Musings on the first couple of weeks of the football season

The football season has finally arrived, and the Premier League really does look like it's going to be a cracker. I have refrained from talking about it thus far, as you can't really make any kind of hypothesis on how the season will pan out from just one game. Of course, you can hardly do the same from three games, but we have enough information to draw some conclusions.

First of all, Arsenal have looked really good so far: destroying Everton and Portsmouth in the League, and doing the same to Celtic in the Champion's League qualifier. They were also desperately unlucky in the game against Manchester United, who scored from a Wayne Rooney penalty, and an unbelievable own goal from Abou Diaby. These were their only real forays into the Arsenal penalty for the whole game, until the last 10 minutes when Arsenal went in search of an equiliser. I don't think I have ever seen a Manchester United side look so pedestrian and short of ideas in attack, and while they will get better, they are a poor relation compared to last year's vintage.

Liverpool also look very ordinary, while Chelsea look their normal, efficient, surly self. The closest rivals to the top four appear to be Tottenham and Manchester Ciy, both of whom have strengthened considerably over the summer, and will be hard to beat.