Premier League 2023-24 Season Preview: Arsenal Defending Champions

A new Premier League season starts on Friday, and it feels unfamiliar already. Arsenal are champions again, for the first time in 22 years. Pep Guardiola has gone. The longest-serving manager in the division is now Mikel Arteta. The league that once revolved around Manchester City’s certainty suddenly looks wide open.

Nine clubs have changed managers. Manchester United and Tottenham begin their first full campaigns under Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi. Liverpool have handed the keys to Andoni Iraola. Chelsea have turned to Xabi Alonso. Stability is rare; Arsenal are the exception, not the rule.

Even the make-up of the division looks different. Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City have come up from the Championship, replacing West Ham, Burnley and Wolves. Sunderland showed last season that a newly promoted side can crash Europe at the first attempt. The bar is high. The margins look thinner than ever.

Here is how this season could fall.

20. Hull City

Last season: Promoted via play-offs

Hull’s return to the Premier League is one of the strangest promotion stories in recent memory. The numbers said they should have been nowhere near it. Opta had Sergej Jakirovic’s team 23rd in the Championship on expected points, closer to League One than Wembley. Yet they stayed up, surged into the play-offs and then beat Middlesbrough under the arch, aided by Southampton’s expulsion.

That sort of season makes for a great story. It rarely makes for a solid foundation. The squad has been churned again in a busy window and the market still views Hull as relegation favourites. The romance of last year collides now with the reality of a far harsher division. This could be a long, unforgiving campaign.

19. Ipswich Town

Last season: Championship runners-up

Ipswich are back for another crack at the Premier League after their forgettable drop in 2024-25. The club have changed tack. No longer just picking off the Championship’s best, they have widened their search and smashed their transfer record to sign striker Emersonn from Toulouse, while Daizen Maeda arrives from Celtic to add relentless energy.

The problem sits in the dugout. Gary O’Neil inherits a huge job from Kieran McKenna, who stepped away after three promotions and one relegation in four breathless seasons, admitting he needed a break and perhaps sensing the scale of the next task. Ipswich have improved their firepower, but the step up is brutal and the margin for error tiny. Survival would be a major achievement.

18. Coventry City

Last season: Championship winners

Of the three promoted sides, Coventry carry the most momentum. A 25-year exile from the Premier League ended in an emotional, unexpected title charge under Frank Lampard. The club that wandered for so long finally came home.

Now comes the hard part. The gap between the Championship and Premier League has never felt wider. Sunderland’s aggressive recruitment on their return last year provided a template, and Coventry have tried to follow it. They have twice broken their transfer record, including a £26m move for 20-year-old midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, a signing that screams ambition.

Yet the biggest victory of their summer is keeping Lampard. Sacked by Chelsea and Everton, he gets another shot at this level with a fanbase fully behind him. Coventry arrive with emotion and energy, but sentiment alone does not keep you up. They will need Lampard’s learning curve to be steep.

17. Fulham

Last season: 11th

Craven Cottage has grown used to calm, coherent football under Marco Silva. His exit after five outstanding years has ripped away that comfort. Anxiety has moved in along the river.

Alvaro Arbeloa, fiery in his caretaker spell at Real Madrid, steps into the void with a bold brief and a young edge. He has brought striker Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Cesar Palacios with him from Madrid, two talents with clear upside but no guarantees. Fulham have also lost their player of the season Harry Wilson and striker Raul Jimenez at the end of their contracts. The dressing room has changed fast.

The fixture list is unforgiving. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all on the schedule in the opening five games. Arbeloa needs a fast start, or the optimism of recent seasons could evaporate before autumn.

16. Newcastle United

Last season: 12th

The exodus on Tyneside has been brutal. In under 18 months, Newcastle have gone from Carabao Cup winners and Champions League qualifiers to a club stripped of its core. Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali – all gone. Eddie Howe, the architect of their revival, has departed too.

The project now rests with Matthias Jaissle, once of Red Bull Salzburg and Asian champions Al-Ahli, but still a relative unknown in English football. Newcastle’s recruitment has skewed young, a pivot towards the future that carries obvious upside and obvious risk. Replace proven stars with potential and you change the trajectory of a season.

Two years ago they talked about a title challenge by 2030. Now the conversation is different. St James’ Park could spend this season looking down rather than up.

15. Brighton & Hove Albion

Last season: 8th

Brighton’s first taste of Europe in 2023-24 dragged them back into mid-table, and the pattern might repeat. Fabian Hürzeler now leads a side juggling the Premier League with a Conference League campaign that, on paper, they can win. In a league awash with money, Brighton have been installed as favourites to emulate Crystal Palace’s triumph in that competition.

The lure of a first major trophy is obvious. The cost to their league form could be too. Record signing Luka Vuskovic has arrived to stiffen a defence that wobbled last year, but the attack has taken a hit. Danny Welbeck has joined Chelsea and there is a real risk of a goals shortage.

The pressure on Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh is huge – and both are unavailable to start the season. Europe offers glory. It also threatens to drag Brighton back into the pack.

14. Everton

Last season: 13th

David Moyes has brought order back to Everton. After years of chaos, the return of the Scot has steadied the club and, crucially, removed the constant fear of the drop. Continuity is rare in this league; Everton have it.

Yet stability can quickly become stagnation. Last season, Moyes’s side flirted with a European push before fading badly. The shape is familiar: solid defensively, short on goals. Beto and Thierno Barry have yet to provide the cutting edge required to climb the table.

Keeping Iliman Ndiaye would be a significant win, a dash of quality in the final third that this team badly needs. Everton should not go down. They may also find the ceiling of mid-table very hard to crack.

13. Crystal Palace

Last season: 15th

Crystal Palace ended last season on a high, Oliver Glasner guiding them to Conference League glory in the middle of a farewell truce. The Austrian has gone now, but the club have again made an intriguing choice.

Pierre Sage arrives from Lens, where he turned them into Ligue 1 runners-up and French Cup winners. His ideas should mesh with the platform Glasner built over two and a half impressive years. Palace know what it is to lose key players; they have done it repeatedly. This time the defence has been stripped, with Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix both departing over the last year. Daniel Munoz could be the next to move.

Palace will need Sage’s structure to bed in quickly. European glory has raised expectations. Reality will test them.

12. Sunderland

Last season: 7th

Sunderland were the shock of last season. From recent memories of League One to European qualification on the final day, Regis Le Bris turned the Stadium of Light into one of the league’s liveliest stages.

Now comes the Thursday-Sunday grind. For a squad that has largely stayed the same, that extra load is a serious test. So far, the transfer business has been modest: veteran right-back Thomas Meunier on a free and £25.6m left-back Dayann Methalie. That is hardly an overhaul.

Yet Sunderland have already made one of the summer’s most symbolic moves. Captain Granit Xhaka, courted by Chelsea, chose to stay. The club that shocked the league last season will lean heavily on his authority as Europe stretches them thin.

11. Nottingham Forest

Last season: 16th

Nottingham Forest burned through four managers last season – Nuno, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche, Vítor Pereira – before turning to Oliver Glasner. This time, he starts with a clean slate and the hottest seat in the league.

Forest pulled off a coup in landing the Austrian, who delivered two major trophies in two and a half years at Crystal Palace and was once linked with Manchester United. He brings a clear idea and, most likely, a shift to his preferred 3-4-3 system.

Elliot Anderson has gone, but Morgan Gibbs-White remains the heartbeat, just as he was when he dragged Forest clear of trouble late last season. Without European distractions, there is room for a surge up the table. The only caveat is the one that always applies at Forest: under owner Evangelos Marinakis, drama is never far away.

10. Brentford

Last season: 9th

Brentford finally broke the cycle last season. No longer just survival specialists, they pushed the top seven all the way under Keith Andrews, who delivered a superb first campaign in charge.

They did it with clarity. Brentford know who they are, how they play, and where their edges lie. Igor Thiago’s 22 goals powered them, but the club have moved to evolve the midfield by signing Mamadou Sangare from Lens for a record fee. He arrives to help cover the departure of Jordan Henderson to Chelsea and to add another layer to a team built on detail.

Set-pieces will remain a weapon. Efficiency will remain the mantra. Brentford start this season looking up, not over their shoulder.

9. Leeds United

Last season: 14th

Leeds changed everything after December. From 1 December 2025 onwards, Daniel Farke’s side produced form that would have put them seventh over a full season. Hypothetical, yes. But the shift in mood and performance was real.

The summer has been targeted, not scattergun. James Trafford arrives as a first-choice goalkeeper, plugging a glaring gap. Harry Wilson comes in on a free from Fulham to add creativity, with more help potentially needed in that area. Towering centre-back Tarik Muharemovic strengthens an already solid spine.

The key lies up front. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 14-goal comeback last year gave Leeds a focal point they had long lacked. If he stays fit and firing, this team can legitimately eye the top half.

8. Tottenham Hotspur

Last season: 17th

Tottenham stared into the abyss on the final day last season and only just avoided falling. That escape has forced a reckoning. The club have responded by throwing their weight behind Roberto De Zerbi.

Only Chelsea have spent more this summer. Spurs have ripped up their midfield with a £180m overhaul, bringing in Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. At the back, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Andy Robertson all look astute additions. More is expected in attack.

De Zerbi has been handed full control after steering the club away from disaster. A full campaign with his ideas, without the distraction of European football, will be compelling. But this is not a magic wand. Injuries remain a chronic problem and no amount of spending can solve every issue in one window. Improvement feels inevitable. Just how far they climb is less certain.

7. Bournemouth

Last season: 6th

Bournemouth’s priority after their first European qualification was simple: keep the band together. Losing Andoni Iraola to Liverpool hurt, but the Cherries have largely held firm on the pitch. Only Marcos Senesi has departed, and his contract had run down before he joined Tottenham.

That continuity hands new manager Marco Rose a strong platform. Alex Scott, Rayan and Junior Kroupi – sidelined early by a freak training-ground foot injury – all remain. Rose, a disciple of Jürgen Klopp, favours a high-pressing, high-intensity style that dovetails neatly with what Iraola built.

The German’s experience should help Bournemouth navigate a debut Europa League campaign. If they balance the load, they have the tools to stay in the top half.

6. Aston Villa

Last season: 4th

Aston Villa’s summer has been one of controlled upheaval. Emi Martinez could yet follow Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne out of the door, chipping away at the spine of the side that lifted the Europa League.

The constant is Unai Emery. His tactical acuity and knack for finding solutions remain Villa’s greatest assets. The club have backed him again, breaking their transfer record to sign Switzerland World Cup star Johan Manzambi for £59.5m and adding Japan international goalkeeper Zion Suzuki. Alejandro Garnacho arrives on loan to inject pace and unpredictability.

Villa return to the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. They will need their new faces to settle quickly, but in a league full of volatility, Emery himself still looks like their trump card.

5. Liverpool

Last season: 5th

Liverpool stand at a crossroads. On one side, the excitement of a young, aggressive coach in Andoni Iraola and the prospect of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz finally exploding after difficult first seasons. On the other, the nagging suspicion that too many of last year’s issues remain untouched.

Squad depth is still a concern, especially in attack and at full-back. The midfield, so often exposed during Arne Slot’s final campaign, has not been radically reshaped. Jeremy Jacquet, the 21-year-old centre-back signed for £55m in January, impressed in a friendly against Como, and Ronald Araujo’s loan adds experience. Yet Liverpool remain heavily reliant on 35-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk.

The pursuit of Bradley Barcola drags on, with Hugo Ekitike out for months. Iraola steps into a job heavy with expectation and light on guarantees. Early goals from Isak and Wirtz would ease the pressure. Without them, the questions will grow quickly.

4. Manchester United

Last season: 3rd

From the moment Michael Carrick took over in January, no Premier League side collected more points. Twelve wins from 18 games turned a drifting season into a third-place finish and secured the former midfielder a two-year deal.

Now comes the real test. United are back in the Champions League and their calendar will swell from 40 games to something closer to 60. Rivals have had time to study Carrick’s patterns. Training time shrinks. The trick of the second season is always harder.

Bruno Fernandes remains the talisman, the player capable of dragging United to greater heights. Behind him, depth is still an issue. The departures of Casemiro forced United into the market; Andrey Santos has arrived from Chelsea, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa. Both add options, but there is a sense that one more gear is needed if United are to move from promising to truly threatening.

3. Chelsea

Last season: 10th

Chelsea hit rock bottom last season. Liam Rosenior lasted just three months. The club endured their worst league run since 1912. Stamford Bridge became a monument to miscalculation.

Then the pieces started to fall Chelsea’s way. Xabi Alonso, still one of Europe’s most coveted coaches after winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen, agreed to take charge despite a bruising spell at Real Madrid. He inherits a squad that, for all the chaos, still brims with talent.

Morgan Rogers is an expensive but high-quality addition, and pairing him with a fully fit Cole Palmer – desperate to respond after missing the World Cup – could be devastating. Chelsea have also changed tack in the market, adding experience in Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35, after years of hoarding prospects.

Crucially, there is no European football. Alonso will have time, and more authority than his predecessors, to drill his ideas. In a season of flux elsewhere, that could be a powerful advantage.

2. Manchester City

Last season: 2nd

Pep Guardiola’s shadow stretches over everything at Manchester City. Ten years, countless trophies, and now an abrupt end. Of all the clubs in the division, City face the biggest identity shift.

Enzo Maresca steps into the void with a daunting to-do list. City’s midfield is being rebuilt on the fly. Rodri and Bernardo Silva have gone, tearing out the heart of an era. Elliot Anderson arrives for £116m after a standout World Cup with England, and 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, another breakout from the tournament, is in line for a larger role. City may yet return to Chelsea for Enzo Fernandez at £120m.

Even in flux, they remain formidable. Erling Haaland’s goals are a guarantee. Last season’s additions of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi strengthened them at both ends. But the stylistic shift after a decade of Guardiola stands in stark contrast to Arsenal’s continuity. City will still be in the fight. Whether they can dominate as before is another question.

1. Arsenal

Last season: 1st

Arsenal enter this season as defending champions for the first time in 22 years, and they do so with something most of their rivals lack: calm. Arteta is now the league’s longest-serving manager. The squad is settled. The structure is clear.

While others rip up plans and change direction, Arsenal can refine. They have already proved they can go the distance in a title race. Now they must show they can do it again with a target on their back and a league full of clubs trying something new.

The Guardiola era is over. The City machine is being rebuilt. Liverpool are gambling on a new philosophy. Chelsea and United are trying to climb out of their own rubble. In the middle of it all, Arsenal have the rare luxury of knowing exactly who they are.

This is their opportunity to turn one title into an era.