Just days away from Arsenal facing Manchester City in this new season's Community Shield curtain-raiser, Jacob Hansen caught up with Gunners hero Ray Parlour to discuss the club's summer and their title hopes.
"I believe we will win the championship, it is as simple as that", said Arsené Wenger when Eurosport asked him about the new signings Arsenal have made during the summer. Not least the marquee signing of Declan Rice, which set The Gunners back a whopping £105m.
Wenger was the last manager to win the Premiership title for Arsenal, back in 2004 when "The Invincibles" ruled. Among the players in that side was Ray Parlour, who's a bit more cautious when asked about the prospects of Arsenal finally winning the title again, 20 years after the latest triumph.
"Well, you've got to be optimistic, haven't you? The big thing for me before last season was for Arsenal to reach the top four, and they ended up doing so well to push Manchester City all the way. They have made some good signings in the summer, and it is still a very young squad. Obviously, they need to learn from their mistakes last season, like seeing games out, not concede sloppy goals before the break, these kinds of things, and they certainly have a better chance with Rice in the squad", Parlour tells Tribalfootball.com, on behalf of NetBet.
So, Rice is strong enough to be a full-on replacement for Granit Xhaka from the word go?
"He's gained some good experience playing for England and it was great for him to win a trophy with West Ham last season. Xhaka was obviously excellent, but Rice is a leader, he was a young captain at West Ham, and you need leaders all over the pitch. I truly think he is a great signing".
"I also hope he can get forward a little bit as well. I would like to see him score more goals, which I'm sure he will be trying to do. Arsenal will have a lot more possession than West Ham, and I'm hoping he can contribute to that midfield adding a few more goals than last season", Parlour continues while a massive poster of Jamiroquai in his kitchen seems to be in agreement.
Why do you think it all collapsed as it did last season?
"The game management wasn't good enough. Take the one at West Ham, 2-0 up, cruising, then they took their foot off the pedal instead of seeing the game out. They made a bad mistake just before halftime which got West Ham back into the game. It changed the whole atmosphere in the stadium. It was similar against Liverpool, and there was the game against Southampton. Meanwhile, Manchester City just kept winning. Arsenal have got to learn from that and I'm sure they will".
Where will Kai Havertz play?
"I think he's a very talented player, who lost his way a little bit at Chelsea. It looked like it didn't suit him when Tuchel left. I think Arsenal is a great opportunity for him, Arteta is just the right man to get the best out of him. He's done that with Ødegaard, and I'm hoping he can do the same with Havertz. I should imagine Arteta will play him as a number 8, like in pre-season, and can he rediscover his form from his Bundesliga-days, he's going to be a top player for Arsenal".
Does he need to get up and running as fast as possible to be a hit with the supporters, because of his Chelsea-past?
"I'm sure the fans will give him a chance. They know what sort of talent he is, but you always want to hit the ground running, when you come into a new club. You want to get the fans behind you. Football is about confidence and he lost that at Chelsea, they didn't seem to know where his best position was. I think he's a number 8 who can get forward and score goals.
Could we have the closest top four-race in many seasons ahead of us?
"I really think so. It will be interesting to see how Pochettino turns it around at Chelsea, but they've got good players. They just need to get that squad gelled as a group and if they do, I'm sure they're going to push for it. Manchester United will be stronger, they looked very organized when Arsenal played them in pre-season. I think Liverpool will improve, not to mention Newcastle and Aston Villa. I am so excited about the new season".
Stan Kroenke was sighted at training ground during the US-tour. Has the relationship improved between him and the fans improved?
"Well, they can't really complain now, can they? He's put his money down", says Parlour with a wry smile.
