Hot Takes: Arsenal's calm head, Chelsea's gamble, and our fears for Spurs

2026 summer window hot takes: why Spurs miss the top six, Arsenal held firm, and Chelsea may regret the Enzo call.

Tottenham raided Chelsea on transfer deadline day to land Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo in separate deals. How will these new players perform in Spurs' colors? (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

After the 2026 summer window slammed shut on Tuesday, we now know which teams will compete for the title and which will regret their choices.

There are many stories to analyse, including the chaotic dealings between Monaco and Everton that eventually involved Chelsea, the £3.5bn spent by clubs on players in transactions involving Premier League teams, and Arsenal's refusal to yield to pressure on the final day. Here are our three hot takes for the 2026/2027 season.

Tottenham won't make the top six.

It might be too early to cast the die, but Tottenham's early-season form has suggested that they could be struggling for the third straight season. We don't think they will be in the relegation mix, but the law of averages is something to respect.

How do you spend so much on bang-average players and expect miracles? Two losses in two games, both against teams you're expected to beat, won't get you much praise. Roberto De Zerbi saying "you can't buy mentality in the market" explains why we can't bank on Spurs this season.

Arsenal dodged a bullet.

Depending on where you stand, Arsenal remains the clear favourite to win the Premier League this season, despite their refusal to bow to pressure and overpay for average players as Tottenham did over the summer.

The Gunners went into the market in search of a replacement for Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Leandro Trossard; it didn't quite work well for them, as only Christos Tzolis joined from Club Brugge, but would you have encouraged them to buy just for buying sake?

Chelsea will rue their Enzo decision.

Chelsea chose honour on deadline day as they refused to cancel Enzo Fernandez's move to Manchester City when they realised that Lamine Camara, the replacement they had in mind from AS Monaco, wasn't going to come.

Moises Caicedo is struggling with an injury that got him replaced early in his season debut, even as a substitute last weekend, and now they have to depend on Romeo Lavia and Reece James in the DM role. It's a long season, and they could really struggle before they get an opportunity in January.