Arsenal have started the new Premier League season with two wins and look poised to defend their title successfully. While the Gunners have nearly completed their transfer dealings ahead of the season, their closest rivals have been actively reshaping their squads and splashing the cash.
The key question now is whether these rivals have bolstered their ranks sufficiently to halt Mikel Arteta's side.
🔴 Arsenal
Arsenal's interest in Atletico's Julian Alvarez ultimately bore no fruit. The Londoners attempted to lure the Argentine forward to the Emirates, but no full transfer materialised.
This leaves just one major question regarding Arsenal’s current squad: do they possess enough attacking firepower?
Aside from that concern, Arsenal look solid all over the pitch. They comfortably dispatched Coventry and Aston Villa in their opening Premier League fixtures and triumphed over Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Following a title-winning campaign last season and a Champions League final appearance, the Gunners have made astute additions. Bruno Guimaraes, who transferred from Newcastle for £75 million, stands out as a pivotal signing. In his brief outing against Aston Villa, he showcased his capability to unlock defences with incisive passes and tenacity in battles.
Ezri Konsa, arriving from Aston Villa, adds quality and reliability to the backline, while Christos Tzolis provides significant width on the left flank, despite facing a challenging match at Villa Park.
While the absence of Alvarez isn't ideal, it shouldn't be a deciding factor affecting the Gunners' title ambitions.
At this juncture, Arsenal appear to be the team best prepared to mount a serious challenge for their second consecutive title.
🔵 Manchester City
Manchester City have undergone a substantial overhaul.
Pep Guardiola departed after ten successful years, with Enzo Maresca stepping in as head coach. The club has also seen several key players exit; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, and Jack Grealish have all moved on.
Other departures include Savio, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, James Trafford, Nathan Ake, and Tijjani Reijnders.
However, City's ambitions remain intact as they’ve dived into the transfer market energetically.
The marquee signing has been Enzo Fernandez, brought in for a British transfer record of £125 million. Prior to this, City shelled out £116 million to acquire English midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
Additionally, they’ve welcomed Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for £65 million, Moroccan sensation Ayub Bouaddi from Lille for £85.6 million, and Allan Elias from Palmeiras.
Overall, City’s spending has soared to a record £458 million for a single transfer window in the Premier League, surpassing Liverpool’s £415 million last year.
While their squad renovation is vast, the remaining quality still makes Manchester City a serious contender for the title.
🔵 Chelsea
Chelsea may have lost Enzo Fernandez, who left for Manchester City for £125 million, yet their summer transfer campaign has been a positive one for new head coach Xabi Alonso.
Starting the season with two victories, Chelsea’s performance, particularly from Robert Sanchez against Fulham, has finally addressed longstanding concerns over their goalkeeping situation.
Consequently, the club brought in Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa.
In attack, Morgan Rogers has arrived from Aston Villa for £117 million, forming a potentially lethal trio alongside Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.
Maxence Lacroix strengthens the defence, while seasoned pros Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are expected to add valuable experience in the dressing room.
In the final hours of the transfer window, Chelsea tried to secure Monaco midfielder Lamina Kamara, but the French club unexpectedly halted the deal.
With a sizeable squad and the absence of European commitments, Chelsea can now focus solely on domestic matters.
While they might still be seen as outsiders in the title race, the quality within their ranks could see them close the gap on the league leaders.
🔴 Liverpool
After appointing Andoni Iraola to replace the dismissed Arne Slot, Liverpool's main objective was to find a way to fill the gap left by Mohamed Salah's departure.
Bradley Barcola emerged as the primary target, ultimately signing from PSG for £123 million.
The French winger brings speed, skill, creativity, and finesse, but cannot fully replicate Salah's output given his preference for playing on the left.
Another addition, Victor Munoz, has already made an impression, scoring an eye-catching goal in a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest.
Rather than pursuing a direct replacement for Salah, Liverpool aimed to diversify their goal contributions across various positions.
Nonetheless, drawn matches against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest have highlighted an issue that lingered from last season.
The absence of a traditional defensive midfielder—often referred to as a ‘number six’—has created a central imbalance, leaving Liverpool vulnerable to swift counter-attacks.
Opponents are still able to penetrate through the heart of the Reds’ defence, yet Iraola opted not to add a player for this position.
This particular issue could hinder Liverpool's quest to challenge for the title once again.
🔴 Manchester United
Following last summer's investments in forwards Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha, Manchester United's current transfer focus has been on refreshing their midfield.
New faces include Youri Tielemans, Andre Santos, and Carlos Baleba.
But is this enough to make United genuine title contenders?
The answer is probably no.
Michael Carrick now has the full-time managerial role after guiding the team to third last season and back into the Champions League.
However, the start of this season has been lacklustre, with a loss to newly-promoted Hull City followed by a convincing 5-2 win over Ipswich.
In the closing hours of the transfer window, no further signings were made.
Currently, United seem more like top-four contenders rather than real challengers for the title.
🏆 Who else might surprise?
⚪️ Tottenham
Tottenham had an impressive transfer window, splurging over £300 million.
However, their early results haven’t matched the size of their investment, as they suffered defeats in their first two league matches against Brentford and Newcastle.
Roberto De Zerbi received considerable backing from the hierarchy. In the last hours of the window, his wish was granted as the club signed Mykhailo Mudryk, whom he had previously managed at Shakhtar.
Mudryk resolved his doping issue with the FA in July but has not played in an official match since November 2024.
De Zerbi now faces the task of integrating ten new signings—including Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea—into a cohesive unit.
The main challenge for him will be not only to unearth the potential within the squad but also to change the mentality of a team that has finished the last two seasons in 17th place.
🟣 Aston Villa
Aston Villa capped off last season with a fourth-place finish and a Europa League triumph under Unai Emery.
However, a new era is beginning at Villa Park.
Key players like Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa, Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, and Ollie Watkins have left the club.
In Martinez's stead, they have signed Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki from Parma.
The club also acquired Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton, Aaron Wan-Bissaka on loan from West Ham, and Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico.
Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi comes in from Freiburg.
Meanwhile, the attack has been strengthened with Ibrahima Mbaye from PSG, Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea, and veteran German international Leon Goretzka.
The club has also brought in Joao Gomes from Wolverhampton and is set to loan winger Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea.
Even for a specialist like Emery, it will take time to shape this set of players into a functional unit.
Nevertheless, he has the resources at his disposal, which means Aston Villa could once again compete for a top-four spot.
