With a gap of 30 points between leaders Manchester City and sixth placed Arsenal there is clearly a massive gulf in class, as has recently been evidenced by the two hammerings dished out to The Gunners by City in their last two meetings, both in London.
Things don’t get much better for the teams above Arsenal as there is still a gap of 16 points between City and second-placed Manchester United.
So what can the rest of the top six do to address the balance next season?
Arsenal
This is the easiest to answer but, probably, the hardest to put i to practice. The reason for their decline over the last few years is glaringly obvious. They have a manager who shouldn’t be there. It’s that simple!
Wenger has taken the club backwards and they now have little chance of finishing in the top four this season and their Europa League hopes hinge on their ability to beat AC Milan over two legs. Good luck with that then!
These two will be wondering what they have let themselves in for by joining Arsenal!
He should have resigned at least five years ago and, when he didn’t, the board should have started making arrangements to replace him. Now there is the totally ridiculous situation where a manager who failed to finish in the top four thereby failing to qualify for the Champion’s League and was knocked out of that competition by Bayern Münich who managed to score ten goals against them over the two legs, is rewarded with a new two year contract.
No wonder Arsenal fans have reached exasperation point!
Chelsea
It looks like Chelsea will have a new manager next season even though Antonio Conte hasn’t done a lot wrong. He has angered the board occasionally by speaking the truth, something not recommended for career progression in football management!
He has been unable to strengthen his squad with the players he wanted and has, rather ludicrously, been linked with the likes of Peter Crouch and Andy Carroll. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with either of these players it’s just that we wonder why, if they are not good enough for the West Ham or Stoke City first teams, they should be good enough even to sit on the bench for Chelsea.
So the advice to the team from Stamford Bridge is to get a new manager in quickly and start identifying signings who will improve the team, not lower the average ability level!
Liverpool
As we have said on many occasions, a goalkeeper is the stand-out requirement at Anfield. Having a world class keeper will increase the confidence of all the defenders which will raise all of their games by between 3% and 7%.
Everybody is aware that Liverpool have no problem scoring goals so, with one more addition, they could become title contenders.
Jan Oblak – The Atlético Madrid keeper is a reported target of Liverpool
Rumours persist that they are interested in signing Jan Oblak from Atlético Madrid or Alisson from Roma and either one would be a massive upgrade on their current incumbent.
If they can get one or the other of this pair and, maybe, another world class defender then their title aspirations would be given a real boost.
Manchester United
José Mourinho is excellent at getting the best out of average players and others playing out of position. However, to challenge Manchester City, world class players in most positions are a requirement.
Their player of the season for the last few years has been David De Gea which tells a story in itself. The United defence is decidedly average and is made to look a whole lot better than it really is by their goalkeeper, who continually pulls off saves to keep clean sheets and preserve their reputation.
In fact two ageing wingers who have been converted, unsuccessfully, to full backs along with a couple of very average central defenders means that United will have to spend again in the summer transfer window to get anywhere near City next season.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs will probably continue to punch above their weight and, as long as Daniel Levy continues to pay less than the rest, they will struggle to sign the top players and will have to make do with signings not wanted by the others.
This has served them quite well in the past when considering the signings of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Victor Wanyama and Toby Alderweireld, but the problems arise when these players realise that they can make more elsewhere and, at the same time, increase their prospect of silverware.
Toby Alderweireld – Does he feel the time is right for more money and more trophies?
They will be happy to make the top four again next season as their ambition goes no higher at present.
In conclusion, we would also expect Manchester City to improve their squad for next season so it is no good the rest just “keeping up” with them. That would still leave them miles behind in real terms.
Some of these “top” managers are really going to have to start earning their money next time out.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 
Beat them, stupid !
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Providing all five of them beat City home and away then you are probably right. The answer, however, is not quite as simple as you undoubtedly are.
Even if United had played and beaten City twice this season they would still be six points behind them in the table!
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