Arabic version: مكنولتي يتوقع احتفاظ أرسنال بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز

According to BBC News, chief football writer Phil McNulty has predicted Arsenal will retain the Premier League title after their first championship in 22 years. He said Mikel Arteta’s side have quality throughout the squad and cited Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis as high-quality additions following Arsenal’s Community Shield win over Manchester City.

McNulty placed Manchester City second in his pre-season forecast, describing a transition after Enzo Maresca succeeded Pep Guardiola. Rodri, Bernardo Silva and John Stones have left, while Elliot Anderson has arrived for £116m and Ayyoub Bouaddi is expected to join from Lille. McNulty said Erling Haaland means City cannot be ruled out and predicted silverware.

Liverpool are forecast to finish third under new manager Andoni Iraola, with McNulty anticipating a difficult start to the post-Mohamed Salah era but a top-four place and trophy contention. Chelsea, now managed by Xabi Alonso, are fourth in the prediction, followed by Manchester United in fifth and Aston Villa in sixth.

Tottenham are projected to finish seventh after last season’s 17th-place campaign, with Roberto de Zerbi backed by major midfield spending on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford complete McNulty’s predicted top 10. Crystal Palace are 11th, ahead of Newcastle United, Everton and Bournemouth in the positions detailed in the preview.

McNulty said the forecast was particularly difficult because nine new managers are in the top flight. He also noted the pressure facing several clubs after significant summer changes, including Manchester City’s managerial transition, Liverpool’s new era and Newcastle’s departures of Eddie Howe, Anthony Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes.