August 22, 2026 — 5:00amAnother Premier League season is here, and it looks very different.Nine clubs, including three of the “big six”, have new managers – the highest amount of turnover in England’s top division since World War II – while two others have managers who were parachuted in mid-last season and are yet to oversee a full campaign.And that’s good. Uncertainty is unpredictable, and unpredictability is exciting. This feels like the beginning of a new chapter for the Premier League – and these are just a few of the big storylines to follow over the coming weeks and months. (We’ve left out Manchester United because we’ve given them their own story; check out our interview with Michael Carrick here.)After the glory, what comes next for the Gunners?In a recent interview with Men in Blazers, Mikel Arteta was introduced as the “defending Premier League champion” coach. He corrected his interviewer, Roger Bennett, by saying: “Attacking another Premier League.”And maybe that gives us a taste of what is to come from Arsenal, who ended their 22-year title drought last season in a commanding but not necessarily aesthetically pleasing style, having depended so much on structure, control and set pieces.Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are riding high after their first Premier League title win in 22 years.Getty Images for Premier LeaguePerhaps now comes the evolution of their style and a loosening of the shackles by Arteta, whose squad is greatly enhanced by the signing of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle. While everyone else seems to be dealing with substantial change, it’ll be a case of iteration only for the Gunners, who look odds-on to go back-to-back.Can Enzo Maresca fill Guardiola’s boots?Manchester City have swapped one bald manager for another. But there’s only one Pep Guardiola. Even though his former assistant Enzo Maresca was long ago identified the best man to take over once the GOAT of management stepped away, the early signs aren’t great for City.Enzo Maresca.APThey’ve lost Rodri, the heartbeat of their midfield and the golden ball winner from the recent World Cup, and their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield suggested there is still a fair gap between themselves and the top. Elliot Anderson has joined from Nottingham Forest, but with all due respect to him, he’s no Rodri.Maresca won the Championship with Leicester City and two major titles with Chelsea – but replacing Pep at a club moulded in his image, with a key pillar of his success now missing? This is a monstrous challenge.Can Andoni Iraola’s tactics ‘scale up’ at Liverpool?The English football commentariat is ready to anoint Andoni Iraola as the next supercoach-in-waiting – and to be fair, he did a terrific job turning Bournemouth into a top-half team, qualifying them for the Europa League this season.But it’s one thing to manage a club like that. Now he’s at Liverpool, and the big question is whether his ideas can “scale up” and work at one of the biggest clubs in the world. One that ruthlessly sacked Arne Slot a season after he won them the title. It’s a huge opportunity for Iraola, but it comes with risk.Andoni Iraola.Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesLiverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah is gone and is yet to be adequately replaced, and the indications from pre-season are that they will take some time to adjust to his methods. Plus, he’s got to deal with UEFA Champions League football for the first time. This might be a year of transition.Will Tottenham’s spending spree pay dividends?A penny for Ange Postecoglou’s thoughts, please – because after essentially begging in public for more support in the transfer market when he was Tottenham Hotspur coach, the club has finally decided to spend millions upon millions.It’s hard to believe it’s only a year since Postecoglou was shown the door. The injuries which wrecked his second and final season in his charge continued under Thomas Frank (and then Igor Tudor), suggesting the former Socceroos boss was never the real problem. Maybe it was Daniel Levy, the deposed chairman with a penny-pinching reputation.Tottenham Hotspur boss Roberto de Zerbi.Getty ImagesRoberto de Zerbi is the manager now, and having steered them clear of relegation, he’s been backed to the hilt: midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and defenders Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi all have come in, for a grand total of more than £200 million ($381 million). And that’s still with Savinho and Omar Marmoush reportedly to follow, too, to bolster their frontline. If those two signings happen, it’ll be one of the best windows in club history. It should be enough for Spurs to swiftly return to the top portion of the ladder.Can Xabi Alonso fix Chelsea?The post-Abramovic era at Chelsea has been underwhelming, and reached a new low last season with a 10th-placed finish. There were two coaches (Maresca and Liam Rosenior. Remember him?), two caretakers (Calum McFarlane, twice) and zero trophies. But with the arrival of Xabi Alonso, fresh from a bruising experience at Real Madrid, there is cause for renewed optimism.Xabi Alonso, the new Chelsea manager.AP Photo/Dita AlangkaraAlonso’s squad has been boosted with the £117 million signing of England winger Morgan Rogers, along with defensive reinforcements Marco Palestra and Maxence Lacroix, and the much-needed Premier League experience of Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. With no European football to contend with, Chelsea will have the bandwidth to rocket back up the table – but how far can they climb? That’s the question. It’s hard to get a read on the Blues at the best of times, but especially now.How many promoted teams will stay up?Two of the three promoted sides survived last season; Sunderland actually thrived, coming seventh to qualify for Europe.So what fate awaits the next three?Frank Lampard’s Coventry scored freely as they won the English Championship, but it’ll be hard to keep firing at that rate in their first appearance back in the top flight for the first time in 25 years. Ipswich Town have spent more than £100 million on new arrivals and should be more competitive than they were a couple of years ago.Play-off winners Hull City, meanwhile, could be on a hiding to nothing; popular wisdom is that promotion has come too soon for them, although that should keep Socceroo Lucas Herrington appropriately busy, and give him plenty of scope to show the world what he can do.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.From our partners