Barclay's Premier League Preview: Arsenal, Aston Villa & Cardiff City

Wake up out of your slumber footy fans! The world's most popular & most followed league is about to start on Saturday. There are a number of big story lines to start off the 2013-14 season! Does Manchester United have what it takes to repeat as champions without Sir Alex Ferguson? Will Manchester City's new manager & new additions bring the title back to the Eastlands? Is the "Special One" still all that special? Will Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale & Wayne Rooney be playing for new clubs?

We shall find out the answers to these intriguing questions soon, but in the meantime let's start with a breakdown of the 20 clubs taking part in this season's campaign. Part 1 will feature: Arsenal, Aston Villa & Cardiff City.

ARSENAL

After barely holding onto 4th place in the Premier League standings last year, some changes were expected at the Emirates Stadium this summer. To be fair, there were plenty. Gervinho (Roma), Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace), Sebastian Squillaci (released), Denilson (Sao Paulo), Andre Santos (Flamengo), Vito Mannone (Sunderland) & Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St. Petersberg) were all allowed to leave North London, freeing up significant amounts of money off the wage bill. The only problem: Arsenal have barely signed anyone to replace any of these departed players. While young French striker Yaya Sanogo could be a great signing for Arsene Wenger's club, you cannot blame Gunners' fans for being disappointed. Especially after Arsenal CEO Ivan Gadzidis declared that the club could now compete with Europe's heavyweights in terms of wages & transfer fees.

While it is still to be seen if Arsenal's approaches for Bayern Munich's Luis Gustavo & Liverpool's Luis Suarez pan out, the Gunners' current roster is not one that can compete for a title. While the midfield is stacked with talent & speed, Arsenal are undermanned at the back. With Thomas Vermaelen expected to miss the start of the season, Arsenal are one injury away from being left in a vulnerable position. Not the type of depth needed to compete for honours.

Will Olivier Giroud be all alone up front for Arsenal this year?

Player to Watch: Olivier Giroud
The former Montpelier man enters his 2nd season with the Arsenal after scoring 11 goals in 34 league appearances last season. If Arsenal fails to sign another striker during the remainder of the transfer window, Giroud will need to pick up the slack & need to produce more goals this year. The 26 year old has improved in the pre-season thus far, but then again he won't be playing against the Vietnamese all-star team in the EPL this year!

PREDICTION:  5TH


ASTON VILLA

Out with the old, & in with the new. That is the new mantra at Aston Villa. Manager Paul Lambert cut ties with some veterans players (Richard Dunne, Jean Makoun & Brett Holman) while bringing in younger players like Antonio Luna (Sevilla), Nicklas Helenius (Aalborg BK) & Aleksandar Tonev (Lech Poznan) to Villa Park. It has been sometime since Aston Villa decided to do a full scale re-build, but it seems quite necessary right now. The expensive purchase of Darren Bent continues to haunt the club, as the once deadly, but now oft injured striker sits on the Villa bench.

While Villa still has a decent core of veterans such as the aforementioned Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ron Vlaar & Brad Guzan, pairing the new additions with developing stars like Barry Bannan, Christian Benteke & Marc Albrighton will be a project of vital importance for Paul Lambert. Can Villa bring a youthful & energetic brand of football to their fans this year? Or will another relegation battle be in the cards this May?

Player to Watch: Christian Benteke
The Belgian put pen to paper & decided to stay with Villa despite interest from a couple clubs in London after a wonderful first year in English football, bagging 19 goals in 34 matches in 2012-13. With such a young squad, the 22 year old will need to take even more of a leadership role this year to keep his club out of a relegation battle. If Benteke has a sophomore slump this season, Aston Villa are real big trouble.

PREDICTION: 17TH


CARDIFF CITY F.C.

The Welsh capital's main club is back in the Premier League after 51 years of toiling in England's lower divisions. Malky McKay's side finished 1st in the League Championship & earned promotion to the Premier League. Backed by wealthy Malaysian investors, the club doled out a cool £8.5 to sign Danish striker Andreas Corneilius from F.C. Copenhagen. The Dane is a pricey buy for the new Premier League club, but his 6 foot 4 frame may come in handy in the physical English Premier League & he could be a steal for that price if he is able to bag 10-15 goals this season.

Cardiff has an impressive blend of youth (Steven Caulker & Bo-Kyung Kim) & veteran presence (Craig Bellamy, Matthew Connolly & Frazier Campbell). Last year's player of the year Mark Hudson is sure to lead the back four, but will it be enough against the formidable attacks of the Manchester City & Chelsea's in the Premier League?

Cardiff's strength will certainly be going forward with the likes Peter Whittingham & Bo Kyung Kim in the midfield & Andreas Corneilius, Craig Bellamy, Fraizer Campbell & Nicky Maynard up front. Scoring can often be the most difficult task for newly promoted clubs, but Cardiff should have no problem there. Defending against Premier League attacks is where the real concern will be.

Player to Watch: Fraizer Campbell
The 25 year old forward is back in the Premier League after stints with Manchester United, Sunderland & Tottenham prior to signing with Cardiff last year. Campbell will be vital for The Bluebirds this year as he is one of the few players on the squad with Premier League experience (scoring 7 goals in 70 appearances). He is entering the prime of his career (unlike his strike partner Craig Bellamy, who is 34), so if Campbell is in the right form, he could be a game changer for Cardiff City this year.

PREDICTION: 10TH


Stay tuned to for a preview of more clubs shortly!

The Pursuit of Luis Suarez: Worth the Massive Risk?

The old saying goes "any press is good press." With the recent revelations in England, you would have to think that Luis Suarez is pushing the boundaries of that saying. The prolific and talented striker has drawn the ire of Liverpool fans, team mates & the club's brass over the past week after trying to push a through a move away from the club. Suarez is even exploring his legal options in attempting to leave Liverpool. This is particularly irksome to Liverpool fans, who stood by Suarez's side after his most ridiculous antics, namely racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra & subsequently refusing to shake Evra's hand in the next Liverpool/United match. If that wasn't enough, Suarez bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during a match near the end of last year's campaign & was suspended for 10 matches (which will carry into this upcoming season). Liverpool fans even supported these highly questionable eating habits. That's quite possibly the farthest a group of fans have gone to support a player, backing an alleged racist cannibal despite his flaws.

So, after receiving this backing, how does Suarez want to reward the Kop? By jumping ship, of course! After making seductive glances at Real Madrid & subsequently being passed up by the Spaniards, the Uruguayan is now making eyes at Arsenal.

Suarez is starting to alienate fans & teammates alike at Liverpool

A potential deal to land Suarez makes sense for the Gunners on paper. After losing Cesc Fabregas in 2011 to Barcelona & star striker Robin Van Persie to Manchester United last summer, the Gunners need a star. While Arsenal has continued to qualify for the Champion's League (now a streak of 16 straight seasons), the last 2 seasons have shown that Arsene Wenger's men are starting to lose their grip on a top 4 finish.

Gunners' fans have been disappointed with the club's inactivity in the transfer market in recent years, but part of this is due to the fact that Arsenal is not seen as a prime destination for the best footballers on the planet. In recent years, Arsenal could not compete with the wages being offered by the Manchester City & Chelsea's of the world. But most importantly, Arsenal has not won a trophy in almost a decade. Getting paid less than your peers & not winning will not lure stars to a club. Adding Suarez may not guarantee trophies right away, but it will give Arsenal legitimacy in offering competitive wages & attracting top players in the transfer market again.

Think of the Robinho effect at Manchester City. The on field effect was minimal, but the fact that one of the world's top talents moved to the blue side of Manchester gave Man City instant legitimacy in the transfer market & lured other top talents to the Eastlands.

Suarez at FC Groningen: Successful stint ended in controversy

Don't get too excited though Arsenal fans. There is no guarantee that a £50m plus bid will even be accepted by Liverpool. But let's say it is.The main question to ask is how long would Suarez stay at Arsenal? In 2007 he forced his way out of FC Groningen of Holland to play for Amsterdam's Ajax. In 2007 Suarez looked towards the courts for a solution, but while Groningen won an arbitration hearing, they opted to sell the striker as he had soured relations with his teammates & the fan base. He seems to be maneuvering a similar move here. Based on this history, what would hold off Suarez from forcing his way out of a club again?  Would he depart Arsenal for Real Madrid or another one of Europe's elite teams in a year or two leaving the club in a poor position?

So, before you start counting how many titles you will win with Suarez, take a look back at history Arsenal fans. It often repeats itself.