The start of the 2026-27 Premier League season is one week away, with the first game, Arsenal vs Coventry City, kicking off next Friday. So, how ready are your club for the campaign to come?Two weeks ago, we asked our writers to assess the Premier League readiness of every side. We asked them to select two XIs. The first is the strongest possible starting XI for the team they cover, regardless of current injuries or fatigue. The second is the line-up they expect to start their first game of the season from the players currently available.What has changed in the past fortnight? Have new signings made a club’s best team significantly stronger? Are young players making a case for inclusion through their pre-season form? And which clubs are having to navigate challenging injury issues?ArsenalThe pursuit of Vinicius Junior was so intoxicating that, perhaps unsurprisingly, its failure has resulted in something of a hangover.It had looked the perfect solution: a world class player in the very position — left forward — that had been this team’s weakest, and perhaps a means to finding the open-play goals that Mikel Arteta’s side had sometimes found elusive last season.As it stands, with Leandro Troassard sold and Gabriel Martinelli’s future uncertain, new signing Christos Tzolis, who has looked good in pre-season, will start the season on the left.Otherwise, the signing of Bruno Guimaraes has added formidable quality to an already impressive central midfield. He comes straight into the side.On the right, Max Dowman, still just 16, could well start the opening game, if pre-season friendlies are any indication, as Bukayo Saka continues to work back to full fitness from an Achilles issue. Noni Madueke, of course, will also be in the mix sooner than later.The other area of concern is in central defence. Is Cristhian Mosquera ready to deputise until William Saliba recovers from his back injury? Or do the club push for Ezri Konsa or another high calibre replacement?Who starts at left-back, Riccardo Calafiori or Piero Hincapie? The Italian seems to have the edge. Given the signing of Guimaraes, what roles can Martin Zubimendi, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino and Eberechi Eze expect to play this season? Who starts up front, Kai Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres? To ask these questions is an indicator of the depth of talent at Arteta’s disposalDuncan WhiteAston VillaVilla remain in a state of transition, with several players’ futures uncertain. One of them is Ezri Konsa — the club and Arsenal are currently apart on valuation for the England international defender, who has not yet returned for pre-season after being given an extended time off by Unai Emery. Even if Konsa were to stay, less than a week of preparation before the first match of the season is less than ideal.The same is true with Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, though the latter is a goalkeeper and can be compensated for slightly more easily than striker Watkins, for example. And besides, 17-year-old Brian Madjo’s captivating performance in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday warrants another opportunity.Boubacar Kamara showed his fitness levels in that same match following a long lay-off after knee surgery, so he is ahead of Lamare Bogarde to start in midfield.Villa do look light in the attacking positions and while Alejandro Garnacho may force his way into both teams and fellow newcomer Johan Manzambi is an exciting talent, they do require another wide player plus a general attacker to provide Emery with greater options and variety going forward.Manzambi is currently out with a knee injury, so Garnacho should earn a start away to Brighton a week on Sunday, despite another young player in 19-year-old George Hemmings also impressing against PSG.Jacob TanswellBournemouthJunior Kroupi’s foot injury, while ensuring he stayed at the club beyond this transfer window, means Bournemouth will be without their breakout star from last season for a few months.James Hill’s form at the end of 2025-26 and displays this summer suggest he can take over from the departed Marcos Senesi. Antonio Silva’s arrival from Benfica should see him start in central defence, while Adrien Truffert is the undisputed first choice at left-back.Right-back was a problem area for Bournemouth under previous head coach Andoni Iraola. Captain Adam Smith, now 35, featured regularly in pre-season, and Max Aarons, back from loan spells with Valencia and Rangers in the past two seasons, got some minutes too. But 22-year-old Juanlu Sanchez’s arrival from Sevilla this month makes him the best option.Adam Scott and Tyler Adams as the holding midfielders with Kroupi ahead of them worked well last season. Adams is yet to feature in pre-season but should be ready for Matchday 1, while Justin Kluivert, who has played well since returning from the World Cup with the Netherlands, should slot into the No 10 role.Bournemouth’s attack in general has thrived under new coach Marco Rose. Evanilson, Marcus Tavernier and Enes Unal all found the net in a 5-2 win against Augsburg of Germany. Kluivert notched a hat trick in the 10-1 thrashing of Italy’s Genoa, with Scott, Unal (two goals each) and David Brooks scoring too. Tavernier and Evanilson netted in their latest match, a 2-2 draw with Real Betis of Spain.Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook and Alex Toth are solid rotation options in midfield. Amine Adli, Ben Gannon-Doak and Brooks provide depth on the wings.Defensive depth is a concern, though. Other than Bafode Diakite, teenagers Veljko Milosavljevic and Matai Akinmboni, both 19, are the backup centre-backs, while Julio Soler, 21, is Truffert’s understudy.Anantaajith RaghuramanBrentfordBrentford have addressed Jordan Henderson’s departure to Chelsea with the club-record signing of Mamadou Sangare from Lens. The 24-year-old is “a mix between a six and an eight” according to Markus Katzer, who is the sporting director at his previous club Rapid Vienna. Sangare probably nudges playmaker Mathias Jensen out of the starting XI to line up alongside Yehor Yarmoliuk and Mikkel Damsgaard. Brentford will be hoping promising midfielder Antoni Milambo can contribute after his debut season was ruined by an ACL injury in October.Brentford’s biggest issue over the past few years has been at left-back. Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey have struggled to return to peak form after long-term knee and hamstring injuries respectively in the 2023-24 season. Keane Lewis-Potter prefers to play further forward but has deputised admirably at left-back and could start there against Tottenham on the opening weekend. There should be increased competition at centre-back this season following Kristoffer Ajer’s impressive performances for Norway at the World Cup but it might not be enough for him to start over captain Nathan Collins or Sepp van den Berg, when the latter is fit.Igor Thiago’s position as the first-choice striker is secure despite an underwhelming World Cup with Brazil and the arrival of Callum Wilson. Dango Ouattara should retain his role on the right but newcomer Jaidon Anthony could pinch Kevin Schade’s place on the opposite side. Anthony and Schade both scored eight Premier League goals last season but the latter’s form dropped off significantly. The Germany international only scored twice in his final 18 appearances and was sent off against Aston Villa in February.Jay HarrisBrighton & Hove AlbionThe need for a more established No 9 to replace Danny Welbeck after the move of last season’s top goalscorer to Chelsea is underlined by the inclusion of Georginio Rutter in that position. He is more effective as a No 10.Youngsters Charalampos Kostoulas, Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson are all still rich in promise, but the latter pair are returning from long-term injuries and the other is unproven in the Premier League following limited opportunities in his 2025-26 debut season.The attack is hampered further by uncertainty over when left-winger Kaoru Mitoma will be available to return from hamstring surgery. Diego Gomez is a stop-gap alternative, but Mitoma remains a key figure who frightens opposing defences with his dribbling speed and influential record in the top flight.Head coach Fabian Hurzeler has multiple options for the central midfield pairing, but nobody else with the box-to-box power and athleticism of Carlos Baleba. A return to the form he showed two seasons ago, after a big dip in form for 2025-26, would be comforting.The strongest department is the defence: Bart Verbruggen backed up by Jason Steele in goal, Mats Wieffer or summer recruit Costinha at right-back, Ferdi Kadioglu or Maxim De Cuyper at left-back. Hurzeler has good options in the middle too, with new signings Luka Vuskovic, Pascal Struijk and Michael Svoboda compensating for Jan Paul van Hecke’s exit to Tottenham.Andy NaylorChelseaNew manager Xabi Alonso began to show a significant change in tactics late on in Chelsea’s pre-season tour to Australia and East Asia, but it could be a few weeks before his first-choice formation and team take shape.In the tour’s last two games, Alonso opted to use the three-at-the-back formation which served him so well as Bayer Leverkusen boss. He also employed two No 10s to sit behind the striker, using wing-backs to provide further width.However, some of the key players needed for the system only reported to begin pre-season this week after getting an extended holiday post-World Cup. It will take time on the training ground to perfect playing with three at the back, a setup that can leave you vulnerable out wide defensively.Beginning with a 4-2-3-1 is the safer option. Similarly, loading up the XI for the opener away to Fulham with players who have enjoyed the benefits of a full pre-season makes sense, too. Rushing the World Cup contingent into action too soon puts them at risk of injury. However, you suspect Maxence Lacroix will have to start immediately due to Wesley Fofana being suspended, unless Alonso opts to trust Josh Acheampong, who impressed in a 3-0 win against Milan on Saturday.Enzo Fernandez is looking more likely to stay at this stage after months of transfer speculation, and Chelsea are a stronger team with him in the line-up. Should that situation change, then obviously, Alonso will have to tweak his midfield.But with fewer midweek fixtures this season due to their failure to qualify for European football, Alonso’s setup is surely going to adapt depending on the opponents anyway.