The opening weekend of the Premier League season is a momentous event, and teams spend months preparing for it, yet they still largely turn up undercooked. Preseason friendlies are useful, of course, but nothing can replicate the sheer intensity of a competitive game with points on the line.

We’re not expecting perfection after a single matchday, but some of the country’s best clubs struggled over the weekend and likely left their managers walking away with their brains full of possible tweaks and solutions.

And rightly so. Some of what happened needs fixing fast, so let’s take a look at the issues that plagued some of the top teams and see what we can suggest.

Arsenal: Fix the press

Arsenal were extremely poor in their 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday. A measly 39% possession highlighted how difficult they found it to get on the ball; they registered less than 40% possession in three games last season, and in two of those they were shown red cards.

It should be noted that the Gunners appeared to be leaning into a more direct and counter-attacking side of their game — only one player, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, played more successful through-balls (three) than Martin Ødegaard (two) on the opening weekend — but it was surprising how often they gave the ball up.

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– The VAR Review: Eze’s disallowed goal; Senesi red card at Liverpool?

Arsenal also conceded 22 shots at Old Trafford, an astronomically high number for such a strong defensive team. For comparison, they conceded only 22 shots or more twice across all of last season, and they had a man sent off in each of those games. But some scrappy defending and one excellent corner was enough for three precious points.

Aside from the obvious sentiment of “pass the ball better,” coach Mikel Arteta may want to review his team’s pressing structure. Arsenal have been one of the better pressing units over the past few Premier League seasons — especially from opposing goal kicks — but they were bypassed over and over again Sunday.

Initially, United were able to work the ball too easily to right-sided center back Leny Yoro so he could stride up the pitch with it. Then, once Arsenal adjusted to stop that, goalkeeper Altay Bayindir began chipping the ball over the first line to the wing backs or midfielder Matheus Cunha, who dropped deeper to receive it, then turned and ran at the defense.

It’s rare to see the Gunners so easily bypassed. The overwhelming pressure they faced was a direct result of their inability to disrupt United’s play. It probably won’t take Arteta long to reconfigure the press, but it might be a very boring week for the players in training.

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Nicol: Cole Palmer and Chelsea were invisible vs. Palace

Steve Nicol believes Chelsea were “not 100%” following their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Chelsea: Find a Levi Colwill replacement, use Cole Palmer out wide

On the eve of the season, Chelsea were dealt a hammer blow as Colwill’s ACL tear ruled him out of most, if not all, of the 2025-26 campaign, leaving manager Enzo Maresca scrambling for a solution.

“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle,” Maresca explained last week. “It’s different to playing on the left side. Last year we played 64 games, and we played 64 games with Levi and Tosin Adarabioyo. Now Levi is out, the only one that can do that job well is Tosin. The one in the middle is the one that recognizes solutions, he is the one most of the time that has to break lines, and in my way they are so, so important.”

Only Palmer and Moisés Caicedo played more progressive passes per 90 minutes than Colwill (3.74) for Chelsea in the Premier League last season. He was the key piece in the Blues’ buildup. Adarabioyo was slated to replace him, but he picked up a knock in the final stage of preseason, and that left Chelsea severely worse off in the buildup phase against Crystal Palace, who block up the middle of the pitch extremely well.

Getting Adarabioyo back into the XI will improve matters. Maresca has publicly suggested a new signing, but Jorrel Hato, recently signed from Ajax for over €40 million, could potentially grow into this role too; his progressive passing is very punchy. And you need to maintain a pathway for progress.

In the meantime, moving Palmer back to the wing role he starred in at the Club World Cup could come under consideration. He played as a No. 10 midfielder behind the striker against Palace and struggled to have a meaningful impact on the game; he registered 0.2 expected goals (xG) and 0.0 expected assists (xA). Playing as a winger might afford him a little more space, or easier access to receive the ball, allowing him to move into those dangerous central areas facing the goal.

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Nicol: Liverpool looked ‘defensively vulnerable’ vs. Bournemouth

Steve Nicol explains what may hold Liverpool back this season following their 4-2 victory over Bournemouth in their opening game.

Liverpool: Rely on Ryan Gravenberch

Defeat to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield hinted that all was not well at Liverpool, and the opening night of the Premier League on Friday confirmed it. The Reds may have beaten Bournemouth 4-2, but they looked far from convincing and needed late goals from Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah to do so.

There’s been a lot of change at Anfield over the summer, with over £200 million in outgoing player revenue, even though stars Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah signed new contracts. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid sparked a revolution in the fullback area, as Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong were brought in on either flank, while almost £200m was spent just to land striker Hugo Ekitike and attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

Fantastic as these players are, they need time to jell. And manager Arne Slot needs time to figure out how to construct the team so it functions properly.

It’s early days, but Wirtz and Kerkez do not look comfortable in their roles right now. It’s imperative Slot finds a way to settle them in fast, and a big step in that direction happens to be a simple one: Bring holding midfielder Gravenberch into the mix after he served his one-match suspension (from his red card in the Reds’ final game of last season against Palace).

For his fellow midfielders, it will simplify things. In the past two games, Dominik Szoboszlai’s responsibilities have been rather blurry, as have those of Alexis Mac Allister; the pair have taken it in turns to drop into the defensive line, build play and cover gaps. Wirtz has also dropped deep quite a lot — probably too much — in an effort to get involved, as the dysfunctional setup hasn’t gotten him on the ball enough.

Gravenberch’s return would also free up Kerkez to do a bit more of what he’s best at: rampaging runs up the flank. Against his old side, Bournemouth, the left back was stuck deep, acting as a third center back during buildup as Frimpong enjoyed more attacking license on the other flank. And that really doesn’t suit him. Kerkez is a carrier, not a passer, and his one-vs.-one defending can be suspect at times. Indeed, he was substituted after an hour having been booked.

If Gravenberch can take over as the third defender, it could allow Slot to push both fullbacks up into attack and let them both do what they do best.

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Will Newcastle finish ahead of Aston Villa in the Premier League?

Shaka Hislop and Mark Donaldson comment on who they think will finish higher in the Premier League after their 0-0 draw in the opening game of the season.

Aston Villa: More pace, width and a personnel tweak

Arsenal weren’t the only top Premier League side who struggled with something as simple as completing passes on the opening weekend. Only four clubs’ completion rate was worse than the Gunners’ 74.5%; one of those was Aston Villa (73.2%), the second worst in the league.

Their issues began the moment the game kicked off, as Newcastle United applied a ferocious press. The Magpies’ PPDA (the number of passes they allowed Villa to make before a defensive action came) was just 6.08, an absurdly low tally. And Villa were easily trapped and dispossessed over and over again, in part because they were operating in such a small area of the pitch.

Villa boss Unai Emery fielded four central midfielders in his starting XI: Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana formed a double pivot, John McGinn played on the right, and Youri Tielemans operated as a No. 10. They’re all good players, but none are very quick, and McGinn can’t stretch teams by running in behind or dribbling past fullbacks.

Curiously, Emery waited a long time to bring on a substitute who could stretch Newcastle. Donyell Malen’s six minutes (plus stoppage time) gave him little chance to affect the game, especially given they were down to 10 men at that point after the sending off of Ezri Konsa, though Villa came away with a 0-0 draw in the end.

Stacking the Villa XI with combative midfielders made some sense given Newcastle play an aggressive brand of football, but perhaps a better balance can be achieved by adding one more dynamic presence outside of Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers. There’s also a case to be made that if Tielemans is to play high up the pitch as a No. 10, then center back Pau Torres — by far Villa’s best passing defender — needs to play so that ball progression and retention doesn’t suffer.