LONDON: Arsenal begin the defense of their Premier League title as one of the few clubs untouched by a close season of managerial upheaval that has transformed the landscape of English football.
While Mikel Arteta’s methods are tested and trusted at Arsenal after nearly seven years at the helm, it is all change elsewhere with chief rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all entering new eras with a new man in charge.
In total, a record nine Premier League clubs will begin the season with a new permanent manager.
Whether the managerial merry-go-round eases the way for Arsenal to win back-to-back titles or sparks one of the most unpredictable seasons in years may prove the defining question.
ARSENAL MUST EVOLVE
For Arsenal, it is a case of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” as they seek to prove last season’s first league title in 22 years was the start of something bigger.
Unless your name is Pep Guardiola, however, building a dynasty has proved difficult in the Premier League recently.
He made winning titles look routine with six in nine seasons, but the last manager to retain the Premier League crown before him was Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2009.
There was a sense that opponents had begun to suss out Arteta’s tactics toward the end of last season and the Spaniard is only too aware that standing still is not an option.
Rather than sprint across the line in a blaze of glory, Arsenal ground through last season’s title run-in.
It wasn’t pretty, with their reliance on set-pieces and hard graft taking a toll on the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka who looked physically and mentally spent at the World Cup.
Staying ahead of Manchester City was all that mattered last season, though, for the tens of thousands of fans who celebrated on the streets of north London as Arsenal finally shed the nearly-men tag.
“Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension,” Arteta said.
There was surprise that Leandro Trossard, a key part of Arsenal’s title side, was sold to Besiktas, although there are high hopes that Greece winger Christos Tzolis, signed from Club Brugge, will bring goals and creativity.
Arteta also predicted that the arrival of midfield warrior Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United can help take his team to the next level.
MAIN TITLE RIVALS
It is hard to look beyond Manchester City as Arsenal’s chief rivals once again, although much depends on how quickly Enzo Maresca can put his stamp on a squad built by Guardiola but now deprived of several familiar faces.
Guardiola had begun building a new model with the attacking flair of Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku supplying Erling Haaland but it was prone to misfiring and the hope is that England midfielder Elliot Anderson, signed for a club record £116 million ($156.6 million), will link it all together.
Liverpool talisman Mo Salah’s farewell has left the club seeking a new identity as Andoni Iraola attempts to bring the intelligent football that won so many admirers at Bournemouth to Anfield. Few would bet against the Spaniard succeeding.
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is the latest manager tasked with trying to assemble the Chelsea jigsaw.
The club finished 10th and out of Europe last season having parted company with Maresca and then Liam Rosenior. Challenging for the top four will be the minimum requirement for Alonso as he tries to complete the seemingly never-ending Chelsea rebuild.
Once again the west London club have spent heavily with Morgan Rogers arriving from Aston Villa and Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace, while veteran Jordan Henderson, signed from Brentford, will be invaluable as an old head in a young squad.
Manchester United finished third last season and returned to the Champions League so there will be high hopes that Michael Carrick can continue where he left off as he embarks on his first full season in charge.
Manager Unai Emery guided Aston Villa to an outstanding last campaign and, despite the loss of Rogers and Lucas Digne, they should challenge again inside the top six.
WHO HAS GONE WHERE?
While the appointments of Maresca, Iraola and Alonso dominated the headlines, nearly half the division will start the season under new management.
Germany’s Marco Rose will try to continue Iraola’s work at Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest are relying on Oliver Glasner to bring the magic that brought two major trophies to Palace, who themselves will hope Pierre Sage proves a worthy replacement.
Fulham appointed Spaniard Alvaro Arbeloa as Marco Silva’s replacement, promoted Ipswich Town turned to Gary O’Neil after Kieran McKenna’s decision to take a break and Newcastle United begin the post-Eddie Howe era with Matthias Jaissle in charges.
SURPRISE PACKAGES?
Roberto de Zerbi’s successful rescue mission at Tottenham Hotspur has been rewarded with one of the biggest spending sprees in the club’s history.
Whether or not the likes of £100 million Italy midfield signing Sandro Tonali and Netherlands center-back Jan Paul van Hecke can turn a side that finished 17th in the last two seasons into challengers for Europe remains to be seen.
Of the promoted clubs, Frank Lampard’s Coventry City will be worth watching as they return to the top flight for the first time in 25 years.
