenal are fighting a battle that will have no winners on the Reyes and Cole fronts. I respect them for trying to make the most money out of those deals, but it’s a toss up – are Chelsea and Real Madrid comfortable enough with their current squads to not sign the Arsenal players? And are Arsenal willing to keep two unhappy players at the club?
Arsenal still need some reinforcements in midfield, so hopefully they’ll make a move soon.
Arseblog has the Arsenal vs Aston Villa preview, although if you’re not a myopic Arsenal fan I suggest you skip that link unless you want to throw up from the pro-Arsenal bias 🙂 (hey man, how are ya?). A less-biased match preview can be found here.
Prediction: Depends on which Arsenal will show up, but this should an easy match for Henry and Co. Another 2-goal win?
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
