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Why Arsenal need to make a strong start to the new season

By on August 2, 2019

The 2019/20 Premier League campaign is just around the corner and it’s vital Arsenal make a strong start if we’re to push for the top four this season.

We blew two golden opportunities to qualify for the Champions League last season as we crashed to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Europa League final and somehow managed to finish fifth in the league. Arsenal were in pole position with five games to go and third looked ours to lose but sadly we managed to pick up just one point against Crystal Palace, Wolves, Leicester and Brighton to finish just a single point behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

The pressure is now on Unai Emery as he needs to rectify last season’s failure but most bookmakers aren’t really giving us a chance as we’re being tipped to miss out on the top four once again. The latest soccer betting odds have Arsenal priced at 6/4 to finish in the top four making us fifth favourites behind City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man Utd with Chelsea backed to finish sixth. It down to Emery to defy the odds and get Arsenal back where we belong.

The squad was unbalanced last season but it looks like the club are backing the manager with the likes of Dani Ceballos, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe set to strengthen the squad this summer.

Emery will need to integrate his new signings into the squad quickly as we face a tricky opening to the new season. Arsenal kick things off away to Newcastle United and it’s always tough at St James’ Park but with a new manager at the helm, I expect a passionate Geordie crowd to make things difficult for us. Thankfully Arsenal have a strong record against Newcastle and we should have too much quality so I’m confident we’ll bring home all three points.

A home game against Burnley the following week will be a great opportunity to get a win under our belts as Arsenal will then face a huge double-header against Liverpool and Tottenham. The game at Anfield will obviously be extremely difficult but we desperately need to make a statement of intent and get a positive result against the European Champions. If we suffer another heavy defeat against Liverpool, then morale will drop among the fans and squad as it will only prove we’re still miles away from competing with the top clubs.

However, whatever the result at Anfield, it’s imperative Arsenal bring their A-game when Tottenham come to the Emirates for the season’s first North London Derby on September 1st. Fans can stomach losing against Liverpool but it’s unforgivable to lose at home to our main rivals.

If Arsenal endure a nightmare start to the season and lose two or three of our opening four games then it will be extremely tough to recover from and a top four place may be beyond us again. However, a strong start and some positive results against Liverpool and Tottenham will build confidence and we’ll be in great shape.