The Premier League returns, and it’s Arsenal vs. Coventry City to kick us off! It won’t be the easiest welcome back to the top flight for the Sky Blues. They face the current Premier League champions at the Emirates, diving straight into the deep end. Arsenal, on the other hand, will be expecting to start strong in their attempt at a first title defence in their history.
Arsenal look to repeat as champions
The Gunners are coming off the back of their first Premier League title since 2005, leaving their fan base insufferable (rightly so) throughout the summer break. However, there is a new objective now, and that’s to do what they’ve never done before, and win back-to-back league titles.
In terms of their transfer business, it’s not been anything flashy so far. They made an audacious attempt to bring Vinicius Junior to North London earlier in the window, though the Brazilian made the decision to stay put and sign a new deal with Real Madrid. However, the Gunners did sign a Brazilian for big money this summer, bringing in central midfielder Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle United. This allows them to rotate in the midfield without the quality dropping, giving Rice the chance for more of a rest compared to last season.
Arsenal also improved on the left side of the attack, bringing in exciting winger Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. Tzolis has already looked dangerous in pre-season, assisting twice last Sunday against Man City in the Community Shield. The Greek international is set to be rewarded with a start against Coventry this Friday. Unfortunately for Bruno Guimarães, however, a slight knock appears to have made him a slight doubt for the league opener.
Can Coventry City make an impact in the Premier League?
Coventry head into the new season as champions of the EFL Championship. They were by far and away the best team in England’s second division last campaign and will look to build on that momentum heading into the Premier League. Obviously, there is a big jump in quality from the Championship to the Premier League, but Coventry have been building towards this for several years now. Sky Blues manager Frank Lampard has managed in the Premier League before with both Everton and Chelsea, on top of being one of the league’s greatest in his playing days. This experience will be invaluable for Coventry as they return to the top flight for the first time since 2001.
Coventry have spent just over £120 million so far this summer, which, as Sunderland proved last season, is a necessity if you’re going to have a chance of staying up. They have brought in Premier League experience, having signed Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest, Gustavo Hamer from Sheffield United, and Frank Onyeka from Brentford. However, they’ve not only gone for experienced veterans.
This window, the Sky Blues fended off heavy competition to secure the signature of talented Ghanaian midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland. Yirenkyi came through Ghana’s famous academy called ‘Right to Dream’. This extraordinary academy has previously produced top Premier League talents such as Mohamed Kudus and Simon Adingra. Yirenkyi appears to be up next, and he will be doing so while wearing sky blue. The youngster played in the final pre-season game against Monaco and is likely to be involved from the start against Arsenal.
For further coverage, check out our dedicated Premier League page.
