With the start of the new season in the English Premier League just around the corner, it’s time for a comprehensive team-by-team preview. To effectively cover all the teams in the Premier League, we will be releasing four detailed articles arranged alphabetically by club name.
In this piece, we will cover the prospects of Bournemouth, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, and Brighton in the upcoming season and asses their summer transfer activity, tactical setups, and potential positions in the final table.
– Last season’s finish: second place (89 points, plus 62 goal differential)
– Key ins: CB Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna, €45m), GK David Raya (Brentford, €31,9m)
– Key outs: –
– My predicted position: 2
Arsenal has completed the permanent signing of David Raya from Brentford following his successful loan spell last season. They have also acquired the versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori, whose game we previously analyzed on our website.
Meanwhile, the London club has not sold any of their key players. This means that in the upcoming season, Mikel Arteta will once again rely on a small group of core players who already have excellent chemistry.
However, Arsenal may lack quality depth in their squad in the new season, which could become a critical issue over the long and gruelling Premier League season.
William Saliba, Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Benjamin White are the heartbeat of this Arsenal. These players have been indisensable, each logging over 4000 minutes in the Premier League over the last two seasons, with some players exceeding 5000 minutes. Such extensive playing time can potentially lead to a series of injuries, which could derail Arsenal’s campaign if not managed carefully.
Yet, each of these players brings exceptional quality to their respective positions. If they can avoid injuries throughout the season, Arsenal will stand a good chance of finishing in the top two in the league.
The 4-3-3 formation continues to be the main one for Arteta’s team, transitioning to a 3-2-5 during the buildup and a 2-3-5 in the finishing of attacks. In tactical terms, many opponents are currently unable to counter the well-structured attacks of the London club.
In defense, Arsenal often switches to a flexible 4-4-2 with strong pressing. This worked excellently last season, making the Gunners the best defensive team in the Premier League.
In the previous season, Arsenal won against several opponents with significant leads, scoring 4-5 goals per match. Despite this, Arteta’s team ended up scoring 5 goals fewer than Manchester City overall.
In the upcoming season, Arsenal’s potential to win the championship will depend largely on their ability to outscore their main competitors. Without adding a new prolific striker, this remains a significant challenge
– Last season’s finish: fourth place (68 points, plus +15 goal differential)
– Key ins: DM Amadou Onana (Everton, €59.4m), LB Ian Maatsen (Chelsea, €45m)
– Key outs: RW Moussa Diaby (Al-Ittihad, €60m), DM Douglas Luiz (Juventus, €51,5m)
– My predicted position: 7
Aston Villa have updated their defensive midfield position by selling Douglas Luiz to Juventus and acquiring Amadou Onana from Everton, essentially balancing the books while refreshing the midfield.
In addition, Villa has sold Moussa Diaby, who scored six goals and provided eight assists last season. The Birmingham club has not acquired a replacement yet, which means that Leon Bailey will likely be the only top-class winger for Aston Villa next season.
Ollie Watkins scored 19 goals and made 13 assists last season, making him a key player for the team. Villa has won many matches due to the English forward’s individual skill, and his performance will be crucial in the new season.
In the past season, Unai Emery’s team primarily used the 4-2-3-1 formation in attack. In the defensive phase, they played with a 4-4-2 medium block, which worked quite effectively for a long time.
However, towards the end of the season, Villa’s players experienced fatigue, which significantly worsened their defensive game.
Last season, Aston Villa scored nine more goals than their expected goals (xG) suggested. This overperformance was largely due to Ollie Watkins’ exceptional finishing, as well as six other players scoring five or more goals.
Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz demonstrated impressive finishing, which greatly helped the team under Unai Emery’s management.
Replicating this goal-scoring form in the new season will be a major challenge for Villa, especially with the loss of Diaby. The burden will fall heavily on Watkins to maintain his high standards and for other players to step up and contribute. Whether they can sustain such an efficient scoring rate will be key to their success in the upcoming campaign.
– Last season’s finish: twelve place (48 points, minus-13 goal differential)
– Key ins: ST Enes Ünal (Getafe, €16.5m), LW Luis Sinisterra (Leeds United, €23.4m), CB Dean Huijsen (Roma, €15.2m)
– Key outs: Lloyd Kelly (free, Newcastle)
– My predicted position: 9
Bournemouth has managed to retain the core of their squad as of early August, avoiding any significant losses. The club successfully secured the permanent transfers of Enes Ünal and Luis Sinisterra, who were important players and performed well for Bournemouth while on loan last season.
Luis Sinisterra is especially notable for his outstanding attacking performance during the second half of the season. The Colombian had a 62% success rate in dribbling and displayed aggressiveness in pressing, averaging 1.2 tackles per game. It is anticipated that Sinisterra will be able to score valuable goals in the upcoming season.
Dominic Solanke is an essential player for Bournemouth. He scored 19 goals last season, a fantastic improvement from his 10 goals in the four previous seasons. Under the guidance of Andoni Iraola, Solanke has thrived in a system that maximizes his strengths, particularly in quick, vertical attacking transitions.
In the new season, he will have the chance to prove himself again and score more than 15 goals in the Premier League.
Another crucial player is Ryan Christie, a versatile player capable of playing in any midfield position. In Iraola’s pressing system, he averages 2.3 tackles per game, which is an excellent result.
The attacking formation used by Iraola was a 4-2-3-1 with a transition to an unconventional 2-2-5-1. In this formation, the fullbacks positioned themselves very high, in line with the attacking midfielders, who would shift from the flanks to the centre. This allowed Bournemouth to overload the opponents in the centre and instantly counter-press with great force after losing possession.
In their positional defense, Bournemouth often used a 4-4-2 formation with a very compact arrangement of defensive and midfield lines.
Last season, Bournemouth’s overall performance in both defense and attack was fairly average. However, there is significant potential for improvement, particularly in terms of finishing.
Based on the number of expected goals (xG) metrics from last season, Iraola’s team ranked ninth in the league, indicating that there is room for progress.
– Last season’s finish: sixteenth place (39 points, minus 9 goal differential)
– Key ins: ST Igor Thiago (West Ham, €33m)
– Key outs: GK David Raya (Arsenal, €31,9m)
– My predicted position: 10
Brentford’s main coup in the transfer market is the acquisition of the prolific 23-year-old striker Igor Thiago, who scored 18 goals in 34 matches in the Belgian Pro League for Brugge. His arrival bolsters Brentford’s attacking options, adding a new dimension to their already potent forward line.
Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo scored a combined total of 21 goals and provided 9 assists last season, making them crucial players for the team. They partially filled the void left by Ivan Toney, who was sidelined due to suspension and injury.
In addition, Ethan Pinnock and Christian Nørgaard are key figures in Brentford’s setup. Despite missing several matches due to injuries, they both delivered solid performances when available.
Formations 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 continue to be fundamental for Brentford, making the team tactically flexible and difficult to play against. The 3-5-2 allows for a strong defensive base and fluid transitions, while the 4-3-3 provides more attacking width and pressing opportunities.
According to advanced statistical indicators, Brentford should have been in the top ten of the Premier League based on their playing quality.
However, due to a high number of injuries and suspensions last season, the team’s coach, Thomas Frank, had to rotate the squad frequently, which resulted in problems in both defense and attack.
It is quite possible that in the new season, Brentford will be able to significantly improve their results and secure a top-ten finish once again.
– Last season’s finish: eleven place (41 points, minus-7 goal differential)
– Key ins: MC Mats Wieffer (Feyenoord, €30m), RW Yankuba Minteh (Newcastle, €38,8m), RW Ibrahim Osman (FC Nordsjælland, €19,5m)
– Key outs: DM Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund, €7m)
– My predicted position: 11
Brighton’s transfer policy this summer has raised a few eyebrows. The club paid £68.8 million for two Feyenoord players, despite the fact that players from Eredivisie have rarely adapted quickly to the English Premier League in recent years.
Additionally, they paid £19.5 million for Ibrahim Osman, who managed to score only 9 goals in the Danish Superliga last season. The club is clearly banking on potential rather than proven Premier League experience.
Pascal Groß was a key player for the team last season, but his departure to Borussia Dortmund leaves a significant gap. Under the guidance of the new coach, Fabian Hurzeler, it will be very interesting to see who will step up and become the new leader of the team.
During his time at FC St. Pauli, the Swiss coach frequently utilized the 3-4-2-1 formation. However, in the last season, Brighton primarily favored the 4-2-3-1 formation, occasionally transitioning into a 3-2-5 setup.
There’s a feeling that the young Brighton players are adapting quite quickly to Fabian Hurzeler’s attacking style and new formation. This tactical versatility could be a strength as Brighton navigates the challenges of the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi frequently changed the team lineup last season, making it hard for Brighton to establish a consistent on-field understanding. The challenge for Hurzeler will be to quickly identify a group of core players to rely on, especially given the squad’s depth and the large number of similarly skilled young players.
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