Arsenal favourites for the title again

And so, it begins again.

The Premier League train rolled into action once again last weekend, but are fans that enthused by the return of the world’s biggest league?

The attendance at Croke Park recently for the friendly between Manchester United and Leeds United would suggest that, from an Irish point of view, the hunger remains undimmed.

It’s amusing to see League of Ireland diehards get so worked up by a novel fixture between two of the traditional powerhouses of the English game attract such an audience to the home of the GAA. The crowd was the largest-ever for a soccer match in Ireland.

I don’t understand why people think it has to be an either/or situation.

Surely, you can support and attend matches involving teams from England - or another country for that matter - and also get behind your local team?

The gripe for League of Ireland fans that domestic fixtures fail to generate the same level of interest - therefore justifying, in some quarters, criticism of those who do attend English club matches - is not comparing like with like.

Manchester United, Leeds United, Arsenal and virtually every Premier League side possess dozens of international players, some of the best in the world. They are footballing institutions in a worldwide sense and would attract a decent crowd wherever they play in the world. There’s also a strong Irish connection with the aforementioned clubs, with so many Irish players crossing the water to ply their trade there over the years, therefore establishing an even greater connection with fans on this island.

In an ideal world, everyone would support their own local team here in Ireland too. Of course, there’s a way to go until that is the case, but it’s improving as league attendances have shown in recent years, even if they have become a little bit stagnant this season.

The us versus them argument, though, does nothing for anyone. You can do both.

For United fans here in Ireland, there was a fair degree of optimism heading into the new campaign. But, that particular balloon was punctured in spectacular fashion on Saturday when the visitors looked utterly listless in a 2-nil defeat to newly promoted Hull City.

The only way was up after Ruben Amorim’s departure last season, and Michael Carrick did a good job in galvanising the team and eventually securing Champions League football by season’s end. A much improved atmosphere around the club was also evident, helped in part by results like the Manchester derby win in January.

This season, though, will be far more demanding on a couple of fronts. Firstly, Carrick now has real pressure on his back to continue their upward trajectory having received a permanent deal. The ghosts of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who got the job after an almost identical situation, loom large.

Secondly, the problem for Carrick is that their schedule this time around will be much more demanding. Last season, they weren’t in Europe and were knocked out of the League Cup in August by lowly Grimsby Town and were out of the FA Cup by early January too.

So, they only had the league to focus on from January to May, allowing Carrick plenty of time on the grass to whip the team into shape. With European commitments this time around and, presumably, a better run in both Cups, the demands on the squad, which hasn’t had a huge amount of investment, will be much greater. Saturday's opening result will only add to the worries around Old Trafford.

Speaking of demands on squads, how are players just back from the World Cup going to adjust to the intensity of the Premier League straight away?

In the Irish Times last week, Ken Early made the point that Arsenal’s Declan Rice played a staggering 69 games last season between club and country.

Surely, that level of effort is not or cannot be sustainable for much longer. Indeed, Rice’s energy levels looked like they were struggling at the World Cup, where a niggling injury also had an impact. But it’s entirely understandable.

Arsenal enter the campaign as defending champions and, probably, favourites to win the title again.

The arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle further bolsters that midfield sector where Rice was already one of the best in the world on last season’s form. One also has to remember that, for all their impressive work last season, Arsenal endured a torrid time with injuries. Mikel Merino, initially signed as a midfielder, was forced to play as a makeshift centre forward for a period before Christmas and with some success, too.

Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka will hope to have less injury worries this season, while Viktor Gyokores must improve his goal return to justify the investment in him in the summer of last year, even if his contribution last season wasn’t insignificant with 14 in the Premier League. But that really isn't sufficient for a lead striker at a top club competing for honours on multiple fronts.

The intrigue surrounding Liverpool this time around is also something to keep an eye on in these early weeks.

The decision to part company with Arne Slot in fairly ruthless fashion, and plump so quickly for Andoni Iraola, means the club are clear on what they want from their team. Fast, attacking football is the what the fans were crying out for last season but instead they got, usually, slow, ponderous build-up play that too often had very little end product.

Liverpool must do that better this season and will hope that they get a real return off Alexander Isak, who missed so much of the last campaign with a broken leg. It’s hard, though, to escape the thinking that Liverpool look a little bit light and certainly without the depth to launch a meaningful title challenge, with Europe too lurking in the background. They looked overrun in the middle third against Newcastle last Sunday and were very fortunate to escape with a point.

New managers are also in situ at Manchester City and Chelsea but, with Arsenal showing the most in terms of continuity, and strength in depth within their squad, it's hard to look beyond the Gunners for the league title again this season.