Arsenal in front but lack of top forward may hurt
It's only been a month or so since the World Cup, but that's enough. I think we all love our football that much, that a month is more than enough to go without football. So, I'm really excited for the Premier League season to start.
I'm really hoping that it's a better season in general for everything than last season because I thought it was a bit flat. I'm hopeful that this year will be really exciting. There is so much that is tough to call and I think it will be a real good battle.
Lots have teams have spent big this summer, and I think Arsenal have done really well. Maybe they're not even finished yet. They've been really shrewd, they've pinpointed what they needed, I think 95% of the time they've got that done.
I still feel as if they're lacking a top-class centre forward, to perhaps go and, I wouldn't say dominate, but go and do something for a number of years. I think that would still be on their radar, whether they tried to get Alvarez or not, I don't know.
In the main, Arsenal have done really well. The signing of Bruno Guimarães and one or two of the other bits that they've done have been really solid business.
They have a squad now to consistently challenge across all four fronts. It even looks as if they are now keeping hold of Myles Lewis-Skelly. He played a major part in the game last week and was really impressive in the midfield.
Christos Tzolis will add quality to the squad. I listened to Arteta after the game saying that he's been on to the Premier League to allow more substitutions, which would allow him to have more squad members on the bench. Not that I would welcome that.
The big clubs have it their own way enough anyway don't they? They have enough quality there. They want big squads and can pay for big squads. It's the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle that unfortunately have to miss out because of the rules, so I wouldn't agree with allowing more substitutions.
But overall, I think that tells you how strong Arsenal are and will be. I do think they've done good business and I think they're the team to beat again.
Liam Delap has an important decision to make
I thought it was a poor move going to Chelsea anyway, because he was never ever going to be the number one choice there.
It would have been far better off going to another Premier League club where he was going to play regular football and gain more experience and more minutes.
His next move is really important. But I think the move he makes now will probably be the move he should have made before Chelsea. So, he's lost a year of valuable learning time. But there's no doubt there's a talent in there, we've seen it at Ipswich. It's whether someone can get it out of him.
So, it's a really important move for him and a really important year because he has to get out and he has to play. Clearly that's not going to happen at Chelsea. So wherever he goes, I think you'll see a better Delap this season.
Wherever he goes, first of all he has to play and play regularly, as tough as that will be because he didn't play a lot last season and there will be frustration there.
I don't think he will go to a top six club, so I guess it will be a mid-range team that could push for European football. You could look at Aston Villa, Newcastle or someone like that. It all just depends on how much Chelsea are looking to get for him.
Kane has been phenomenal at Bayern Munich - he should definitely stay there!
I've seen Harry Kane's comments on not returning to the Premier League, and I guess you'd probably just have to take it season by season because you just don't know what can happen in a year.
Last year was phenomenal For him. His time with Bayern Munich has just been phenomenal.
From my point of view people will just keep on saying: "Alan will be happy that he's got another year abroad or another two years, whatever it is."
And the simple answer is, yeah, I get that and understand that.
The more days abroad, the more chance of my record is staying intact. So yeah, I'm pleased if that is the case.
Not that I've been counting, but I think he's got 47 to match or catch me, which is probably two seasons.
When you're on the other side of 30, like he is, those goals become tougher to get, particularly in the Premier League. I think it is a tougher league than the Bundesliga.
I mean, there's such a lot made out of it. I guess if he stays at least another year, maybe two, then I might be able to relax that a little bit.
He's probably got one more shot at international level in terms of winning that elusive trophy that we all desperately want, which will be the Euros in two years' time. My guess would be that if it is going to be farewell, then that would be his farewell.
It sounds as if he's going to be playing his football in Germany for the next couple of years, away from the Premier League. I mean, he moved away for a reason. I think that reason has been proven correct because he's looking better than ever. He's looking fitter than ever. He's scoring more goals than ever.
I know the Bundesliga is not as tough as the Premier League, but he's bashing in goals left, right and centre, and by all accounts, his family are loving it abroad. So, he also has to think of that as well.
I was never tempted to move abroad
There were one or two talks before the Newcastle move, but nothing serious. There weren't any concrete offers. There were offers that were spoken about rather than actual offers. It was always going to be Newcastle or Manchester United.
Sir Bobby Robson had said that he'd wanted to take me to Barcelona. When I was leaving Blackburn, Bobby came in for me. I told the club it was a definite no, so he went out and signed Ronaldo from PSV Eindhoven instead. So, I said to him, "Well, it didn't turn out too bad for you or for him then, did it?"
We have to be realistic about Newcastle this season
I understand the change of direction at the club. I understand that we're not going to be qualifying for the Champions League.
It is tough when you see your best players continually leave. I mean, that's another thing getting onto the rules, I guess. Villa and Newcastle fans will feel that. But we finished 12th last season with Tonali, with Gordon and with Bruno Guimarães. So I think that tells you where Newcastle were and how they had to sell and how they had to bring in young, fresh talent. Now, that always brings challenging moments as well as losing your manager.
I think it will be a very, very different season. I think it will be a challenging season because I think if it was that easy to sell your big players and then replace them with younger, energetic, hungry young players, everyone would do it.
My small concern would be that you're losing characters. OK, we finished 12th, so those players didn't have the best season, but those players were all characters in the dressing room.
If you take those three out and you're also losing Kieran Trippier, who was a huge presence in the dressing room, what you are losing is your characters and your leaders, and you're replacing them with young, inexperienced players. Not only young and inexperienced players, but young inexperienced players in the Premier League.
That would be my concern more than anything, losing the leaders and the characters. I also think it's important to think ability-wise, as good as they were, we did finish 12th.
This season we're going into the unknown. We've got a young, inexperienced manager who's going to need all the help and all the backing that we have to give him.
Put that in with the players that they brought in, the young, inexperienced players. Albeit you've still got Schar, Dan Burn and Joelinton.
Ultimately, I don't expect us to finish in a European spot.
Alan Shearer's Premier League 1-20 Prediction
While I think Chelsea will give Arsenal a run for their money, the big thing for the Gunners was winning it last season and getting that off their back, after finishing second all those times.
I think they can look forward to the season now with their new signings. Konsa is a brilliant signing as well. So, Arsenal will be the ones.