GLEN JOHNSON: BETDAQ Brand Ambassador Glen Johnson tackles the issue of online racism in his blog this week, in addition to previewing Liverpool v Arsenal and sharing his thoughts on Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Racism on social media

Sadly one of the big talking points this week has been the comments made on social media towards Paul Pogba after his missed penalty on Monday. It’s clearly not a good time for football and we need to find a solution for it.

I don’t think social media helps in these situations as it allows people to say things they wouldn’t say in person by hiding behind keyboards. However, that’s the way the world works these days, social media is so big that people can say whatever they want and they seem to be getting away with it.

There should be punishments put in place as it’s not acceptable what’s going on and hopefully this week’s events will help prove that.

Liverpool v Arsenal

Liverpool and Arsenal are two of the top sides in the Premier League and I’m finding it hard to split them. Liverpool are so strong at home and are the rightful favourites, though while they’ve been comfortable in the past in quite a few of their victories over the Gunners, I don’t think they’ll have it all their own way this time.

They’ve been a bit shaky at the back in their first few games and you’d have to be a bit concerned that the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette are going to get opportunities to hurt them. They were so solid defensively last season, that I’d like to think their sloppy start is down to the fact it’s so early on and as they get more match-fit, they’ll start to show more of what they did last year.

Arsenal have started well under Unai Emery and I think they’ve got the potential to be quite powerful this season. I still think it’s a bit of toss-up between themselves Chelsea and Man Utd as to who will finish in the top-four as they all look pretty closely matched. I think whoever gets into those Champions League spots will have had a good season, but for those who don’t it will have to go down as a bit of failure.

There were a couple of seasons when I was at Liverpool when we didn’t get into the top-four and even though our squad wasn’t quite as strong as it had been previously, it’s still disappointing not to be playing against Europe’s best.

However, the worst thing I found about missing out on the top-four was the amount of travelling you had to do. It really knocks your season out of sync and if you are lucky enough to be fighting for the title, you are always playing last which can be quite demoralising.

Sometimes you can get a win on the Sunday and it doesn’t actually feel like that much of a good result as you’re still chasing.

Impressed with Wan-Bissaka

There are definitely some similarities between Wan-Bissaka’s move to Man Utd and mine to Chelsea.

When you move to a ‘bigger’ club, there’s obviously more pressure that comes with it as you’re expected to win on a more regular basis. On a personal level, you’ve got to just try and keep things as normal as possible and keep doing what got you the move in the first place.

He’s started really well though and if he can keep doing what he’s doing, I don’t see why he won’t go on to have a fantastic career.

Weekly Acca

It’s another big weekend in the Premier League and here are my selections. Hopefully I’ve found a few winners!

Aston Villa (v Everton)
Chelsea (v Norwich)
West Ham (v Watford)
Draw (Liverpool v Arsenal)
Tottenham (v Newcastle)

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