Premier League Fans Preview: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Burnley
- Chris Coughlin
- Sep 7, 2020
- 11 min read
Updated: Sep 11, 2020
The 2020/21 Premier League season is less than a week away so Matchday FM is getting the views from fans across the most watched league in the world.
In today's article, we get the thoughts of fans from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion and Burnley ahead of the new campaign.
Arsenal: Dylan Walsh (@dylanwalsh_)
There’s plenty of signs that Arsenal are making strides under Mikel Arteta, what have you thought of his reign so far?
Arteta’s reign so far as Arsenal manager has been nothing short of brilliant. There was scepticism when it was announced he would replace Unai Emery that he would be too inexperienced and too young to take over a job as big as manager of Arsenal, but Arteta has shattered expectations and then some.
The football hasn’t always been perfect and there have of course been some poor results, namely losing to Olympiakos in the Europa League deep into extra-time and Premier League defeats to Brighton and Tottenham particularly angered the fanbase, but the FA Cup triumph after beating Manchester City and Chelsea and major wins against the likes of Wolves and Liverpool have majorly outweighed the bad.
The key for Arteta now is to get the squad and the supporters believing that we can achieve a top-four finish whilst playing a brand of football that is pleasing on the eye and gets the crowd off their feet, something we rarely saw under Emery and a way of football that Arsenal fans are eager to see return.
Aubameyang looks set to sign a new contract as well, just how important is he to the Gunners both in the present and the next few seasons?
Aubameyang has arguably been our best striker since Thierry Henry and easily the best attacker in the Premier League since he arrived in the winter of 2018, and him committing his long-term future to Arsenal is nothing short of massive for the club.
Whilst his age has been a major talking point, Aubameyang has shown absolutely zero signs of slowing down. He was incredible for us last season and a large reason why we didn’t finish lower in the league table despite us finishing as low as we did, not to mention his goals being the reason we lifted the FA Cup when nobody gave us a fighting chance when the semi-final draw was made.
His incredible injury record, as well, means that we will likely see Aubameyang remain at the top of his game for the next two to three seasons, and him committing his future to Arsenal could play a massive role in the club returning to the top and playing regularly in the Champions League once again, something I am sure Aubameyang is eager to do for both his career and the team that he has grown to love.
Every Arsenal fan wants Champions League football again, would you focus on the Europa League to get there or aim for a top-four finish?
I think the realistic aim is to try aim for both winning the Europa League and also claiming a top-four finish. With the signings of Gabriel and Willian this summer and Aubameyang seemingly staying at the club for the next few years, we have a level of squad depth that could both challenge for Europa League glory and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
We as supporters are eager to see Arsenal return to the Champions League after so many years away from the competition, and the method of how we get back is really a matter of preference, but ideally, I want to see the club challenge well in both competitions.
I also think Arteta has a score to settle in the Europa League. He was absolutely embarrassed in the competition last season in the infamous loss to Olympiakos, and given the strength of the competition in recent years, Arteta might be eager to prove that Arsenal can challenge with the big dogs in Europe.
What have you made of Arsenal’s business in the transfer market so far? Who would you like to see them sign before the end of the window?
I think Arsenal’s business so far this season has been very smart. I wasn’t too keen on the signing of Willian given his age and super-agent Kia Joorabchian again strengthening his grip on the influence of who Arsenal do business with, but the reality is that Willian will offer us something that we’ve been lacking in the attack in recent years and could prove to be a very good signing for us.
The arrivals of William Saliba and Gabriel have many fans excited, though, and it will be interesting to see if these two promising centre-backs can adapt to Premier League football smoothly and become the answer to Arsenal’s long-established problems in that area of the pitch.
As for what Arsenal need next? A creative midfielder seems to be the most realistic option. Houssem Aouar of Lyon has been hotly linked with a move to Arsenal in recent weeks, and whilst he could prove to be too expensive for us given our lack of finances and slow procedure of shipping off players, a player of his age and mould is exactly what Arsenal need to supplement the attacking talent of Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Willian for next season.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
The hope for next season is that Arteta leads us back to the Champions League after a valiant campaign in the Premier League that results in a top-four finish as well as glory in the Europa League, but the harsh reality is that none of these hopes and dreams will come true by May next year.
The expectation for Arsenal this year, for most supporters, is to just simply do better than what happened last season. The 2019/20 season was the worst I have ever seen in my lifetime and one that will be quickly forgotten in the memories of many fans, yet the appointment of Arteta could prove to be the moment that changed Arsenal from falling into mediocrity and back to being one of the giants of the game.
A realistic expectation for next season is to see Arsenal finish in the top six of the Premier League and make an honest to God attempt at challenging for the top four whilst also putting up a good effort to try and win the Europa League. It’s going to be a stressful season for us, but it could potentially be one of the best Arsenal have in a very long time.
Aston Villa: Brad Autie (@CustomMade_X & @AVFC_Religion)
Last season was a struggle for Villa for most of the campaign before securing safety, how huge was it to avoid relegation having just come back up and considering the money spent last summer as well?
It was massive to survive. We always knew it was going to be a tough ask due to the amount of players leaving and new players coming especially with the majority never playing in England, let alone the premier league.
We survived by the skin of our teeth and we need to kick on massively in terms of recruitment. With 12 months of Premier League football under their belts the team should be more settled and gelled. There hasn’t been much talk about Jack Grealish’s future at Villa Park, do you expect him to stay and how big a boost will that be?
I fully expect Grealish to stay to be honest. I can’t see anyone matching the valuation our owners want for him.
I know the media are saying £80m but even at that value, I can’t see NSWE accepting it they have a lot of money and £80m is pocket change to them.
In my opinion I think we will wait till the window closes and you will see Jack getting a new contract which is massive boost as we have a player we can build our side around and arguably the best player we have had in the last decade.
Villa’s big problem last season was goals conceded, 67 which was second only to bottom side Norwich, how does Dean Smith go about fixing that?
I think to solve the defensive issue we need continuity and settled players. We seemed to defend a lot better since the restart and I think that comes down to players more comfortable and confident.
We switched our centre backs quite a few times. Obviously Mings always played when fit but we switched between Hause, Konsa and Engels and Smith now seems settled on Konsa to partner Mings which is great as since the restart, I though Konsa was superb and arguably better than Mings. #
I still think we need to sign another centre half maybe more experienced for when the going gets tough or to lock down those 1-0 wins.
What didn’t help was losing our number one Tom Heaton for 6 months so that really doesn’t help when you need to settle a new keeper.
What have you made of Aston Villa’s business in the transfer market so far? What do you make of the links with Ollie Watkins & the signing of Matty Cash?
I would take Watkins in a heartbeat he is something we miss in our attacking threats which is running at people and actually scoring goals. I want Benrahma to come as well as I feel like he has a touch of Mahrez about him and he can make something from nothing.
I’m a fan of Matty Cash. He was superb last season for Forest and when Forest fans are saying they will be gutted to see him go that gives you enough confidence in the player. I really wanted Max Aarons but from the quoted prices in the media, I see why we have moved on.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 19/20 season?
Currently my expectations are we could finish 15th which is improvement however with the right signings I think we could push for 10th-12th place finish.
I know I’m not being as positive as some but I feel we will slowly get better and improve each season rather then jumping from 17th to 7th.
Brighton and Hove Albion: Scott McCarthy from WeAreBrighton.com (@wearebrighton)
Brighton were ultimately safe last season after adapting to Graham Potter’s style, how do you think the squad dealt with his more attacking way of playing?
To the players' and Potter's credit, they took to it pretty well from the first day when we went and hammered Watford 3-0. The performance at Vicarage Road that afternoon was chalk and cheese compared to what was served up on the road under Chris Hughton and it set the tone for what was to be a very different campaign.
There were times when you felt Potter was being a little too bold - we threw points away at home to Burnley and away at Aston Villa through naivety in trying to score goals in the final seconds. But overall, it was an encouraging campaign, even if there were some low times when we looked desperately in trouble.
That Potter managed to implement such an overhaul in style largely with the same players who had been accustomed to Hughton's ways was particularly impressive. It will be fascinating to see what he can achieve now he has had three transfer windows in the job to overhaul the squad in his own image.
Was there a worry after starting the resumption only two points off the bottom three or did you always have faith the team would get out of trouble?
Very much so. Before the restart, we had won two games in 19. For comparison, Hughton lost his job for a run of two victories in 18. Not only were results bad, but Potter had been making increasingly bizarre tactical decisions throughout January and February.
With a final nine games which included Wolves, Arsenal, Leicester, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, I think quite a lot of Albion fans were secretly wondering whether we could get out of it. Potter though put the 15 weeks off to good use, looked at what had worked and what hadn't in the first seven months of the season and we came back from lockdown playing in a slightly different way.
We had much less possession but did far more with it. 12 points after the resumption tells its own story about how successful a change that was.
Aaron Connolly and Neal Maupay are two in particular who Seagulls fans must be excited about looking ahead, do you think they can form an effective partnership?
Maupay was impressive last season; any young striker stepping up from the Championship who scores 10 times in their first year of top flight football has got to be happy with themselves. His time at Brentford suggests he kicks on in his second season at a club, so there should be much more to come from him.
Connolly is more difficult to analyse. He obviously exploded onto the scene with that brace against Spurs and although he has shown glimpses of talent, he scored only three times. From the outside, that might not look like a bad return for a 20-year-old, but if you watched him every week, you would see a player who missed quite a few straightforward chances.
Fatigue may have played a part in that as with Potter not rating Glenn Murray and having packed Jurgen Locadia and Florin Andone off on loan in the summer, Connolly had to start most games through there being nobody else.
What Brighton really need to do is sign a centre forward to ease the burden on Connolly - and to a lesser extent, Maupay - and manage his game time correctly. Hopefully, he can then deliver more on his undoubted potential.
What have you made of Brighton’s business in the transfer market so far this summer?
As already mentioned, we desperately need striking reinforcements and a left back. Dan Burn was good in that role last season, but he very much resembles a square peg in a round hole.
The deals we have done however have been excellent. Adam Lallana brings experience, leadership and technical ability that marks him out as being well suited to Potterball and Joel Veltman is an extraordinary capture for just £900,000. Most importantly perhaps, we have tied down Lewis Dunk and Ben White to long term contracts.
Those two alongside Adam Webster in a back three next season could give Brighton one of the best defences in the Premier League.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
Avoiding relegation is the obvious target and I think as a minimum, an improvement on last season's 15th placed finish. Potter treated the cup competitions with utter disdain last time out which was a real shame given the memories that our run to the semi finals of the FA Cup in 2018-19 delivered.
It would be nice to take one of the knockouts seriously this time around. We certainly appear to have developed the squad strength to do that.
Burnley: Rob from Burnley Aces (@BurnleyAces)
Another top half finish for Burnley last season, how much hope is there that the Clarets can push on next season?
For me, it all depends what Burnley can do with regard to their business in the transfer market this summer. If they can sign some good players in key areas then I can’t see why they can’t push on and try and aim for another top 10 finish.
Burnley’s success is built on being solid at the back, how good do you think they are compared to the league as a whole?
With Nick Pope finishing as the runner up in the golden glove award goes to show how good he is. He's also really pushing to put his name forward to be England's number one. James Tarkowski and Ben Mee are very good centre backs and very underrated in my opinion. I’d say they are at least in the top 10 for best defences in the Premier League.
There were some rumours at the end of last season about Sean Dyche potentially leaving, does it appear those fears have gone for now at least?
I’d say so...for now. It’s obvious Sean Dyche wants the club to kick on and progress. He wants the board to ‘push the boat out’ a little and compete. I think, however, that if Dyche isn’t properly backed he could walk away from the club at the end of this season.
What have you made of Burnley’s business in the transfer market so far this summer? Who would you like to see them bring in?
We've have only signed Wolves goalkeeper Will Norris to date plus Jeff Hendrick and Joe Hart have left the club on free transfers. However, the club are terribly short in depth and need more quality in several areas. It showed after the restart Sean Dyche having to use youth development players to make up the bench. Personally, I would like the club to sign another central defender, another winger and another centre midfielder.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 20/21 season?
At this current moment in time, my hope would be to avoid relegation. I think that’s the realistic target. I have to say, however, that should Burnley improve the squad like I said earlier, we could try and push for another top 10 finish.
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