PITA’s Arsenal predictions for the 2023/24 season

Kenneth Daly

Premier League: 1st – Why not? To hunt down Manchester City is an unenviable task, but we competed right until the end last season and spent big over the summer. We are as ready as we’ll ever be.

Champions League: Quarter-finals – European competition was never our strong suit! While a last-eight exit would be hugely disappointing, the Champions League poses a very different challenge compared to domestic football and one wonders how Arsenal will cope with such elite-level, bi-weekly demands. I reckon we will struggle.

Player of the Season: Bukayo Saka – Our Starboy will take centre stage once again this term. There are several contenders for POTS, but Saka’s remarkable consistency makes him the standout choice and, in any case, he is perhaps the most nailed-on for minutes.

One to watch: Jakub Kiwior – It is unlikely that a new Hale End prodigy will ‘burst onto the scene’ given our many options, so I will opt for Kiwior here. The Pole showed signs of promise late last campaign and featured regularly on the US tour, where his ‘inverted’ role suggested he can comfortably rotate with the often-injured Zinchenko.

Best signing: Declan Rice – He might not win the ‘Value-for-Money award’, but the Rice deal was a huge coup for Arsenal and I expect he will show the critics exactly why Mikel Arteta broke our transfer record for him.

Continued on the next slide…