Premier League: The one gift each team wants underneath the Christmas tree 

Forget PlayStations, bikes or Apple Watches, Premier League clubs will be wishing for big outcomes this Christmas.

If they had to pray for one gift each underneath the tree, then you can guarantee it will something that can help them in the top-flight or it may simply be a wish of their future outcome.

Arsenal will no doubt be asking to remain in the title race, Manchester City will want to overcome their Champions League hoodoo, while some teams have already been gifted what they want. Sportsmail takes a look at what every Premier League team will be wishing for this Christmas. 

ARSENAL 

The Gunners will be determined to remain in the Premier League race for as long as possible, although they’ll know that has become a harder challenge with an injury to Gabriel Jesus.

Mikel Arteta’s side currently sit five points ahead of title favourites Manchester City at the top of the league after the opening 14 matches.

Despite being Christmas, it remains early days with 24 matches left to be played and City having plenty of depth in there squad.

Arsenal will be hoping for a new striker or something else that can keep them in the race.

ASTON VILLA

Philippe Coutinho to return to top form and make Villa a force under new boss Unai Emery.

Villa certainly have some top talent and one man that was a huge coup was former Liverpool and Barcelona star Coutinho.

But he has failed to live up to the heights of his peak at Liverpool and even arguably his loan spell at Villa Park, prior to his permanent switch. 

Emery seems to have started to turn the fortunes around, but the old Coutinho would be a huge bonus. 

BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth have already been given a huge Christmas present with the completion of a £150million takeover from an American consortium led by Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley.

The consortium also includes Hollywood star Michael B. Jordan, therefore it’s a huge gift, but of course it came early.

You’d expect the takeover will mean that the Cherries will spend more freely in the January transfer window to help boost their chances of Premier League survival.

Other than the gift they’ve already bagged, Bournemouth will be hoping to remain in the top-flight. 

BRENTFORD

Not much Brentford will need or want after such a positive start to the new campaign, although Thomas Frank must be prepared for what comes end.

It may be wise to ask for a new striker this Christmas, despite Ivan Toney’s prolific form so far this season.

For one, to provide competition for the forward, and also just incase the 26-year-old is hit with a ban.

Toney had initially been accused of 232 breaches of betting rules in November and on Tuesday was charged with a further 30 alleged breaches of FA betting rules.

BRIGHTON

All Brighton will be hoping for is that no one else dreams of nabbing one of their players this Christmas.

The Seagulls have had an impressive start to the new season, therefore they will be keen to keep their squad together in January. 

Tottenham among others are reportedly interested in Brighton’s World Cup star Alexis Mac Allister after his impressive displays for Argentina in Qatar.

Moises Caicedo appears to also be attracting interest from Newcastle United ahead of the transfer window opening.

CHELSEA

Santa Claus’ elves will be inundated with letters from Graham Potter begging for a clean bill of health in his squad, as he is currently without key players N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Armando Broja at present.

But his wish list may extend longer than that with a lot of players out of form and a lack of goals being scored.

Although, no doubt if he could have anything it would be a fully fit squad to choose from allowing him to play with actual wing-backs to fit his preferred system, and prove he has what it takes to succeed at Stamford Bridge.

Potter has come under intense criticism for failing to impress in his brief spell with the Blues. 

CRYSTAL PALACE

Wilfried Zaha to sign a new deal. He’s the star man at Selhurst Park and that will be their biggest wish.

Palace have found bright new young talents in Michael Olise and Ebere Eze, but if they want to continue progressing under Patrick Vieira, it is vital that they retain key figures such as Zaha.

The 30-year-old remains the main threat in attack, despite having a host of new options, scoring six goals in 13 appearances in the Premier League so far this campaign. 

Zaha is, however, out of contract in the summer and therefore is attracting plenty of interest from not just around the Premier League, but also from elite clubs across Europe.

EVERTON

Goals and points! It’s really that simple for Frank Lampard’s Everton, as they bid to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle once again this season.

The Toffees have been a lot more solid at the back, but have massively struggled to score goals this season – the second lowest in the Premier League, just behind Wolves.

The loss of Richarlison to Tottenham for £60million in the summer left them light in attack and it has also not been helped by the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin through injury for majority of the season.

They need to find a way of scoring goals to ensure more wins and points. That could be as simple as wrapping Calvert-Lewin in cotton wool to get him firing once again. 

FULHAM 

What more could Fulham want after a good start to the season following their promotion back to the top-flight. Well, there is always something!

The answer is a back up striker to help burden the load and expectation on Aleksandar Mitrovic.  

The Serbian has been heavily relied upon, having scored nine goals in just 12 appearances for the Cottagers.

Carlos Vinicius is the only other natural striker at Craven Cottage, meaning Marco Silva is light on options, and would love another option as his gift. 

LEEDS UNITED

More depth and a better defensive record would be a start. Leeds have proven that are enjoyable to watch and can score plenty of goals.

If they could tighten things up at the back, there is no doubt that they would be winning more games and putting more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

Jesse Marsch’s side have conceded 26 goals against in the top-flight, which is a similar amount to the teams sitting in the bottom three at present.

It may also help if they add some depth as they have a light squad and therefore struggle to rotate the starting line-up too often. 

LEICESTER CITY

The Foxes will bizarrely just be hoping for more of the same from just before the winter break, as they managed to win four of their last five fixtures to pull them up the league table after a disaster start.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are not out of the woods yet and perhaps will be hoping for some reinforcements to help freshen and strengthen the squad.

Leicester opted not to dive into the transfer market in the summer, instead just being a seller, and that looked as though it was going to potentially prove costly in the opening few weeks.

It has however not turned out to be the case but they still lack depth and a few key players going missing would put them back in a similar sort of position. 

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool have been battling it out for the title for three of the last four seasons, but I’m sure they’ll settle this Christmas with the simple ask of finishing in the top four. 

The Reds would usually see that as a standard ambition and expect a lot more, but given their mixed start to the campaign, and the injury crisis they’ve had to deal with the aim surely is just to ensure Champions League football next season.

Arsenal and Manchester City are running away at the top of the league table and the hope of a late title push is extremely unrealistic for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

FA Cup and Champions League success may also be on their wish list, especially after crashing out of the Carabao Cup already, although failing to finish in the top four would be disastrous for the club.

MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City will not be thinking too much about the Premier League, despite being five points behind current leaders Arsenal at present. 

Pep Guardiola’s City will be keen to grab that elusive Champions League trophy after falling short on numerous occasions over the last few years.

The trophy seems to have alluded them since Guardiola arrived at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016, despite many close calls, including finishing as runners-up in 2021.

City under Guardiola are a team that could go down as one of the greats for their Premier League and domestic cup success, but can they really go down in history without winning the Champions League.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Erik ten Hag has received his Christmas present early this season with the departure of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

United’s full season has revolved around the Ronaldo saga and has arguably been a huge distraction for the Dutchman, who is keen to implement his own style at Old Trafford.

The former Ajax boss has constantly had to deal with questions surrounding the 37-year-old and his antics of refusing to come on. 

But now he will be able to concentrate on the job at hand without those questions and distractions, although it does leave him light in attacking options.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

A place in the top four this season! Newcastle currently sit third in the Premier League, much to most people’s surprise.

The Magpies have spent money, but they haven’t brought in superstars, yet they’re mixing it with the big boys and disturbing the balance of the top six.

A top four finish would be the gift Eddie Howe will want this Christmas, although a place in Europe would be a start, and they know it will be a tough ask to maintain their strong start to the campaign.

Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea will be determined to chase them down. 

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Forest surely had enough gifts this summer with 22 new signings, but sadly despite Steve Cooper being spoilt rotten, they sit in the relegation zone.

The boss needs to unwrap a magic wand to cast a spell over his new-look squad to make them instantly gel in time to avoid relegation from the top-flight.

Finding a way to make all of those signings make an impact on the season will be key if they are to claw their way out of danger.

It’s not out of the realms of possibility as we have seen odd glimpses where they look like a decent side, but they have failed to put in those sort of performances on a regular basis. 

SOUTHAMPTON

The Saints will be hoping Nathan Jones can make an instant impact at St Mary’s after being appointed just before the World Cup break.

His appointment came at a good time as he has had time on the training ground with the majority of his squad during the break, which you’d like to think will have played into his favour.

Regardless of having that advantage, they’ll be hoping that Jones has brought some luck to them this festive period in order to help them pull themselves away from the bottom three, where they currently sit. 

TOTTENHAM

A right wing-back. Other than the long wait for a trophy, most Spurs will be hoping for a right wing-back to help Antonio Conte out with his preferred formation and system.

Spurs have right-backs in Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty, but perhaps neither live up to the standard of wing-backs that Conte is used to deploying.

It also feels a long time since Tottenham were blessed in that department with the likes of Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier at their disposal. 

They have failed to really replace either of those with similar quality, despite numerous signings ever since.

WEST HAM

To turn back the clock to last Christmas when they were sitting pretty near the top end of the Premier League and battling it out in the Europa League.

I’m not sure Santa Claus can deliver such a thing as a time travelling machine, but if that was an option that would be exactly what the Hammers would be hoping for.

The Hammers were mixing it up amongst the Premier League’s Big Six before eventually having to settle for a seventh place finish. They had also reached the last-16 of the Europa League by topping their group – eventually progressing to the semi-finals.

Fast forward, David Moyes’ side are sitting 16th with just 14 points to their name after the opening 14 matches of the season. A time machine is perhaps needed in east London.

WOLVES 

Goals! In any way shape or form, that is what Wolves will be crying out for this Christmas. They have the least goals scored in the Premier League.

Wolves have only scored eight times so far this campaign, which is three behind Nottingham Forest and Everton with 11, while conceding 24 in total. 

The need for goals could be answered with a new striker under the tree for Wolves – although they are heavily linked with Atletico Madrid forward Matheus Cunha.

A bright talent and could prove to be a strong addition if their wishes are delivered, but he has failed to prove any real prolific form yet in his career.