While managerial changes provide unfamiliarity for some of Arsenal’s rivals, it is hard to argue that some of those have every chance of boosting their title chances.
Chelsea, for example, have one of the most sought-after young managers in the game in Xabi Alonso, and also look to have bought well in the transfer market.
Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, who famously led Bayer Leverkusen to a historic, unbeaten domestic double in the 2023-24 season, appears to have strengthened well, with a mixture of exciting young talent and experienced older heads.
England forward Morgan Rogers, 24, has arrived from Aston Villa for a club record £117m, while France defender Maxence Lacroix, 26, has joined from Crystal Palace for £52m.
Chelsea’s new £47m full-back Marco Palestra, 21, has been one of the strongest performers in pre-season, while Premier League winners and veteran figures Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, have also been brought in to bring a youthful dressing room together and set standards.
Manchester City, now managed by Enzo Maresca following the departure of Guardiola at the end of last season, signed Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson from Manchester City for £116m and but appear set to lose Spain midfielder Rodri, who was player of the tournament at this summer’s World Cup. However, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez could be set to replace him.
Manchester United strengthened their midfield while weakening a rival by signing Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans for £35m and also brought in fellow midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48m, with the Brazilian having impressed in pre-season.
It is just three months since Villa lifted the Europa League, but much has changed since then with Rogers, Tielemans and Lucas Digne – who all started in the final – having all departed. Key incomings are Johan Manzambi from Freiburg (£59.5m) and Joao Gomes from Wolves for £38m, while Alejandro Garnacho has also arrived on loan from Chelsea.
There have been changes behind the scenes too at Villa, with three coaches having left including set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, who moved to Chelsea.
Liverpool, champions two seasons ago, are now managed by Andoni Iraola and his side should be strengthened by the arrival of centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for £60m, while versatile defender Ronald Araujo has joined on loan from Barcelona. The Reds have also brought in 22-year-old forward Victor Munoz, but results in pre-season have been mixed.
Tottenham will expect to be challenging towards the top end of the table after a difficult couple of seasons, and De Zerbi has been working hard to improve his squad, spending well over £200m to bring in Sandro Tonali from Newcastle (£100m), Mateus Fernandes from West Ham (£85m) and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton (£52m).
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