There is no "BIG 6" in the English Premier League

It is actually an insult to Liverpool and Manchester City to consider there to be a “Big 6”. They don’t deserve to be put in the same class as the other four clubs who are all struggling. Likewise, it is actually quite flattering to Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United to say they are in the same class as those two. These likely won’t even be the teams that finish third through sixth at the end of the season. Consider for a moment that three of these clubs lost this past weekend and Arsenal needed a miracle just to beat an Aston Villa team who will be battling relegation this season in all likelihood at home.

Tottenham are a club that has not been considered to be among the elite for a very long time. The work done by Mauricio Pochettino has been nothing short of extraordinary. He turned a club that always had to be taken seriously, but without much real chance into one that got to a Champions League final and made a few attempts to win the Premier League as well. Up to this point, they have become a consistent top 4 finisher. But at the same time, they are a story of almosts under Pochettino and time may very well be running out on the Argentine to get the trophy to cement his legacy at Tottenham. Things were starting to not look great at Spurs the moment Pochettino hinted he may leave if they won the Champions League. After all, it may be fair to say that he took Tottenham as far as he could have had they pulled it off. It was unfortunate for them that Harry Kane wasn’t 100% for the final. It may have made all the difference had he been. Harry Kane looks like he still hasn’t hit 100% yet. He is capable of turning it up one more level to the point where he dominates games even if he isn’t scoring. Despite his brilliant goal while on the ground Saturday, he still disappears for long stretches.

Pochettino doesn’t look as happy on the sidelines as he has in the past. How much is it bothering him that Eriksen hasn’t signed and made it clear he wanted out? Did he consider leaving in the summer himself despite the fact that they lost that Champions League final? Was his dream move in fact to go to Real Madrid or even Manchester United and it was shut down by Tottenham’s hierarch Daniel Levy? He may very well be stuck at Tottenham where there is no obvious ascension to a higher club (on a perception basis) and he knows it at this moment in time. Tottenham after all has become as attractive a position as most across Europe are at this stage. One of the reasons Pochettino deserves high praise for his work is that this wasn’t the case when he got there. It is the case now. But the perfect time to try out Madrid or Manchester was last season when both those clubs were changing managers. But there is a good chance both will open up again soon. Madrid is a coaching carousel and United is becoming one. Eriksen is likely gone after this season but don’t be surprised, especially with a trophy, if this is the last season for Pochettino as well.

Unai Emery’s Arsenal hasn’t exactly been impressive either so far. With their two goal lead lost against basement club Watford last weekend combined with a miracle comeback at home against another club in Aston Villa, who will be battling to stay in the league this season, they have hardly impressed. They have one of the worst defenses in the entire league but are being saved by the fact that they have a good amount of talent up front. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang is easily one of the best strikers in the league. He has only failed to hit the back of the net once in six games, and that was against Liverpool in week 3. Their one loss this season. He still picked up an assist in that game. Where would Arsenal be without him? They sit in fourth on 11 points but Aubameyang scored the winner against Newcastle in Week 1, against Burnley in Week 2, and against Aston Villa in Week 6, not to mention the equalizer in Week 4 against Tottenham. He scored both their goals against Watford in what ultimately turned into a draw. Arsenal would easily be mid table without this guy. If not worse. Only four teams in the league have allowed more goals than Arsenal. Arsenal are even more prone to dropping out of the top six than Tottenham. The reason they wouldn’t is because of Aubameyang.

Speaking of bad defending, that brings us to the third team in our so called “Big 6” outside of the top 2. Chelsea. Chelsea is one of the three clubs to have allowed more goals than Arsenal. Their defense doesn’t look great but at least they can say their defense is young and will grow over time. That said, their defense has cost them games several times. The opener against United and the self-destruction against Sheffield United to name two. Chelsea is in trouble. Frank Lampard may be a fan favorite but he really didn’t have much of a record coming into the job to be their boss this summer. In fact, he lost the playoff for promotion with Derby last season. It’s bizarre that a club of Chelsea’s stature is turning to managers just out of sentiment that they were a fan favorite as a player. Their questionable defending would be criticized a lot more if not for the sensational start to the season young Tammy Abraham has made. Tammy Abraham is significantly younger than Aubameyang and the jury is still out on whether he can get that good. At least this season. He may be a streaky player who can get hot for a few games but may disappear for a few. It’s natural at his age. Last season Eden Hazard saved them quite a few times from the brink of defeat or a draw. It’s hard to forget the Cardiff game last season. Eden Hazard is the only reason they finished in the top 4 last year. They lost him and he was essentially replaced by Mason Mount and Abraham. That’s a tall order for those kids. An order they will need time to fill. Their defending also must improve. There’s a great chance this team won’t finish in the top 6. That said, they did play their best game so far in their defeat to Liverpool. But they have to build off of it. A young team can easily take steps back after steps forward.

But none of these teams are more likely to drop out of the top 6 than 20 time winner Manchester United. They don’t have an Aubameyang or Kane who can save them on any given game week by getting the clutch goal. They are counting on youngsters just as Chelsea is but theirs don’t look to be as promising so far. Abraham already looks more comfortable in front of goal than Marcus Rashford. Mason Mount is at least on par with if not better than Daniel James. But they have quality in the middle of the park like Jorginho, Kovacic, and of course N’Golo Kante. United is absolutely nothing without Paul Pogba. Scott McTominay is a hard worker but doesn’t match up to the skill set of those three. Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata used to be but are past it. Simply put, no one is remotely good enough to call this a respectable midfield. And they don’t have a striker who can steal the points. Rashford has been overhyped ever since he burst onto the scene. It’s not inconceivable that he doesn’t even feature for England at next summer’s Euros. Southgate will be trying to convince Abraham instead to play before he actually thinks of choosing Nigeria. And Dortmund’s Sancho is the better set up man. He was unfortunate not to get the winner for Dortmund in Frankfurt this weekend and his assists are breathtaking. Rashford is more expected to miss somehow than to score when he does get a chance.

Solskjaer got off to a great start when he took over because he was getting the very best out of Paul Pogba. What happened was, starting with Thomas Tuchel in the first leg of the PSG tie in last year’s Champions league, opposing coaches have figured United out. If you shut down Paul Pogba, no other player on this team is good enough to create enough quality chances, or are able to convert them when they get them. PSG and Tuchel weren’t sure what to do when United didn’t have Pogba for that second leg so United were actually kind of unpredictable. But after that, every premier league team figured out the objective is to shut down Pogba because all of United’s offense starts with him. This was exactly when Solskjaer went from winning every game to suddenly not being able to win any game. No one else can create chances like Pogba. United have just 1 goal, off a penalty, without Pogba in the two premier league games they have played without him this season. Half their 8 goals were scored in the opener and Pogba was all over the place in that game. Lampard hadn’t gotten the memo to shut down Pogba. But everyone else probably has. Shut down Pogba and you shut down United entirely. Like Lampard, Solskjaer also was picked more out of sentiment than his record as a coach. He has no answers to other teams shutting out Pogba.

It’s a long and turbulent season and things can always change. This is especially true if clubs going young like Chelsea and United suddenly had some of these young players come alive and evolve right before our eyes during the season itself. It’s not something you can count on but it is the kind of thing that can change the whole complexion of who will finish in the top 6 places. If Abraham turns out to actually be able to score week in and week out. If Mason Greenwood got thrown into the United lineup and actually scored goals to break games open in the Premier League the way he did against Astana in the Europa League. If Harry Kane suddenly starts clicking like he has in the past. Just to name a few. But it’s more likely at least one of these clubs finish outside the top 6 than that the top 6 are just these 4 and the big 2. Watch out for the clubs lurking underneath.