One strength and one weakness of all eight Premier League title contenders

While we try and convince ourselves that Arsenal will not just run away with the Premier League title, we’ve had a look at every team in with a chance and what strengths and weaknesses they may possess.

Is it a one-horse, two-horse, maybe even an eight-horse race? That will become apparent as the season goes on but before a ball is kicked, here is one strength and one weakness of every team that could challenge.

Arsenal

Strength: Consistency

Arsenal’s biggest strength this season is simply knowing exactly what we can expect from them.

Consistency of squad and manager is not something any other title contender can claim to have. Across every position, Arsenal have one of the best players in the league and even with a long-term injury to William Saliba, their squad is the strongest in the division.

If you were trying to pick holes, you could say the lack of an elite left winger is one but new signing Christos Tzolis should take over from the ineffective Gabriel Martinelli.

And in Arteta, they have a manager who has proven he can make it over the line. When you are trophyless, his antics such as mugging his own players and force-feeding them You’ll Never Walk Alone like a scene out of Clockwork Orange is funny. When you win titles, it’s seen as the methods of a visionary.

Weakness: Complacency

“Complacency is a disease,” Sir Alex Ferguson once said and right now, a squad-wide infection looks the biggest hurdle to a consecutive Premier League title for Arsenal.

Setting aside the fact that players like Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have been physically run into the ground, the mental toll of winning the Premier League and ending both a 20-year drought and a run of second-place finishes will have affected every member of the squad.

Arteta, and his super intense methods, may not be the perfect person to alleviate that feeling. Retaining the Premier League title is hard. It was something neither Arsene Wenger nor Jurgen Klopp ever managed. Indeed, Fergie, Pep and Jose are the only three managers to do it.

Strength: A complete squad (including Erling Haaland)

Often when a manager leaves a club after an extended time, they don’t give their successor much to work with in terms of the squad. The same cannot be said for what Pep Guardiola left his former protege.

City’s squad is looking impressively free of holes. Their defence features Guehi, Khusanov, Gvardiol and Dias. Donnarumma is one of the best shot stoppers in the world. Elliot Anderson has been bought to strengthen a midfield that even if it were to lose Rodri is one of the strongest in the league. Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and possibly a reenergised Phil Foden power the attack.

And then there is Erling Haaland whose goals are a cheat code for a manager. The Norwegian can go quiet for an extended run of games but has proven to be particularly deadly at the start of the season.

No excuses then for Maresca.

Weakness: Enzo Maresca

Maresca was chosen as the Guardiola successor and while it is hard to doubt the City hierarchy’s decision-making, there are legitimate question marks over how good a manager he is.

At Leicester, he won promotion but did so off the back of a serious second half of the season slump and with a squad far more talented than those around it. At Chelsea, he won trophies in the form of the Europa League and the Club World Cup which also seems about par for the course.

There is a concern that Maresca lacks a plan B. Guardiola faced similar accusations in his career but was able to adapt – moving John Stones into midfield while playing left back, being more direct to get the best out of Haaland. These were both tactical innovations that Maresca has yet to produce.

Of course, City do not need a plan B for 90% of their games, the squad quality is enough to overcome that, but in the truly high-pressure matches, that tactical flaw could be exposed.

Liverpool

Strength: Andoni Iraola

Andoni Iraola arrives at Anfield as one of the most highly rated young managers in the world but perhaps more important than that, his football style takes a leaf out of the Klopp playbook rather than Slot’s.

Everything felt stale come the end of the Arne era. The football was too ponderous and the second-highest average possession in the league resulted in only the sixth most shots on target per match.

Liverpool’s strength this season should come from the fresh air of life Iraola can bring. In his first press conference, he vowed football that was “hard, intense and aggressive” which will be music to Kopites’ ears.

Weakness: A mismatched squad of underperforming talent and aged players

The more level-headed members of the Liverpool support will recognise that regardless of how good a manager Iraola is, he currently has few tools to work with.

Liverpool’s squad is an odd one. It features some of the most highly-rated young talent in Europe surrounded by a lot of mediocrity and players in their final years at the top. Not to mention, that talent has regressed rather than progressed since moving to Anfield. The Wirtz problem is one for Iraola to solve but it was telling that in his first press conference, he said the club “need more players.”

The squad does feel like it has been allowed to decay in recent seasons, even with a title win. Nowhere is that feeling more true than in the midfield with Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott all questionable choices.

Liverpool also need to improve on defending set pieces. They let in a league-high 20 goals via that method last season.

Chelsea

Strength: Xabi Alonso

Chelsea’s biggest asset this season is having someone who knows what they’re doing in the dugout.

Alonso is the best manager Chelsea have had since at least Pochettino, possibly even further back beyond that and the experienced signings the club has made under him suggest the higher-ups have realised the errors of their previous ways.

The Spaniard is of course new to the league as a manager but has his playing career to fall back on, not to mention an invincible Bundesliga win.

Squad-wise, it’s hard to argue Chelsea have one of the best but the Alonso factor has made many consider them for a title run.

It is well publicised that Chelsea were outrun in all but one of their games last season and fixing that is Alonso’s first problem.

To do that, he has installed ‘good eggs’ Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck who you will hear are there to ‘set the standard’ but Alonso does have a history of elite players not buying into his methods.

Granted, that came at Real Madrid where player power far exceeds the manager’s but the Chelsea squad’s treatment of Liam Rosenior shows how quickly this particular generation of players can turn.

Forcing them to run is paramount to any success Chelsea may hope to have this season.

Manchester United

Strength: One of the best front lines in the league and the willingness to hit it

In an increasingly football-by-numbers Premier League, United’s strength is that they do not play like that.

Only City had as many long shots as United’s 595 last season. From an xG of 64.71, United scored 69 goals. In short, United do not mind having a crack from distance.

It is a risky tactic but less risky when you can attract some of the best players in the world and that individual quality has proven to be enough to break down stubborn lines of defence.

United will rely on Bruno Fernandes once again as their main creator but for the first time in a long time, the club feels like it has one of the best attacking units in the league. It seems a safe bet to suggest they will be amongst the top scorers this season.

Weakness: Michael Carrick

Manchester United have actually done some smart transfer business and there is no obvious flaw in their squad.

If you were being super picky, you could say a right back and a touchline-hugging winger could be needed but other than that, this United squad looks a good mix of experience and youth with plenty of quality mixed in within it.

Perhaps the biggest weakness then does not come on the pitch but immediately adjacent to it.

It’s been well discussed how Carrick benefited from his predecessor’s cup failures and the question is can he be as successful when United are playing 60 games rather than 40?

There is no escaping the fact he is the least qualified coach in the Premier League and would a sacked Middlesbrough boss with a win rate of 46.3% have got the job if not for his playing career? No chance.

Carrick’s performance meant the United board could not afford not to extend him but Eddie Howe showed an ability to out-tactic him last season. Should a predictable slump occur, United’s decision to stay with Carrick has seen managers like Alonso, Iraola and Glasner go elsewhere.

Tottenham Hotspur

Strength: A much-improved defence

Tottenham’s bank balance has certainly been a strength this summer and for once, they seem to have spent it wisely.

The midfield has had a much-needed facelift with the arrival of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. The return of James Maddison is the cliché ‘feels like a new signing’ but most of all, Spurs have taken steps to sort out an incredibly leaky defence.

They shipped an average of 1.5 goals per game last season, with only the relegated sides averaging worse, but their back line looks a lot stronger now than it did 12 months ago.

Antonin Kinsky had a nightmare against Atletico but his subsequent performances have suggested that was a one-off compared to the consistent clangers Guglielmo Vicario would drop. Pedro Porro had an excellent World Cup with Spain with Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi were two of the best defenders in the Premier League last season.

The arrival of that pair should free Micky van de Ven to move to the full-back position where his pace could be better utilised. Andy Robertson provides that ‘experience’ that Chelsea have shown clubs need.

Setting aside the fact it is Spurs and could therefore go wrong for no obvious reason, any success will likely be built on defensive solidity this year which the lack of cost them the most last year.

Weakness: The number nine spot

It is less optimistic viewing at the other end of the pitch.

The obvious area of weakness for Tottenham is their strikers for would any other title contender swap their current players for either Richarlison or Dominic Solanke?

The latter has only ever scored double digits in the Premier League once in his career and missed more than half the games through injury last season. Richarlison meanwhile was the only player to score 10 or more last year but is also inconsistent.

Rumours of a transfer for Junior Kroupi would have seen Spurs acquire a very talented player but he was much more effective as a second striker or an attacking midfielder for Bournemouth rather than an out-and-out number nine and his injury has ended whatever hopes there were of getting that deal across the line.

Spurs are also linked with Savinho and Cody Gakpo but neither of those would solve the striker issue.

Aston Villa

Strength: Unai Emery

Undoubtedly Villa’s biggest strength is Unai Emery.

You would not be laughed out the room to suggest he is one of the top two managers in the league and his importance to Villa is hard to overestimate. Villa flirted with a title run early on last year but the Champions League is another plate for Emery to keep spinning.

Weakness: The loss of Morgan Rogers

The problem for Emery is he is being asked to work his magic again after losing the club’s best player.

Morgan Rogers has departed and while Villa got a huge sum for him, they will not be able to replace him with a similar level of player.

That attacking threat will be sorely missed, not least because the remaining front line looks shaky at best. Ollie Watkins scored 16 last year but is rumoured to be on the move having reached 30 years of age. Tammy Abraham joined in January but scored just two goals. The loan acquisition of Alejandro Garnacho feels like a ‘I can fix him’ signing.

Strength: A much-needed shot in the arm

If we are being very generous and trying to focus on the positive, you could say that the sudden departure of Eddie Howe along with Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes is the kind of wake up call Newcastle needed.

The club had plateaued under Howe who always struggled to balance Champions League football with the Premier League and in different circumstances, he may have walked away voluntarily at the end of last season.

As it transpired, he came back to pre-season with his energy for the job missing and so Newcastle were forced to act. A fresh face in Matthias Jaissle may motivate the squad, even if his appointment is a big gamble.

Where to begin?

Newcastle have lost their captain and top scorer, their best winger and one of their best midfielders in the space a few short months and do not have the financial wiggle room to spend the kind of money needed for ready-made replacements.

They have made signings in the £20m-£40m region but their most apparent issue is the strikers.

Nick Woltemade started well but Howe could not find the best place for him. Yoane Wissa looks like a tremendous waste of money while William Osula did improve in the latter half of the year. Jaissle needs at least one of them to score double digits this season if Newcastle have any hope.