London: Arsenal have started the new Premier League season with two wins as the transfer window closes, looking in ominous shape to retain the crown they won for the first time in 22 years last season. The Gunners had a quiet final day to the window having concluded their business before the traditional late rush – but those hoping to unseat the reigning champions have all been busy expensively re-shaping their squads to mount a challenge.
According to BBC, Arsenal’s interest in Atletico Madrid’s Argentina forward Julian Alvarez did not bear fruit, despite their attempts to persuade him away from his preferred destination of Barcelona. Alvarez’s dream move to Barcelona was emphatically blocked by the Atletico hierarchy, leaving The Gunners with hope he may take the only choice available to him to leave Diego Simeone’s side. In the end, no deal was done – and perhaps the only flaw in Arsenal’s current make-up is whether they carry a consistent spearhead threat up front. Elsewhere, they look formidable in all areas and still the team to beat after cruising past Coventry City and winning at Aston Villa in their opening two league games.
They also dismantled Manchester City in The Community Shield, and have had an excellent transfer window to build on last season’s success, when the Premier League was won and they reached the Champions League Final. Bruno Guimaraes, a £75m signing from Newcastle United, showed in his brief cameo in the 1-0 win against Aston Villa what he will bring – passes that cut through the home defence and a fierce competitive edge. England defender Ezri Konsa offers instant class in defence after moving from Aston Villa, and while Christos Tzolis had a tough night at Villa Park, substituted at half-time, he has already demonstrated what an asset he could be on the left flank.
Manchester City have undergone heavy transition, from manager Pep Guardiola being replaced after 10 years by Enzo Maresca, to the departure of key figures in their glory years such as Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Jack Grealish, as well as Savio, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzales, James Trafford, Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders. The burning ambition remains, however, as proved by the manner in which they have attacked the market to replenish their squad for a title tilt.
City paid £125m – equalling the British transfer record – to reunite former Chelsea manager Maresca with Enzo Fernandez, having already paid £116m to sign England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. And further quality arrived in the shape of Iliman Ndiaye from Everton for £65m, the brilliant Morocco 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who cost £85.6m from Lille, as well as Allan Elias from Palmeiras in Brazil. It amounts to quite the rebuild, with the Fernandez deal taking City’s spending to a Premier League record £458m for a single transfer window, surpassing Liverpool’s £415m from last summer. However, City have also achieved around £300m worth of player sales this summer, illustrating the vast turnover at the start of the post-Guardiola era.
Chelsea may have lost Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125m in the final hours of the window, but the business done this summer will still delight new manager Xabi Alonso. Alonso opened with two Premier League wins, but goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s display in the opening victory at Fulham persuaded him to finally solve a long-standing problem by signing Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa. The list of incomings and outgoings are – as usual – almost too numerous to mention, but Morgan Rogers – a £117m signing from Aston Villa – has already formed a devastating trio in attack with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, while Maxence Lacroix is a quality defensive addition.
Liverpool’s main task this summer after appointing Andoni Iraola to replace sacked Arne Slot, was to somehow compensate for what they would miss without Mohamed Salah after he left Anfield at the end of last season. Bradley Barcola was the prime target and eventually signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £123m. He possesses lightning pace, creativity and goals, but he is not a like-for-like replacement for Salah, preferring to operate on the left. Victor Munoz, a member of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, is another wide man who has already shown what he can deliver with a spectacular equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham Hotspur have had a spectacular transfer window as they spent more than £300m – but results so far have been less than spectacular with two league defeats away to Brentford and at home to Newcastle United. Roberto De Zerbi has been given huge backing, right up until the close of the window when he got his wish to bring in Mykhailo Mudryk, who played under him at Shakhtar Donetsk. Mudryk resolved a doping case with the Football Association in July, but has not played a competitive match since November 2024.
Aston Villa finished fourth and won the Europa League in a season of stunning success under Unai Emery, but this is effectively the start of a new era at Villa Park. Goalkeeper Martinez, defenders Lucas Digne and Konsa, midfielders Rogers and Tielemans, as well as striker Ollie Watkins, all left. Parma’s Japan keeper Zion Suzuki replaced Martinez, while other arrivals included defenders Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton, Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham United on loan and Matteo Ruggeri from Atletico Madrid. Freiburg’s Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi was another arrival, along with winger Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain, striker Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea and Germany veteran Leon Goretzska.