We’re around the halfway point of the season, and it will be FA Cup third round weekend soon.
There have been hiccups along the way for the men’s and women’s teams, but it’s all served to set us up for an enthralling and intriguing second half of the season.
Arsenal might be fourth in the Premier League and third in the WSL, but how do they rank in the all-important race for the title of Kings (and Queens) of London?
The Premier League
First, some bad news. Arsenal’s derby season is already worse than last, but then again after the lacklustre performance against Fulham you probably guessed that.
Last year’s record of 10 wins and two draws will not be beaten this year. But who is top of the capital’s clubs?

Remarkably, it’s Brentford. Despite a terrible run of form that has seen them drop to 16th, lower than any of their London rivals, the Bees have taken 11 points from seven derbies so far this season.
Also surprising is that Chelsea are hot on their heels with 10 points, level with West Ham United - two teams that have struggled for consistency this season.
Arsenal sit fourth in this table too, after the back-to-back derby defeats between Christmas and New Year.
My first blog post back in August quoted former Arsenal winger Kevin Richardson:
“With seven London clubs in the First Division, there are so many matches with an extra edge to them… But that means clubs in the capital are cutting each other up, which is a big obstacle for a London team with title hopes.”
(From ‘Local clashes pump up the pressure’, article by Kevin Connolly in Arsenal matchday programme for the First Division match versus Wimbledon, 17 May 1989)
It’s certainly true that Arsenal’s title challenge has taken a big hit from those two derby defeats. Then again, he also said that if you win that league you’ve got a good chance of winning the championship, but I wouldn’t bet on Brentford for the Premier League title just yet.
The Women’s Super League
It has been a similar story for Arsenal Women. A massive win over Chelsea seemingly put them in control and at the top of the WSL, but a shock 1-0 defeat in the North London Derby has shaken it all up again.
Again, though, this has set us up for an exciting second half of the season.
Still to come
The first London derby of 2024 is currently scheduled for 13 January (Chelsea v Fulham in the Premier League), with the last set to be Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United in the WSL on 18 May. There are 26 in total in the top tiers of the men’s and women’s game.
Look out for an Arsenal-Chelsea double header on 16 and 17 March, and the NLDs on 3 March (WSL) and 27 April (Premier League).

Predictions
Here’s what I think will happen for the rest of the season.
Arsenal
I’m going to say it: Arsenal won’t win the league. It’s not necessarily down to points already dropped - even despite recent poor results the Gunners remain in the Premier League’s top four. Instead it’s due to squad depth and injuries. The bench for the past few games has looked decidedly weak with very few potential gamechangers, and I highly doubt that any January transfer business will solve that problem.
I also don’t think Arsenal will win the WSL. It will be close, but given it is Emma Hayes’ last season at Chelsea, I think her players will be giving everything to get her one last league title. That said, Chelsea are still in the Champions League, the one trophy that has so far eluded Hayes’ side, so there is a chance that they will get distracted - don’t count the Gunners (or Manchester City) out yet.
Brentford
The Bees are a tricky one to predict. They’ve missed Ivan Toney, and have been hit by a few injuries. Recent poor form masks a hard-working team that can cause anyone trouble, and the fans and board obviously have great faith in manager Thomas Frank (and rightly so). Despite their poor positioning at the moment they won’t go down, and I’d back them to be comfortably mid-table again by May.
Chelsea
As unpopular as this maybe (outside of Chelsea fans), I think manager Mauricio Pochettino will get the Blues back on track and have them chasing down European football again. I’m no football club balance sheet analyst (check out Swiss Ramble for that), but my hunch is that Chelsea need to be back in the Champions League in the next two years for the finances to start working out.
As alluded to above, I think the women’s team are still slight favourites for the WSL, but much will depend on keeping key players fit and balancing the league with a push for Champions League glory.
Crystal Palace
Palace were the lowest placed London side in the Premier League before the 3-1 win over Brentford at the end of 2023. I confidently predict they won’t go down. There are enough poorer teams below them, and Roy Hodgson’s experience will be enough to keep them in the lower mid-table region. That said, the club really needs a plan for life after Hodgson - and arguably more than one plan. In my view, they need to be looking for a Sean Dyche style of manager that the board is willing to back for the long term, even if the club goes down next season, with a view to investing and reinvesting wisely.
Fulham
The dark horse of London’s Premier League teams. Under Marco Silva, Fulham has built a strong squad with a lot of quality players. Consistency will be key, but if he continues to be backed and keeps hold of key players, perhaps Silva and Fulham can even push for a European spot?
Tottenham Hotspur
Ah, Ange. You had them so excited at the start of the season. Unfortunately, as fun as the full gung-ho approach is, in the Premier League you always need a plan B. I do think Ange Postecoglou will think of one though - and he needs to, with Son Heung-Min heading for the Asian Cup with South Korea in January. Richarlison seems to have found his goalscoring boots at last, so they’ll be fine, and will push for top four again.
West Ham United
Another odd one. Consistency seems to be elusive, and with another European campaign on the cards it could affect the Hammers’ league form. If they can reproduce the combination of defensive work rate and sheer luck that saw them win at the Emirates Stadium in late December, it could be a great second half of the season for West Ham, but if they instead tend towards the ‘let’s lose 5-0 to Fulham’ approach it won’t be much fun at all.
Final predictions: PL champions will be Liverpool, and WSL champions will be Chelsea. FA Cup: Maidstone United. Champions League: AFC Richmond (Believe!).
I look forward to May to find out how wrong I was.

