The Corner Poll returns this week with another round of Premier League rankings, which means it’s once again time to judge 20 teams based almost entirely on vibes and feelings. Wins and losses obviously matter — it’s difficult to feel particularly good about a team that keeps losing — but how I feel about each club in the current moment matters even more. Consider it a power ranking with significantly less science and considerably more subjectivity.
There won’t be an update to the college football poll after Week 0, though if I were forced to make a couple of changes, Virginia would probably slide into the top 25 and USC might move up a spot or two. That’s all tentative, though, as there’s still an entire slate of games left to play before we properly analyze the vibes and feelings of that sport. The NFL will join the party next week, too, with its inaugural Corner Poll dropping Tuesday.
For now, back to the Premier League.
Losing? Never Heard of That Before
Arsenal
Manchester City
Chelsea
Hull City
Arsenal, despite what some might call a fairly lackluster effort against Aston Villa, remains the supreme squad in the Premier League. No other club is catching the Gunners until further notice, with their talent and pedigree giving them the benefit of the doubt even when the actual performance isn’t necessarily overwhelming. Bukayo Saka’s goal was enough to get Arsenal out of Villa Park with another three points, and while there will certainly be more impressive victories throughout the season, there isn’t much reason to complain about the title defense so far.
Manchester City came out of the gate somewhat sluggish against Bournemouth before eventually finding its footing, then proceeded to absolutely lay the hammer down on Crystal Palace last Friday. Rayan Cherki scored twice, Erling Haaland added two goals of his own and City finally started to resemble the team most expected it to be. The Enzo Maresca era hasn’t been completely seamless, but this squad is more than capable of being one of the best in the Premier League. Haaland chopping all that hair takes the vibes down a notch — you don’t simply discard the Viking look without consequences — but that’s about the only serious complaint at the moment.
Chelsea might be the best vibes team to ever exist. If it weren’t for Arsenal and Manchester City’s talent profiles, I might have to put Chelsea at No. 1 because watching this team play is like viewing a tennis match while riding a roller coaster. Every trip forward looks capable of producing something so brilliant that my eyes want to pop out of my head, while every transition in the opposite direction has the potential to turn into a five-alarm fire. The most important thing is that Chelsea is winning. That’s really all that matters at the moment.
