Declan Rice and my old Invincibles midfield team-mate Edu could both play big roles in ending Arsenal’s 20-year wait for a Premier League title.
After being lucky enough to spend quality time with them on the pre-season tour of the US, I came away with a very good feeling about the chances of my old club.
I expect Arsenal to be fighting for the title again. With three good signings so far in Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, Arsenal should be able to once again compete with City for the title.
The lads looked very sharp and I suspect, on the back of what I saw, we will see a really competitive game in the Community Shield against Manchester City today.
I played in a few over the years and you do want to get one over on your rivals. Trust me, it is not a friendly. It will be a decent game and I think it will go to extra time after a score-draw in 90 minutes. There isn’t a lot between the sides and Arsenal may have more motivation to win, but you can never write off the treble winners.
Pre-season form can give you indications of how things are shaping up but the biggest game ahead, of course, is the Premier League opening-day fixture against Nottingham Forest next Saturday. Mikel Arteta has a plan, he is sticking to it and by the first game they should be ready to go.
A big part of that plan obviously involves the record signing, Rice. He has all the physical and technical attributes of a top Arsenal player, but I spoke to him on the tour and was fortunate enough to get an insight into his mentality.
That convinced me he can cope with the £105million price tag and the demands of being an Arsenal player under pressure to challenge for honours.
Declan knows there is pressure and is looking forward to getting going now. It’s a really young squad, he knows some of them from England, which will help.
He’ll be ready to go, it’s an excellent signing and, as much as ability is important, you need to look at characters. Rice is a leader: he was West Ham’s captain.
I like what Havertz and Timber will bring, too. A lot of credit for these game-changing signings goes to my old-team-mate Edu, now working wonders as sporting director.
He has a lot of contacts around the world and he knows what you need to be successful. I often speak to Edu and, while he can’t give too much away, I know he wants to get three or four players out. But they’re all under contract so he is working hard on that, with the aim of getting a couple more in.
It’s exciting times now for Arsenal. The squad depth is much better so they now have a good chance of pushing City and whoever else is at the top of the table so we can go one better this season.
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