Jamie Carragher has backed Tottenham Hotspur to ‘take Chelsea’s place’ in the Premier League’s top-four, whilst he also thinks Arsenal will secure a Champions League finish, as he told Football Daily.
The race for the top four went down to the wire last time out, as Carragher expects Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all to be in the mix again.
The new Premier League season is nearly upon us, with Arsenal kicking off proceedings on Friday night when they take on Crystal Palace, whilst Spurs host Southampton and Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel will be on Merseyside to lock horns with their former boss, Frank Lampard and his Everton team.
Different stories and emotions have emerged from pre-season for all those teams, but this is where the talking stops and the real stuff begins.
With Antonio Conte in his first full season in charge of Spurs, many are backing them to perhaps cause a shock or two, as Carragher shared his thoughts on the top four race.
“I think Tottenham can take Chelsea’s place almost the team behind the top-two, pushing a little bit,” said Carragher. “All the other teams, bar Chelsea are going for the top-four.
“I think Manchester United will be better because they have a better manager – But I am going to go for Arsenal (for top-four).”
WHO IS UNDER MORE PRESSURE – ARTETA, CONTE OR TUCHEL?
Given that Mikel Arteta is yet to deliver Champions League football, then it could be argued that he is under more pressure from those teams and managers.
On top of that, Arsenal have had another strong summer of spending, so if he doesn’t secure Champions League, whether it’s via the Premier League or winning the Europa League, then his job will be on the line.
The issue someone like Tuchel faces is that, if Chelsea start poorly, then the club’s new ownership might feel the need to act and get him out of the door, even though he won a European Cup with the team.
For Conte, it’s more about him staying for the long-term and trying to get Spurs over that trophy line because as things stand, Harry Kane is heading towards winning nada in his career.
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