By Michael Sinnerton

As the season of league football began this week, I can't help but notice the apparent strength of the Championship this season. Newcastle's line-up against West Brom was thus: Harper; Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Taylor, Taylor; Nolan, Duff, Gutierrez, Smith; Ameobi, Caroll. You've got to fancy at least five or six of those players to do a decent job in the Premiership - at least Newcastle's problems over the summer have meant a virtual transfer embargo which has left such quality at the club.

Cardiff, Derby and Preston all look very decent outfits capable of a promotion challenge, not to mention the recently relegated Middlesbrough and West Brom. Both of whom should make more than a decent run on a play-off place. Reading have quality throughout the side and Sheffield United can never be discounted.  With Ipswich, QPR and Swansea fans all hoping for good seasons only one thing's certain, someone's going to be disappointed.

Who looked good on the first day to you? And who is the team to beat?

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Just a quick note to pass on respect to the family and friends of Daniel Jarque. The Espanyol captain and 26 year old died after a heart attack on Saturday. Jarque played almost 200 times for Espanyol, spending his whole career at the club and was capped by Spain at U17,19,20 and U21 level. His death, two years after that of Antonio Puerta, transcends football and its rivalries.

 Joan Laporta: "We are filled with extreme dismay at this tragic event which we deeply regret," he told the Barcelona club website. Today we are all in mourning. I want to send, on behalf of FC Barcelona, our deepest sympathies to RCD Espanyol for the painful loss of their captain Dani Jarque, and to his family."

by Joel Abraham

I've written about this before so I don't want to labour the point. I'll just lay out the facts.

Five of these teams will go through to the Champions League group stage:

Olympiacos, Copenhagen, Levski Sofia, Maccabi Haifa, Zurich, Red Bull Salzburg, APOEL, Ventspils, Debrecen, Sheriff Tiraspol.

Five of these teams will not:

Arsenal, Lyon, Sporting, Panathinaikos, Stuttgart, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Celtic, Anderlecht, Timisoara.

Bear in mind that the likes of Fiorentina, Atleti and Celtic are unseeded, so will probably end up facing Arsenal or Lyon. I'm sorry, but shouldn't that be a quarter final or something?

Looking at those teams, you think some big names must've fallen in the last round for this to happen. You have a look, and they certainly did - because they all had to play each other. On one side of the draw we had Sparta Prague v Panathinaikos and Sporting v Twente, and on the other we had Levadia v Debrecen and Aktobe v Maccabi Haifa. Excuse me?

So what's the big prize at stake here for these small clubs, who are given an easier shot at qualifying? If all goes to plan, if they get lucky, they win the chance to get absolutely hammered by the big boys in the group stage. Look at Slavia Prague - what a joyful occassion it was for them making it to the group stage. The everlasting memory? A 7-0 humiliation at the Emirates. These huge scorelines are becoming more and more common in the group stage, and as a result, people stop watching.

The story is simple. The small club squeak through qualifying, get obliterated in the group stages, cash their big fat cheque, then take their money home and buy up all the best players in their domestic league. And bang goes the competition. Nobody wins.

By Michael Sinnerton

With Xabi Alonso completing Real Madrid's spending, Florentino Perez has his dream team more or less in order. But will it work? Students of the Game takes a look at how it might.

Manuel Pellegrini is largely expected to start the season with a 4-3-3- formation. With Iker Casillas more or less picking himself, the back four could be something along the lines of Ramos - Pepe - Albiol - Arbeloa. Marcelo offers a more attacking option at full-back and Arbeloa could switch to right back with Ramos tried through the middle (although that's unlikely). The young Argentinean Ezequiel Garay and Christoph Metzelder provide centre back cover in a defence that has its weak points but still looks fairly solid.

A midfield three of Alonso - Diarra - Gago would give Madrid one destroyer and two creators, with Alonso and Diarra surely guaranteed starts. Depending on sales Madrid may have an embarrassment of riches in midfield but Esteban Granero and Mahamdou Diarra likely to provide cover. Sneijder and Van der Vaart would provide more exciting options but are likely to be shown the door.

An attacking line of Ronaldo - Benzema - Kaka doesn't sound bad at all, albeit I'd rather see Kaka tucking in with a more progressive midfielder (Sneijder) on the left of the three to take advantage of the space left out wide. Nonetheless the front-line promises goals - whether as many as Henry - Ibrahimovic - Messi is left to be seen. As an aside anyone wondering whether La Liga is stronger than the Premiership should take a quick look at those front 3's again.

The main problem with the 4-3-3 system as I see it is the waste of Higuain, RVN and any other strikers Madrid have left on their books. Equally a poor start from Benzema could leave him struggling to get back into the team quickly, which would be a waste of his wonderful talent.

And so, as usual, Florentino Perez has got his man. Tonight's news that Liverpool have reached an agreement to sell Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid should bring an end to the most protracted transfer of the summer. Having spent over £200m on players, only time will tell if Alonso can be Madrid's conductor or if Manuel Pellegrini struggles to fit so many Stradivari into a workable orchestra.

For Liverpool, and their fans, the deal is a frustrating one. While £30m is fantastic money for Alonso, the increase of £12m in his value from last year is due almost solely to his wonderful performance last season and reflects the fact that he went from being one of Liverpool's better players to a vital cog. Whilst I would rather lose Alonso than Mascherano any day of the week, he certainly does need replacing.

The options mooted run from Alberto Aquilani to Christian Poulson. Aquilani is very much in the Alonso mould and is a player I really like. But he has had injuries and at 25 is arguably still developing, like any new signing but particularly as he is a creative player and would be expected to be a like-for-like replacement (big shoes to fill). Alternatively Christian Poulsen is more of a breaker than a maker. Having cost Juventus roughly £9m and been a relative flop, Poulsen would be cheap and could be a useful enforcer. If Benitez were to sign that sort of player I'd love to see De Rossi join the club but I think that's probably dreamland considering budget and his love for Roma.

Stephen Defour has also been linked with the club and given the success of his team-mate Fellaini you can see why clubs are tempted but I'd like Liverpool to sign the cheapest of the Valencia trio - Juan Manuel Mata. Given that David Villa is the impossible dream and David Silva seems relatively unapproachable too, Mata would be a great attacking option. He's still young and has represented Spain from U19 level to International Level. He can play on the left or as an attacking midfielder and wouldn't it be great to succeed with a player Real could have had.

by Joel Abraham

The festive season is coming early for Gooners! Arsene Wenger has brought down Terry Venables' christmas tree from the attic, unseen since Euro '96, dusted it off, and is ready to put the lights and tinsel up in an audacious bid to make his house the most christmassy in the land.

Let me abandon that strained metaphor. Arsene Wenger has a new formation, and it's a 4-3-2-1. The golden rule as a manager is to play to your team's strengths, and Wenger has at his disposal a glut of central midfielders, playmakers and deep-lying forwards who simply cannot generate enough width to stretch teams. So why bother playing Diaby on the left wing? Just let everybody play in the middle!

Wenger's last tactical epiphany came at the inaugural Emirates Cup in 2007, where the tenacity of Mathieu Flamini inspired the creation of a team based on mobility, energy, and pressing high up the pitch. The class of 2009 is of a similar ilk, where we will see the front six harrying the opposition in their own half, and getting the ball in the final third as quick as possible.

The benefits:

- It remedies Arsenal's weakness for being caught out by counterattacks, by having plenty of covering bodies in midfield

- It takes into account Arsenal's lack of genuine wingers and plays to the strengths of quick-thinking playmakers: vision, short passing and movement

- It's much more direct, and will get the ball to the forwards without wasting possession in midfield

- It's safer to lose the ball high up the pitch than in midfield, where attackers can be the first line of defence in attempting to win back possession

- It relieves pressure on the defensive midfielder

- It doesn't draw out your fullbacks

- It encourages more fluidity and unpredictable movement than a rigid 4-4-2

- It creates more competition for places

I would expect (when fit) a starting front six of:

Nasri Fabregas Song

Arshavin Rosicky

v. Persie

But with plenty of scope for change. Bendtner, Eduardo, Walcott, Wilshere and Vela will all be vying for a spot up front, whilst the midfield trio will face stiff competition from Denilson, Diaby, Ramsey, Merida and Eboue. Having five interchangeable fluid attacking players will be much more potent than banging square pegs into the round holes that is 4-4-2. 

Six players all in the same position? It's so crazy, it might just work.

Patrick Viera returning to Arsenal is fast developing into the strangest transfer of the summer. Forget Michael Owen to Manchester United, this sort of transfer just doesn't happy in England. The Premier League is supposed to be the best league in the world, once you're deemed surplus to requirements, that's it, you're out. And if you do come back you drop at least a level or two in terms of club.

This is also a hugely un-Wenger-like transfer. Wenger, allegedly, sells players at the perfect time for wonderful prices - Overmars, Anelka, Petit and so on. Re-signing Viera is something of an omission from Wenger. Perhaps not that he made a mistake in selling him in the first place, since the price was good and Viera wanted to leave, but that in 4 years he has not adequately replaced the giant Frenchmen.

Viera, of course the captain of the ‘Invincibles' of 2003/04, was voted Arsenal's 5^th greatest player of all time on Arsenal's official website. Despite his age then it seems almost certain that Viera would be welcomed back with open arms. Yet re-signing a midfielder who seemed to show his age when a young Arsenal side ran Juventus ragged in 2006 does show signs of desperation from Wenger.

However, with most Arsenal fans admitting defensive midfield is a major area of concern and Kolo Toure bemoaning the lack of leaders at the club, Wenger may have found the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. Viera should add steel to an already slick midfield and with so many youngsters about Arsenal may just have the players to make up for any running he can't do himself.

I'm not sure Patrick Viera is the ideal signing most Gunners had in mind this summer but whilst Blaise Matuidi offers a better long-term option, Arsenal really don't need another promising twenty-something. What they need is leadership and solidity - and frankly who better?

By Michael Sinnerton

Is Liverpool's stability starting to become stagnation? Rafa Benitez's call for stability in the Liverpool ranks this summer was one that seemed very sensible at the time. However, with only one first team signing all summer, Liverpool look to be one player short at a time when their greatest rivals are most vulnerable.

With Cristiano Ronaldo gone, Manchester United's likely starting midfield (Nani, Anderson, Carrick and Valencia) scored a total of 8 league goals last season. That's not to say they won't improve goals-wise (Park is another midfield option) and I certainly expect a much better return from Rooney and Berbatov but nevertheless Liverpool have never had a better chance to strike while the iron's hot, taking last season's form into this.

But they have so-far just upgraded right-backs. Glen Johnson is probably a better all-round player than Alvaro Arbeloa and certainly offers more going forward, which is arguably what Liverpool have needed against the league's weaker teams. But I was still slightly loathe to lose Arbeloa who to me is both excellent right back cover and probably a better defender than either Aurelio or Dossena at left-back.

With Xabi Alonso somewhat ironically taking Gareth Barry's role as most prolonged and boring transfer saga of the year, Liverpool's midfield is still only pencilled in. Given the time spent over this transfer Benitez must have a replacement lined up if Alonso does decide to leave. Ideally, both in terms of stability and ability, Alonso will stay but unless Ryan Babel finally develops into the player who promised so much Liverpool still need one more quality attacking addition.

If Alonso stays that addition should really be a striker who can play either up front on his own, in the hole or occasionally out wise. Hence Benitez's purchase of Robbie Keane but given the lack of success there, the options for Rafa are somewhat limited. The problem with the signing of David Silva (excellent though he would surely be) is that another Fernando Torres injury leaves Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog as the front-line options. Rooney and Berbatov they are not.

With a fit Torres Liverpool could certainly win the title, without him they won't. But one brilliant signing could mean the Spaniard gets the rest and recovery time he needs to be at his best. And that could make the difference.

by Joel Abraham

Both men have cashed in on the revolution at Middle Eastlands, yet there has been a world of difference in the sentiments aimed at their respective departures.

It should be noted that Gooners do not seem particularly concerned about losing either men. As much as hacks might tell us we should be hitting the panic buttons, seeing the back of a lazy, wasteful striker and a defender who failed to match the promise of his first two seasons for more than £40m is not the worst thing to have ever happened to Arsenal Football Club.

Enough has been said about Adebayor. But put simply, Ade will be booed on his return to the Emirates, and Kolo will not. Whilst fans were delighted by the sale of Ade, they will be genuinely sorry to see the departure of Kolo Toure the man, if not the player.

Whilst both have essentially traded down their ambitions for a hefty pay packet, you won't see many fans calling Toure a mercenary. He is a humble gentleman of a player, and therein lies the difference between himself and his Togolese friend. The Ivorian's performances may not have always been up to scratch, but there was never any doubting his commitment to the cause. Here was a passionate, dedicated professional who was never left wanting for effort. He was also a private man, who never felt the need to publicly flirt with other clubs or complain about his teammates. And in negotiations with City, he did not attempt to whore himself to Chelsea and Man United at the last minute.

His Arsenal career took a turn for the worse last year. A combination of African Nations Cup burnout and a nasty pre-season bout of malaria led to a disappointing 18 months for Toure. But he leaves fans with plenty of great memories, from his goal that sent Arsenal to their first ever European Cup Final, to his stellar performances in the unbeaten season of 03/04. We wish him all the best.

On a less sentimental note, it's not all doom and gloom for Arsenal. Wenger is once again showing his ruthless side, showing the door to the underperforming Adebayor and Toure (and most likely Eboue) and sending a message to the rest of the squad: if you don't improve, you're out. Players that leave Arsenal are players that Wenger allows to leave. His decisions are almost always vindicated in hindsight, and he has a knack of producing great sides from unfancied squads. Gooners can look forward to a no-nonsense defensive pairing of Gallas and Vermaelen, a deeper-lying Fabregas who will no longer be burdened as our sole creative player, a match-fit Eduardo and Rosicky, Robin van Persie coming off the back of his best ever season, and most intruigingly a side built around the genius of Andrey Arshavin.

by Alice Reeves

**DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire SOTG team**

1) Adebayor was Arsenal's best player

Like him or not, Adebayor was one of Arsenal's most important men. 62 goals in 114 starts cannot be ignored, not to mention crucial strikes in big games at Man United, Spurs, Villarreal and Milan to name but four. Likewise, Kolo Toure has been a key part of Arsenal's defence since 2003. Both have  been sold to a major rival.

2) Wenger can no longer cope tactically

Arsene Wenger simply cannot deal with the kick-and-rush physicality of the Premier League, dropping points to inferior teams who can stifle his play. Wenger has built a side that cannot attack or defend set pieces, and comes unstuck far too easily in routine away fixtures. He also consistently fails to replace key players who depart, leaving too much faith in youth to the overall detriment of the team.

3) They have the weakest central midfield in the Top 10

Fabregas is undoubtedly a talented player, but had a poor season by his own high standards. Beyond Fabregas, who else is there? Denilson? Song? Diaby? Ramsey?

4) Poor squad depth

Arsenal have an injury-prone squad that is liable to collapse at any moment. The likes of Fabianski, Djourou, Silvestre, Gibbs, Denilson, Diaby, Song, Bendtner and even the overrated Theo Walcott are not good enough deputies for their first team counterparts.

5) Financial problems

Attendances are falling, with more and more games going on sale to Red members, and some failing to sell out at all.  Understandable, as Arsenal charge 40% more than their league rivals, to watch a team that cannot challenge for honours. Wenger has to sell before he can buy, and the sale of key players has become an annual necessity. They cannot match the teams around them for spending power.

6) No prestige

Nobody sees Arsenal as a threat anymore. They do not have the draw or history of the likes of Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man United or Liverpool, and consequently struggle to attract the big names. Wenger is left to scrabble around for the signatures of relative unknowns. Arsenal are viewed by most as a feeder club to the big boys.

7) Weak team spirit

Just look at the disputes last season between Adebayor/Bendtner and Gallas/Toure. More and more players speak out on dressing room discord, which would never have happened five years ago. The problem being that Arsenal are a one-man team - it's just been a different player each year.

8) Fickle fans

Gooners are so quick to jump on a player's back for whatever reason that it's no surprise so many of them end up leaving. Adebayor, Bendtner and Eboue have all come in for vitreolic abuse from the so-called 'fans'. These same fans are responsible for creating the worst atmosphere in the league, with the stadium emptying well before the final whistle.

9) Curse of the captaincy

The skipper's armband has caused a dramatic downturn in the fortunes of Henry, Gallas and Fabregas over the years, and nobody has the character to hold this responsibility. Gilberto was the one player who was capable of leading the side, and was unceremoniously jettisoned from the team.

10) Not enough Englishmen

Playing for Arsenal Football Club means nothing to foreigners, who see the team as a stepping stone to a bigger club. Nobody cares about the team because there are no local lads.  Having no English core means that there is no team spirit, as everybody is too different and have nothing in common, which lead to rival factions in the dressing room. Only English players care about the fans, and it's no coincidence that Arsenal's trophy drought coincided with the departures of the likes of Adams, Keown, Parlour, Campbell and Cole.