Premiership Preview - Arsenal & Aston Villa

Arsenal
Last Season: 4th
However difficult a job you think you have, spare a thought for Eduardo Da Silva. With the huge tag of ‘replacing the irreplaceable’ hung around the Brazilian-born Croatian’s neck, he heads into a new season with his new club with much to prove.

It’s never been a good pre-season when everyone is talking about who you’ve sold instead of who you’ve signed, and the departure of Thierry Henry has loomed large over the Gunners’ summer preparations. The additions of Da Silva and full back Bacary Sagna have hardly set pulses racing, and Arsenal fans’ faith in Arsene Wenger has been tested to the limit.

Arsenal have several great players, and the likes of Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva and Robin van Persie, for so long in Henry’s shadow, will have to step up and perform if the Gunners are to have a successful campaign. But the signs aren’t good.

Gilberto, a hugely underrated midfield player, will have to stamp his authority on his young team-mates if the Gunners are to succeed this season. A campaign battling to stay in the Champions League places beckons, with fierce rivals Spurs breathing down their necks.

There is an overall uncertainty surrounding Arsenal, from the boardroom to the playing staff, and Wenger has added to that by making the strange decision to share the captaincy out amongst Gilberto, Toure and William Gallas.

They could surprise of course. Wenger has come up trumps so often in the past, achieving huge success in North London, but a sustained title challenge this time around could well be his greatest achievement yet.

Key Man: Gilberto Silva. One of the three in line to be given the armband after Henry’s departure, the Brazilian has the unenviable task of controlling Wenger’s youngsters.
One to watch: Nicklas Bendtner. Pulled up trees on loan at Birmingham last season, and could prove a useful goalscoring addition if he makes the step up in class.
This Season: Act now Arsene, or the wilderness of the UEFA Cup beckons.

Aston Villa
Last Season: 11th
As the American owners of Manchester United and Liverpool splash the cash all over the world, the one in charge of Aston Villa is content just to send money West Ham’s way.

The additions of Nigel Reo-Coker and Marlon Harewood haven’t hit the headlines, but they represent another tentative step in Randy Lerner and Martin O’Neill’s quiet revolution.

But the new duo are unlikely to dramatically improve Villa’s fortunes, and supporters are right to wonder why their club haven’t been competing for the signatures of some of the other players on the market this summer, not the mega-bucks stars of course, but surely Villa could have afforded the likes of Craig Bellamy, Yossi Benayoun and Freddie Ljungberg? All were available, and all would represent an improvement on their current players.

The squad at Villa Park represents a good blend of youth (Agbonlahor, Young, Reo-Coker) and experience (Carew, Berger, Mellberg) but does it have enough quality to seriously threaten the European places? Probably not.

O’Neill is still stamping his authority on the club, and is unlikely to achieve miracles this season. A good cup run is a possibility, and a long overdue one at that, but Villa will spend most of the season hovering between the top and bottom halves of the table.

Of all the foreign takeovers in the Premiership, Villa’s has undoubtedly been the least interesting, but when you’ve had Doug Ellis at the helm for years, perhaps that’s exactly what you want. In their current state, another not too exciting season beckons.

Key Man: Olof Mellberg. Villa’s rugged centre back is vital to their hopes of Europe, without him they have a soft centre.
One to watch: Luke Moore. On the fringes of the side for too long, this could be the season he really breaks through.
This Season: Mid-table mediocrity. Zzzzzzzzzz.