Jamie O’Hara has given his prediction of how the Premier League table will look at the end of the upcoming 2026-27 season and he’s backing Tottenham Hotspur to majorly improve.

Spurs were last season’s biggest disappointment, finishing 17th and avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth on the final day. Roberto De Zerbi has since been backed in the transfer market with six new signings, including the club-record £100 million arrival of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United.

The new campaign kicks off on Friday when defending champions Arsenal host newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates. O’Hara has also revealed whether he sees the Gunners lifting the title again come May next year.

O’Hara Predicts Premier League Top Six

REUTERS/Chris Radburn

Predicting the Premier League is a difficult task, given that there are often many surprises, such as Sunderland qualifying for the Europa League last season. Most fans are always keen to hear from former players and how they see their respective club performing over the course of 38 matches.

O’Hara gave his verdict on talkSPORT, starting with the top six and he believes his former club Spurs will be returning to European football: “Arsenal will win the league, Man City will finish second, Man United will finish third, Chelsea will finish fourth, Liverpool will finish fifth and Spurs will finish sixth.”

The former Spurs midfielder won’t have enjoyed choosing Arsenal as his champions but Mikel Arteta’s men are heavy favourites to successfully defend their crown. They eased to a 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield last Sunday and the Citizens have been expected to be their closest challengers.

City put in a lackluster performance that raised alarm bells as they enter a new era without Pep Guardiola in charge. Former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca succeeded the Spaniard earlier this summer and is tasked with building on the most successful period in the club’s history.

Manchester United and Chelsea complete O’Hara’s top four and that will be a job well done for Xabi Alonso at Stamford Bridge if it comes to fruition. The Blues faltered last season, missing out on Europe in dismal fashion before turning to the Spaniard.

Andoni Iraola via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Perhaps O’Hara’s most controversial take is that he sees Liverpool finishing fifth. The Reds head into the new season with Andoni Iraola at the helm and the former Bournemouth boss is tipped to be a success at Anfield after replacing Arne Slot.

O’Hara explained to co-host Rory Jennings, who disagreed with his stance on the Merseysiders: “Liverpool ain’t gonna be that great. The team’s not there… I think he’s (Iraola) a good manager but they’ve got a long way to go.”

Spurs may be splashing the cash to rebuild De Zerbi’s squad, but the North London outfit are outsiders to achieve European qualification. But without midweek football, they could enjoy a season similar to United’s, who finished third last term under Michael Carrick.

O’Hara’s Relegation Picks

Two newcomers avoided the drop last season after Sunderland pulled off a remarkable seventh-placed finish and Leeds United claimed 14th. West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ spells in the top flight ended, while Burnley, were sent straight back down to the EFL Championship.

Coventry, Ipswich Town and Hull City will be hoping to replicate the Black Cats and the Peacocks and remain in the Premier League. While O’Hara believes Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues are the strongest of the three newly-promoted sides, he doesn’t have much confidence in any of them:

“Hull, Ipswich, I don’t want to say Palace cos I think Palace will be alright. I don’t think it’s Newcastle (one of Jennings’ picks)… I like Frank Lampard and I really want him to do well, I think they’ll go down but I think they’ll put up one hell of a fight.”

Should Coventry stay up, O’Hara has concerns over Crystal Palace and believes they could be in trouble. But he has predicted all three newcomers to be relegated for just the third time in Premier League history.

Manchester United are not looking to sign Barcelona star Gavi this summer, with the Spaniard seen as an important part of the squad at the Camp Nou, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Red Devils have been prioritising a midfield rebuild all summer, and Michael Carrick has already seen both Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans added to his squad ahead of the new season, alongside goalkeeper Karl Darlow and teenage winger sensation Tynan Thompson.

The club are understood to be keen to add a third midfield signing before the deadline if the right opportunity arises, and reports in Spain have linked the club with a move to sign World Cup winner Gavi.

The 22-year-old has fallen down the pecking order with the Catalan club following the arrival of Rodri from Manchester City, with Pedri, Frenkie De Jong, Fermin Lopez, and Marc Bernal all ahead of him.

A report in Spain suggested that the club would be open to a sale for around €55m (£47m), with Man Utd ready to offer around £40m to bring him in. However, when asked about the situation during his latest YouTube video, Romano was adamant that it was “fake news”.

“Some rumours from some Spanish outlet, many of you sent me. Gavi to Manchester United, absolutely fake news,” he said.

“Barca are more than happy with Gavi. I would not be surprised if in the next months, Gavi and Barca start discussing a new contract. It’s not something imminent, so I don’t want to throw things that are not happening today, tomorrow, or in a few days. But in the next months, I would not be surprised if you see a conversation between Gavi, and Barca over a new contract.

“Gavi’s super happy with Barca. Rodri joining Barca is only good news for Gavi. Gavi and Rodri have an excellent relationship.

“It doesn’t mean that Rodri is going to Barca so Gavi wants to go, it’s not true at all, and Gavi’s staying.”

Hansi Flick Loves Gavi

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Gavi has been a regular for Barcelona for several years, despite his young age, and has always been widely considered to be one of the better prospects to come out of La Masia in recent times.

But injuries have been a major problem for the Spaniard, and he missed the best part of seven months last season with a knee problem before returning t help them win the La Liga title.

Last summer, however, Flick made it abundantly clear that he is a huge fan of Gavi, and after a pre-season win over FC Seoul, he made it clear that he wants him as part of his squad going forward.

Arsenal may have won the Premier League title last season, but there is still ample room for improvement for Mikel Arteta’s team.

The Gunners ended a gruelling 2025/26 campaign seven points clear of Manchester City. This deficit makes the league triumph look considerably more comfortable than it was, with the last few months of the season in particular extremely difficult to watch as an under-pressure and fatigued set of players scraped over the line.

Not only do Arteta’s men have the opportunity to retain their crown in 2026/27, but they can do so in style, with some minor improvements here and there. Whilst being an elite defensive team last term, conceding just 27 league goals, they scored just 71 goals. Clearly, the North Londoners can become a significantly more threatening and lethal side offensively.

With that said, here are four players who either weren’t in the fold at all last season or were on the periphery of Arteta’s squad who could make a significant difference.

Ben White

Jurrien Timber was outstanding last season, playing a major role in Arsenal’s defensive solidity. The Dutchman was capable of nullifying the threat of any winger he faced, rendering the left-hand side of the Gunners’ opponents completely ineffective.

He started 28 of Arsenal’s first 31 league fixtures before sustaining an injury which kept him out of the final seven. Yet to fully recover from this setback, he’s set to miss the opening few weeks of the season.

Ben White, on the flip side, started just five of these league matches before Timber’s injury. However, he’s enjoyed an impressive pre-season and is raring to go ahead of the new campaign, and fans may be surprised by the impact he makes on Arteta’s team.

While he’s never going to offer the elite defensive assurances Timber does, White can add a lot to Arsenal’s game offensively. An exceptional passer from deep areas, White will set Arsenal up for more direct attacks with his distribution, while the quality of his cutbacks and crosses when played in on the overlap are vastly superior to his Dutch counterpart.

Overall, Arsenal may be somewhat more defensively fragile down their right-hand side, but they may also be significantly more threatening as an attacking team due to White’s presence.

Bruno Guimaraes

Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Arsenal completed the audacious signing of Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle’s captain and talisman, earlier this month, and this could prove to be one of the acquisitions of the summer in the Premier League.

While the Brazilian has a reputation for being a nasty, tough-tackling midfielder who protects his back four effectively, it’s what he could add to Arsenal’s attack which will elevate the Gunners’ overall level.

Firstly, his ability to progress the ball through his punchy, line-breaking passes will get Arsenal up the pitch and into dangerous areas more frequently, but this attribute should also liberate Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian has been too inclined to drop deep to help facilitate ball progression over the last two seasons, detracting from his creative threat in and around the box.

With Guimaraes taking the ball progression mantle from Arsenal’s skipper, he can remain higher up the pitch to influence proceedings in the final third. This was already on display in Sunday’s Community Shield, with Odegaard breaking into the box on multiple occasions to make things happen.

However, Guimaraes will also provide value himself in advanced areas. He finished last season with nine goals and seven assists across all competitions, and his underlying numbers in this area were also impressive, as shown in the table below. Possessing dangerous attacking instincts and the ability to play a penetrative pass in the final third, expect Guimaraes’ arrival to make Arsenal a lot more threatening.

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Like White, Myles Lewis-Skelly was on the periphery of Arteta’s squad for much of last season. However, after unlocking him towards the end of the campaign in midfield, the teenager could play a hugely important role in 2026/27.

Reports suggesting he could be on his way out have been rubbished, and he’s set to remain in North London to fight for his position with Guimaraes and Declan Rice.

While he’s unlikely to pop up with decisive goals and assists like Guimaraes will, even if his exquisite pass for Riccardo Calafiori’s opener in the Community Shield suggests he can, he’s still likely to make a positive impact on how effective Arsenal are as an attacking unit.

When things got stale for Arteta’s team last season, they struggled to break through the opposition’s press and subsequently spent much of the game in their own defensive third. Lewis-Skelly is outstanding at eluding the first line of pressure, with his ability to turn his man and drive up the pitch not an attribute any of the Gunners’ other midfielders really possess.

Christos Tzolis

via Reuters

If Arsenal can’t secure another left-winger before the transfer window is up, Christos Tzolis might end up playing a prominent role for Arteta in 2026/27. The Greek, who arrived from Club Brugge for just £34million this summer, was outstanding in pre-season, acclimating into his new team well.

Last term, Arsenal lacked players who made the right decision at the critical moment in the final third. The likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and even Leandro Trossard frustrated in this aspect of the game. Decision-making is Tzolis’ speciality.

Time and time again, the 24-year-old will play the right pass or take the right shot at the right time. This is how he has been so productive in his last three seasons, and there’s no reason why this won’t continue at a higher level.

All Statistics via FotMob – correct as of 18/08/2026