As the newest member of the SportsKop panel, I'd like to first talk about what you will be seeing from me from here on out. You can expect some posts about my favorite teams which include: Arsenal, Oakland Athletics, Portland Trailblazers, Sacramento Kings, and the Houston Texans (yep... the amazing Texans), and maybe occasionally, I'll have a post here and there about something unrelated. So I thought it was fitting to have my first post about the Premier League Title race from an Arsenal perspective on a blog that is titled Sports('Kop').
This has been an interesting year in the Premier League so far, and when I say that, what I really mean is that Manchester United for the first time in the last few decades of the league are probably going to be content if they can end the season in a Champions League position.
Other surprising things that have happened this year so far:
1) Arsene Wenger has finally decided to splash the cash on a top-class talent, Mesut Ozil for £42.5 million, and Arsenal are inexplicably at the top of the table while we are sitting about at the halfway mark of the season. On another note, have Real Madrid signed the wrong Welsh wizard? Aaron Ramsey has been playing out of his mind.
2) Liverpool is right in the thick of the title race. Ok, fine I'll give them some credit, they just dismantled the poor Spurs 5-0, making me a happy Gooner. But in all honesty, Luis Suarez has emerged, after his 10-game ban for biting Ivanovic, as a top 5 world class striking talent. The question remains is that if they can hold onto his services if they can't secure a Champions League position this year because surely Suarez has greater ambitions than playing in Europa?
3) Manchester City has averaged an absolutely astounding 4.4 goals per game so far at home in the Etihad Stadium for a perfect 8-0-0 home record, including the 6-3 wrecking of Arsenal this weekend. That surely has to be a record of some sort. Can Aguero be stopped? This guy is scoring goals for fun right now, rivaling what Suarez has being doing for Liverpool. It's going to be interesting to see which one of these 2 will end up with the golden boot at the end of the season. That being said, why do they seem so inept when trying to replicate this on away grounds? They have a horrific 2-2-4 record so far in other stadiums.
4) Everton are again in the thick of the race. Many people, myself included, felt that losing Fellaini was going to be their downfall this season but the signing of James McCarthy and loaning Gareth Barry seems to have done the job. Everton is sporting the top defense in the Premier League so far, only letting in 15 goals in 16 games. However, this being said, I would be surprised if they end up in the top 4 as the competition for these limited spots seem to be as tight as ever.
Some not so surprising things:
1) Chelsea is right in the thick of the title race. Many people penciled Chelsea in as the favorites to win the Premier League this season simply because of the superfluous amount of talent they have throughout their squad. In fact, they are so well-rounded that they could afford to ship out Lukaku (this guy is an absolute goal scoring beast) on a second straight loan term. Maybe pundits have selected Chelsea as the favorites because Mourinho is back. Just... no. I bet that even I could manage a team as talented as this and end up lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season.
2) Arsenal are 8 points clear of the Spurs. Poor Tottenham, no matter how hard they try, they are always under the shadow of their North London rivals. North London is, and will forever be red. They thought they could replace Bale by reinvesting the £85.3 million (plus quite a bit more from their coffers) that they received from Real Madrid on Soldado, Lamela, Eriksen, Paulinho, and Capoue. Ladies and gentlemen, this simply exemplifies the importance of quality over quantity. 6-0 to Manchester City and 5-0 to Liverpool, let's see what AVB will do next. (edit: AVB just got sacked so I guess I answered my own question).
Ever since I started watching soccer religiously, I must say that the 2013-14 Premier League Season has been the most interesting one so far. The race for the Premier League title seems to be as open as ever, I could see any 4 teams potentially lifting the trophy when May comes around.
Mouthwatering fixture to look forward to: Arsenal vs. Chelsea on 12/23.
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