Former Premier League manager Sam Allardyce makes bold Arsenal title prediction

Former Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has asserted Arsenal will fail to retain the Premier League trophy next year.

Mikel Arteta's team, who ended their 22-year title drought earlier in May, are widely considered to be the Premier League title favourites after a great 85-point 2025-26 term. They showcased their quality with a 3-0 FA Community Shield win over rivals Manchester City earlier this Sunday.

But, Allardyce has surprisingly backed Manchester City to notch their 11th top-flight league title in the 2026-27 campaign. The former England manager insisted on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast (h/t Metro):

"Manchester City. I think Enzo Maresca is going to have a great first season. If he doesn't, he will be out."

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson reacted by commenting:

"I wasn't expecting that, it's flabbergasting. I'm going with Arsenal... because they're more settled than the other possible title rivals."

Arsenal, who lost the UEFA Champions League final earlier in 2026, look the most likely club to win the Premier League, with a number of their rivals set to begin new eras. Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea have all hired new managers ahead of the start of the new league campaign.

The Gunners will face newly promoted side Coventry City in their 2026-27 Premier League opening contest at Emirates Stadium this Friday.

Arsenal told to snap up 27-year-old striker

Speaking on the Dressing Room podcast, Chelsea icon Joe Cole claimed Arsenal must sign Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen to retain the Premier League trophy. He said (h/t Metro):

"I'm going to put an asterisk on this. I think Manchester City win the title if they don't bring in a number nine because I still think that will be a problem for them. So I'm going to go Manchester City to win the league ahead of Arsenal, but if they bring in Victor Osimhen, I would flip it back. But as it stands, I'm going for Manchester City."

Osimhen, who will turn 28 in December, emerged as one of the best number nines in the world after guiding Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023. He has helped his club win two Turkish league titles and one Turkish cup till now.

So far, the Nigeria international has found the back of the net 61 times in 75 overall outings for Galatasaray, providing 16 assists in the process. The former Lille striker has a contract until June 2029 at his current team.

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