Chelsea season preview: Failure is not an option

Last Season

Favourites for the title, Chelsea had an odd season. Despite overcoming their fellow contenders including a masterclass against Manchester City and a ruthless 6-0 drubbing of Chelsea, they struggled against lesser sides and that is what cost them the title. Accused of playing boring football at times, as you would expect from Jose Mourinho, their atacking midfield played some great football, with Eden Hazard in unstoppable form. Captain John Terry enjoyed a resurgent season, leading from the back and formed an excellent partnership with Gary Cahill in the league's tightest defence. A rather easy draw saw them make it to the semi finals of the Champions League, where they were deservingly beaten  by a spectacular Atletico Madrid.

Ins and Outs

Jose Mourinho's men look like undeniable title favourites after ransacking Atletico Madrid; bringing in some much needed quality up front in the form of Brazilian- Spanish striker Diego Costa. A hole in the left back position has been filled with the signing of the excellent Felipe Luis from Atletico as well.

Cesc Fabregas' surprising signing makes their midfield one of the best in the world, with the former Arsenal skipper expected to partner the solid Nemanja Matic in midfield. 

Didier Drogba's signing also seems to be more about retaining some experience in the squad rather than an upgrade in forward positions, but Romelu Lukaku's place in the 11 looks less likely, with the striker expected to go out on loan once again and make Jose repent.

Thibaut Courtois' arrival has made an interesting subplot  pre season. Does Jose bench Petr Cech or worse, Iker Casillas him? Or will the clearly superior Courtois be left on the bench in favour of the more experienced Cech? Rotation seems to be an option, but one gets the feeling that one must leave for the other to thrive.

But undoubtedly the most brilliant piece of business from Chelsea's point of view was offloading the graceful, but utterly unreliable David Luiz to Paris Saint- Germain for 50 million pounds. While I fail to understand why PSG would bid so much for a man who spent much of last season either on the bench or out of position, clever little Jose Mourinho can now spend even more without having to worry about Financial Fair Play regulations. What a laugh must he have had had Luiz gone to Barcelona.

Strengths

Oof, where do I begin? Diego Costa is a massive upgrade over Fernando Torres, while Felipe Luis' arrival means that Cesar Azpilicueta can be shifted to his favoured right-back slot for the coming season. But where does that leave Branislav Ivanovic? Regardless, it can only be a good thing for the Blues, whose defence looks unstoppable with the arrival of Thibaut Courtois in goal.

Weaknesses

Complacency in thoroughly winnable matches cost Mourinho's men last season and with a new, albeit fantastic couple of players, it might take them a while to hit their stride. Mourinho's main problem will be turning those lost chances in to wins.

Key Players

A lot rides on Diego Costa, Didier Drogba and Romelu Lukaku to keep the pressure of scoring goals off Eden Hazard, who will score regardless. A lot rides on how Mourinho integrates Costa into his side, while Eden Hazard has the potential for a 20- goal season as well.

It's a big season for

Romelu Lukaku and Petr Cech. Do they seek moves elsewhere, or fight for a spot in the side? Both have quality and will be sorely missed if things go awry, especially in the case of Romelu Lukaku, who would've undoubtedly led the line for Chelsea last season. Petr Cech, though, will need to hope that Courtois suffers an uncharacteristic dip in form for him to be in reckoning for the number one spot.

Watch out for

Nemanja Matic. His arrival in January last season gave the side some much needed stability in the middle of the park, and his steel is the perfect foil for the more attack minded and creative Cesc Fabregas.

Prediction

They're squad screams world class through every position, and you'd be an idiot to count them out for the title. A Real- Chelsea Champions League final is also not a long shot, but failure will not be forgiven,by both the fans, and owner Roman Abramovich.

Arsenal season preview: Solid unit, but can they prevent the collapses?

The story last season

Arsene Wenger's Gunners started last season with a bang, dominating their way to the top spot with Aaron Ramsey in particularly sublime form; but injuries to key men, sudden defensive lapses and lack of  cover for Olivier Giroud up front saw them utterly collapse in January, and the problems persisted for the remainder of the season as the Gunners withered dismally in pressure games, losing 6-3 away to City, 5-1 to Liverpool and an absolutely humiliating 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea on Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge. A promising start to their Champions League campaign also came to an end with the North Londoners bowing out in the second round against Bayern Munich. There was, however, a bright ending to their campaign as they claimed fourth spot, edging Everton to the Europa League and ended a 19- year long trophy drought, beating Hull to claim the FA Cup.

Off Season Report

For the second season running, Arsenal have managed to hold on to their key players while adding another excellent signing which goes a long way in solving their problems up front. Alexis Sanchez adds yet more pace and directness to a side teeming with it and will be a key man this season provided he can adapt to the rigours of English football. David Ospina is a massive upgrade over Lukasz Fabianski and the duo of Matheiu Debuchy and Calum Chambers are also a significant improvement over Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson. 

Aaron Ramsey has been their standout performer in the run up to the start of the league, picking up exactly where he left off last season. A special mention must also go to the very promising Hector Bellerin, who looks like a future Emirates darling.

The Manager

Fresh off a summer in Brazil, covering the World Cup, one must imagine Arsene Wenger to be pretty satisfied with the way things have gone thus far, but disaster right when things are going their way seems to be the theme of Arsenal's recent seasons gone by. It will be intriguing to see how the new signings fare under his tutelage. Could Alexis Sanchez be their next Robin van Persie?

Strengths

Arsenal boast of one, if not the best midfields in the Premier League. Tomas Rosicky's opener at White Hart Lane and  Jack Wilshere's magical team goal against Norwich were absolutely top drawer performances. Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott's performances will be instrumental in their title challenge.

Weaknesses

While their attacking midfield left us spellbound last season, central midfield remains a slight worry for Arsene Wenger's men. Jack Wilshere, despite showing sparks of true class was often disappointing last season and frequent injuries to Aaron Ramsey and him didn't help while Matheiu Flamini is nothing more, or less than acceptable. Wenger will need to find someone a whole lot better than Kim Kallstrom to bridge the midfield gap. Sami Khedira, anyone?

Key Players

Mesut Ozil arrived and hit the ground running, but was clearly unaccustomed to the rigours of English football. He will return as a better player, though and his genius vision and assists will be key to Arsenal's title dreams. Alexis Sanchez's arrival gives the Gunners a reliable and deadly goalscoring threat up front. Can he be the Gunners' X- Factor?

It's a big season for

Jack Wilshere. Touted as England's next big thing since a couple of years now, he has delighted and frustrated in equal measure. Time is running out for English football's golden boy. Will he step up to the plate or wilt, and can he put this summer's disappointment behind him?

Emerging Star

Gooners have been salivating over 17 year old wonderkid Gedion Zelalem. The youngster showed massive promise last season for the under-21s, drawing comparisons with Cesc Fabregas. With Arsenal reliant on aging central midfielders like Mikel Arteta and Matheiu Flamini, it could very well be a breakout season for the German.

Prediction

The arrival of Alexis Sanchez must have Arsenal dreaming of glory once again, but stiff competition awaits them in form of an extremely improved Chelsea team, last season's champions Manchester City, a Suarez- less yet dangerous Liverpool side, and Louis van Gaal's Manchester United, all of whom Arsenal failed to convincingly overcome last season. The signs have been impressive, though, and it could very well be the season in which they finally break the curse of fourth place. But can they avoid the collapses?