Former Arsenal and Manchester United star Mikale Silvestre predicts who will finish in the top 4 of the Premier League next season
Former Arsenal and Manchester United defender believes Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham will finish in the top four of the Premier League next season. The aforementioned clubs finished in the top four last season whilst Arsenal and Manchester United finished fifth and sixth respectively.
The Gunners were favorites to finish in the Champions League places last season until March. However, a massive slump in form towards the end of the campaign resulted in them finishing fifth. The club have bolstered their attack by signing Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira this summer. However, Arteta's side still lack quality in key areas of the park, such as midfield.
Manchester United have responded to their dismal 2021-22 campaign by hiring Erik ten Hag as their new manager. The Dutchman is expected to rebuild the squad but despite their desperate need for reinforcements this summer, the Red Devils are yet to make any statement signings. The 13-time Premier League champions could therefore struggle to break into the top-four next season.
"For me the final top four will be the same as last season. So Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham," Silvestre told Lordping.
Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea have all enjoyed impressive summer transfer windows thus far as they've been able to improve their squad and make some statement signings. City have signed Erling Haaland, who has been one of the most impressive strikers in Europe over the last couple of seasons, and Julian Alvarez.
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Liverpool have added Darwin Nunez, who enjoyed an incredible campaign with Benfica last season, and Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho to their ranks. Chelsea have bolstered their attack by signing Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and are close to finalizing the acquisition of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. Tottenham have signed some big names like Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, and Clement Lenglet.
Arsenal and Manchester United are attempting to catch up with the rest of the top four
Arsenal and Manchester United have had the most work to do this summer out of the top six teams as they failed to qualify for next season's Champions League.
The Gunners were left desperately short of attacking options after the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January and Alexandre Lacazette last month. They have addressed the issue by signing Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.
The north London club have also 'stepped up' talks to sign Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans as per SportsMole. The Belgian could be the ideal partner for Thomas Partey at the centre of the park next season.
Manchester United suffered last season due to a lack of quality in midfield and defence. The club's attack has also been depleted since the departures of Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard last month. The Red Devils have only signed left-back Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord this summer.
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As per Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils are close to completing the signing of Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen has reportedly completed his medical with Erik ten Hag's side as per ESPN, and will soon be revealed as a Manchester United player.
The 13-time Premier League champions have also reached an agreement with Barcelona over the transfer fee for Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong as per Fabrizio Romano.