Welbeck-kiss-badgeWith the 2015-16 Premier League starting at the weekend, RoM has spoken to rival fans about the season ahead. Arsenal fan Andrew Mangan from Arseblog shares his thoughts.

Scott: How did Arsenal do in 2014-15?

Andrew: Well, we won a trophy, which is always nice, but the Premier League campaign was underwhelming. The second half of the season was very good but we dropped too many silly points with draws in the opening half, and with Chelsea’s start that made a title challenge impossible.

Scott: How do you expect them to do in 2015-16?

Andrew: Better, I think the squad is as deep as it has been for years, and there are good players in every position. Like any team it could be improved, but when you look at the players now compared to the ones from even a couple of summers ago, the difference is marked.

Scott: Does winning the Charity Shield mean anything for your season ahead?

Andrew: Not particularly, we won it last year and it had no great impact. The only thing you’d say is that beating Chelsea is always nice and it keeps the pre-season momentum going into the first game against West Ham.

Scott: Who do you think will be your best player?

Andrew: It’s hard to look beyond Alexis Sanchez but after enjoying his first full pre-season I’m expecting big things from Mesut Ozil.

Scott: How highly do you rate Welbeck?

Andrew: Useful member of the squad, gives cover at striker and in the wide areas, but not a first XI player. You do feel like he’s got the potential to do more, but whether we see it or not is another question.

Scott: How highly do you rate Wenger?

Andrew: What’s interesting is how he’s changed tack slightly in certain areas and how that has benefitted the team. When he had more money, he spent it on good players. He’s addressed some of the issues we had with injury by recruiting more backroom staff. And the tactical inflexibility that was such a frustration has seen him adapt more often to the opposition. With hindsight, despite some of the problems, it looks like a fucking miracle to have consistently made the top four with some of the squads we’ve had. He has to get this team challenging for the title though.

Scott: Are you happy with your team’s business in the transfer window?

Andrew: Well, Cech certainly looks like an upgrade on what we had, but I don’t think you can look at it as just what happened in this window. Since August 2013 we’ve bought 9 players, spending around £150m. You can’t keep spending and turning over players at that rate, so it’s been a gradual process, but one that has definitely improved the team.

Scott: Where do you think United will finish this season?

Andrew: Certainly in the top four, I do wonder if it might be a struggle to quickly find the right balance with the departures and new arrivals.

Scott: If you could have one United player in your team, who would it be?

Andrew: I think we could probably have found room for Morgan Schneiderlin to be honest.

Scott: Who do you think will win the league?

Andrew: I suspect Chelsea, but obviously I hope they don’t. And by don’t I mean really don’t and Mourinho’s head explodes at some point.