Arsenal will still finish outside the top four despite the signing of Gabriel Jesus, according to former Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ben Foster.
The Gunners narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot last season, with Tottenham pipping them during the run-in. Mikel Arteta has invested heavily as he attempts to usurp their North London rivals and adding a No 9 was top of his shopping list.
Jesus was signed from Manchester City for almost £50million and will be tasked with firing Arsenal into the top four. The Brazilian was never prolific at the Etihad, where he was hampered by a lack of starts and playing out wide. Foster insists Jesus has never got the praise he deserves, but fears he won't be able to make the crucial difference at the Emirates.
He said on The Cycling GK YouTube channel : "Gabriel Jesus is a massive signing, massive. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. Arsenal have been crying out for that type of player and I think he’s going to do really well. I do think they’ll have a good season and win some big games against some big teams, but I think they’ll just miss out on the Champions League places."
Foster has backed Tottenham to finish fourth after their investment. Antonio Conte will have the benefit of a pre-season, but the former Premier League goalkeeper cannot see anyone stopping Manchester City, who are going for a hat-trick of league titles.
He said: "I thought they would win the league last season. It wasn’t quite as easy as I expected it would be but they came through in the end. They’ve lost a few players – Raheem Sterling will be a big miss I think – but they’ve got enough quality to fill in.
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"The big signing – Erling Haaland – I just think he could pulverise the Premier League, I really do. He could score a bucket load of goals. He will have a banging season and take the league by storm. There’s no looking past Manchester City this year."
Liverpool were City's closest competition last term but couldn't overhaul them on the final day. Sadio Mane has left the club and been replaced by club-record signing Darwin Nunez. Foster, though, is not convinced that the Reds can mount another title charge, tipping them to finish in third behind Chelsea.
He claimed: "I thought they might struggle last season after giving it there all the previous year but they were up there all the way. I’m going for third this season. I think there will be two teams better than them. Losing Sadio Mane was a blow and I think they could be in a period of transition. I can’t see them being up there, challenging for the title, I just can’t."
