Will we win the Premier League

[Nii Lamptey]

It does have all the hallmarks of that Leicester winning season. All of the pundits/media were quite patronizing to 'plucky little Leicester', saying they're doing unbelievably well, but would fall away towards the business end of the season. They didn't, and just kept winning. We're a better side than that Leicester team, with a better manager by far, and we have the same belief and togetherness as those guys.

If we keep chipping the wins away in the background, I think a few could be surprised come May. All hinges on who comes in this month, and how long Bouba is out for.

22/1 are very brave odds by the bookies there... I'd say we should be well shorter than that.

In answer to the to the question. Yes..... yes we will.

[Smithy]

It does have all the hallmarks of that Leicester winning season. All of the pundits/media were quite patronizing to 'plucky little Leicester', saying they're doing unbelievably well, but would fall away towards the business end of the season. They didn't, and just kept winning. We're a better side than that Leicester team, with a better manager by far, and we have the same belief and togetherness as those guys.

If we keep chipping the wins away in the background, I think a few could be surprised come May. All hinges on who comes in this month, and how long Bouba is out for.

22/1 are very brave odds by the bookies there... I'd say we should be well shorter than that.

In answer to the to the question. Yes..... yes we will.

I agree with the comparisons to Leicester's league-winning season as far as our OWN form is concerned.  However, the thing people often miss with Leicester's win, is just how mediocre everyone else was that season.  Arsenal were second on 71 points.   71 wouldn't even have qualified them for the Champions League the following season, never mind 2nd.  Leicester's league-winning total would have seen them a distant third the following season.  Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool all ended the season with 60-something points.

Being better than Leicester isn't enough.  We need the teams around us to be as mediocre as they were in 2015-2016.  The stars really aligned for Leicester that year.

The alternative, of course, is that we just blow everyone away, regardless of how good or bad they are. 

That would be nice, wouldn't it?

22/1 indeed...

[Mellin]

I hate to shit on the Leicester comparison parade, but the key difference is they were top at this point and had just won at Man City 3-1 around this time of year. We are seven, possibly four/six, points off. I think it's possible, but they were in a far better position than we are at this stage.

What I am seeing though is everyone at the top is dropping points. If we can put a run together through this next seven or so fixtures then we could be sitting pretty come March/April. Shame about Kamara. Could, probably will, be decisive. Think we need at least one attacker of premium quality too.

[Dave]

I hate to shit on the Leicester comparison parade, but the key difference is they were top at this point and had just won at Man City 3-1 around this time of year.

Think they were second, behind Arsenal (albeit on the same number of points)

[Brazilian Villain]

I won't feel confident until Dion Dublin announces he'll appear on MOTD in his briefs if we win the league.

[aj2k77]

Realistically, even if we carried our last 17 games form in to the next 17 games Arsenal need 8 wins from 16 games to win the title.

[eamonn]

It does have all the hallmarks of that Leicester winning season. All of the pundits/media were quite patronizing to 'plucky little Leicester', saying they're doing unbelievably well, but would fall away towards the business end of the season. They didn't, and just kept winning. We're a better side than that Leicester team, with a better manager by far, and we have the same belief and togetherness as those guys.

If we keep chipping the wins away in the background, I think a few could be surprised come May. All hinges on who comes in this month, and how long Bouba is out for.

22/1 are very brave odds by the bookies there... I'd say we should be well shorter than that.

In answer to the to the question. Yes..... yes we will.

I agree with the comparisons to Leicester's league-winning season as far as our OWN form is concerned.  However, the thing people often miss with Leicester's win, is just how mediocre everyone else was that season.  Arsenal were second on 71 points.   71 wouldn't even have qualified them for the Champions League the following season, never mind 2nd.  Leicester's league-winning total would have seen them a distant third the following season.  Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool all ended the season with 60-something points.

Being better than Leicester isn't enough.  We need the teams around us to be as mediocre as they were in 2015-2016.  The stars really aligned for Leicester that year.

The alternative, of course, is that we just blow everyone away, regardless of how good or bad they are. 

That would be nice, wouldn't it?

22/1 indeed...

If we won the league, we'd be met with the same comments - the league was weak this year, Liverpool were shit, Arsenal bottled it as usual, the Mancs, Chelsea & Spudz were in transition (again). One or two teams getting to 90+ points doesn't necessarily mean a strong league - the gap betwen 4th and 14th at the moment is less than 10 points, most teams can beat each other. It's arguably the most competitive it's been in years. That's not the same as it being poor or weak. Give me a proper competition any day over one or two teams being streets ahead of the rest.

[PeterWithesShin]

2016, after 22 games

1 Arsenal 44 points
2 Leicester 44 points
20 Villa 12

We're currently 21 played and 43 points. So right now we're doing better than Leicester were, unfortunately Arsenal are even betterer.

[Garyth]

 That's not the same as it being poor or weak. Give me a proper competition any day over one or two teams being streets ahead of the rest.

Same here.

I actually think the difference this season is that the mid level teams (and even those just outside the relegation spots) are really good, but the competition is so tight that the table makes them look bad.

Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, etc have teams that could compete at the top end in other countries - eg Bundesliga.

[Somniloquism]

12 months ago, after 22 games

1 Arsenal 44 points
2 Leicester 44 points
20 Villa 12

We're currently 21 played and 43 points. So right now we're doing better than Leicester were, unfortunately Arsenal are even betterer.

We have come a long way in a year.

[PeterWithesShin]

2016, after 22 games

1 Arsenal 44 points
2 Leicester 44 points
20 Villa 12

We're currently 21 played and 43 points. So right now we're doing better than Leicester were, unfortunately Arsenal are even betterer.

We have come a long way in a year.

Fuck knows why I typed that

[eamonn]

Yeah, surprised Unai lasted with that record.

[paul_e]

I assume you mean 10 years ago but yes, we're in a very similar position to where they were but Arsenal and Man City are much better than they were that season.

First target, for me, is to get to Easter and still be in the conversation. From there we have 5 games that are all winnable and we benefit from them playing each other in the middle of April.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's very 'Sky armchair fan' thinking to say the PL is weaker as the Sky6 aren't blowing everyone away. I've said before that the rest of the league is way stronger than years ago. Anyone think Wolves or West Ham would be in the relegation zone in any other country with their squads for example?

[paul_e]

Yep, I've been saying the same all season, I think this season is actually the strongest, and most competitive, the league has ever been because even the clubs at the bottom are actually pretty decent and would've had more than enough about them to stay up most seasons. The huge block in mid-table shows just how tough it is to do what we're doing this year.