Gunners to fire on all cylinders

Sports Betting: 

PREMIER League football is back with us at the weekend and while it will be the same teams fighting it out in the top five or six once again, the outcome is anything but easy to predict.

Chelsea are reigning champions and favourites to retain their title at 7-4. That’s fair enough, but they have not strengthened appreciably since last season while most of their rivals have made at least one major signing.

Defending the title can often be more demanding than winning it in the first place, so Chelsea offer little in the way of value.

I’m not convinced about Manchester City (3-1), either. They may have signed Raheem Sterling, but if Sergio Aguero gets injured again and Wilfried Bony fails to get his act together, I can envisage problems at the Etihad. The sale of Edin Dzeko leaves City a little threadbare in the strike department, while neighbours United don;t look blessed numbers-wise up front either - despite the addition of Memphis Depay.

The Reds will be stronger in midfield following the addition of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, so their chance has to respected at 11-2.

That said, one still fears for their defence at times, so the choice for the title has to be Arsenal at 4-1. The Gunners probably boast their best squad for a decade, with terrific midfielders, excellent wide men and two proven goal scorers in Olivier Giroud and the mercurial Alexis Sanchez.

The evidence is mounting that manager Arsene Wenger is giving more attention to his defence and the addition of goalkeeper Petr Cech could provide the final piece in the Gunners’ jigsaw.

As for top goalscorer, if you fancy Arsenal for the title, it follows someone needs to score plenty of goals. If Giroud can avoid injuries, he is way overpriced at 25-1.



RECOMMENDATIONS: Arsenal to win Premier League, 4-1 (general); Oliver Giroud to win Golden Boot, 25-1 (general).

twitter: @KeithMcHughOC