RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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It was only three months ago that Aston Villa was celebrating a first major piece of silverware in 30 years and a return to the Champions League.
It was only two weeks ago that Villa was pushing the mighty Paris Saint-Germain all the way in the UEFA Super Cup .
All of a sudden, though, there is an air of despondency around the club at the end of a summer when the spine of the team has been ripped out, leaving manager Unai Emery facing a major rebuild.
Villa, which was hammered 4-0 by Brighton last weekend in their Premier League opener, will head into its home match against defending champion Arsenal on Monday without arguably its five star players from last season: goalkeeper Emi Martinez, center back Ezri Konsa, midfielders Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, and striker Ollie Watkins.
Martinez, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper from Argentina, has been nowhere near the first team as he seeks a move away, possibly to Chelsea; Konsa, the England international, has joined Arsenal; Rogers and Tielemans have moved to Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively; and Watkins is reportedly off to Saudi Arabia, having yet to feature so far this season. Throw in left back Lucas Digne leaving to join PSG and it's quite the list of departures.
“We're used to change,” Villa captain John McGinn told the Stick to Football podcast, "and we'll try and integrate new players and improve on last year.
“I'm not naive enough to think that's not going to be more difficult now.”
Villa went through problems this time last year, opening the Premier League season with a five-match winless streak that saw questions asked about Emery's ability to get Villa firing again.
They came through it — but back then they had Watkins and Rogers to get the team out of trouble.
Now?
Villa is reportedly close to signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea as a replacement for Watkins, but he isn't as reliable a striker. Johan Manzambi was signed from Freiburg off the back of a starring role for Switzerland at the World Cup, but he is only 20, new to the Premier League, and currently out injured.
Emery is clearly in a tough spot — and the last team he'd want visiting at this time is Arsenal, which beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield and started its Premier League title defense by beating Coventry by the same score.
“This problem (losing players during the summer) we had every season and every season we overcame it," said Emery. "It’s something we have to accept and always we reacted, especially the players.
“This is something hard for us every year but we are calm."
Key matchups
Alongside Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham also will look to bounce back from bruising opening-round defeats.
Coming off a 2-0 loss at Hull, United hosts another promoted team in Ipswich.
Tottenham is at home to Newcastle, a week after getting thrashed 3-0 by Brentford.
Man City starts the second round with a trip to Crystal Palace on Friday. Liverpool is at home to Nottingham Forest as new manager Andoni Iraola seeks a first win in charge after a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Sunday.
Players to
watch
Man City could give a debut to 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was signed from French team Lille in a $117 million deal on Wednesday. City manager Enzo Maresca started Marc Guehi — a center back — in central midfield in the opening 2-1 win over Bournemouth, given the shortage of options in that position after releasing Bernardo Silva and selling Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders. Nico Gonzalez also left for Newcastle this week.
Look out for Cole Palmer, who started the season excellently by scoring one goal and setting up another in Chelsea's 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday. He appears to be over the injury issues that blighted him last season, leading to him missing out on selection for England's World Cup squad.
Out of action
Winger Jeremy Doku remains sidelined for Man City with a calf injury while defender William Saliba is a long-term absentee for Arsenal, which might therefore give a debut against Villa to Konsa — fresh off that move from Villa Park.
Tottenham midfielder James Maddison missed most of last season because of injury and might be sidelined again for the home match against Newcastle, having hurt his shoulder in a substitute appearance against Brentford on Saturday.
Off the field
This round of matches is being played to the backdrop of the final days of the transfer window, which has seen Premier League clubs spend around $3.7 billion on new players.
That's a record for a single window and there promises to be more signings made in the final days, with Man City and Liverpool among those still actively looking to strengthen their squads.
Watch out for the movements of certain players — notably Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, who are reportedly of interest to City, and Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, whose future is uncertain.
“When the market is open, you cannot guarantee anything with anyone," Iraola said Thursday when asked if Gakpo would be staying.
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