New faces, old heads and a whole lot of uncertainty

The post-Pep Guardiola era is already underway in English soccer amid uncertainty and upheaval, not just at Manchester City, but across the whole of the Premier League.

Heading into the new topflight season, which begins Friday, nine clubs have new permanent managers — an unprecedented number at the start of an English top-flight campaign.

At age 33, Fabian Hurzeler is the fifth longest-serving coach in the Premier League — and he has only been at Brighton for two years.

The biggest vacuum needing to be filled is at City, following the departure of Guardiola after 10 record-breaking years in charge. Good luck following that, Enzo Maresca — especially after the team's lamentable performance in its Community Shield loss to Arsenal on Sunday.

Among the other top clubs with new coaches are Liverpool (Andoni Iraola), Chelsea (Xabi Alonso) and Newcastle (Matthias Jaissle) — all of which competed in the Champions League last season.

Heck, it makes Roberto De Zerbi — appointed by Tottenham on March 31 to escape relegation — and Michael Carrick — installed as interim manager at Manchester United for the second half of last season before impressing and getting the permanent job — seem like veritable veterans.

It also makes Arsenal, the reigning champion, appear a haven of stability as Mikel Arteta goes into his seventh full season at the helm as by far the league's longest-serving manager.

Yet, there's a big question mark hanging over the Gunners, too: Will there be a hangover after winning the league for the first time in 22 years?

We're about to find out, though Arsenal's display in the Community Shield provided early encouragement for its fans.

The nonstop roller coaster that is the Premier League begins in earnest on Friday, when Arsenal hosts newly promoted Coventry, which has a compelling backstory of its own after being out of the big time for 25 years.

Here are some other storylines providing a backdrop to the new season:

A lack of star power?

The Cristiano Ronaldo circus left town in 2022. Harry Kane moved away in 2023. Kevin De Bruyne departed in 2025. Mohamed Salah quit for Turkiye this summer and Rodri has started packing his bags for Barcelona.

It begs the question: Is the biggest league in the world lacking the biggest players in the world?

OK, City still has prolific striker Erling Haaland, whose brand has never been higher after wowing American fans during last month's World Cup.

But soccer superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal and even England's own two top players, Kane and Jude Bellingham, play in other countries.

All-time greats of this century — think Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane — never played in England, either.

The big blockbuster deal of the offseason could have been Vinicius joining Arsenal, but he chose to stay at Real Madrid.

The Premier League has recently prided itself in having the world's top coaches, yet Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are no longer around.

The competition might have to settle, then, for having the greatest strength in depth, with the mid-level clubs having arguably never been better owing to the league's huge broadcasting deals.

Arsenal the favorite

Amid so much turbulence among its rivals, Arsenal has a great opportunity to retain the title and is the favorite with British oddsmakers.

Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has joined from Newcastle to bolster an already-strong midfield, left-winger Christos Tzolis signed from Club Brugge to replace the departed Leandro Trossard, and there is strength in depth in every position.

Counting against Arsenal, however, is an injury to defensive mainstay William Saliba that will rule out the France centerback for the first few months.

Also, there's an intangible: Will there be a drop-off in intensity or motivation after finally winning the league?

Arteta is determined that won't be the case.

High-profile returnees

Welcome back, Marcus Rashford. The England winger has rejoined Manchester United after a title-winning loan spell at Barcelona. Whether he wants to be at Old Trafford, though, remains to be seen.

Hello, again, to Frank Lampard, a title-winning great for Chelsea who has led Coventry back to the Premier League promised land as manager.

Coventry, a founding member of the Premier League, was relegated in 2001 and plunged into such financial chaos that the club lost its home and went on to drop into the fourth tier.

The Sky Blues' rise is one of English soccer's feel-good stories and they will be joined by fellow returnees Ipswich and Hull.

$3 billion and counting

England is in a league of its own when it comes to spending power, and Premier League clubs' outlay on new players in this transfer window is already approaching $3 billion.

The biggest signings so far have all been midfielders: Morgan Rogers to Chelsea for $156 million; Elliot Anderson to City for $155 million; Sandro Tonali to Tottenham for $133 million; and Guimaraes to Arsenal for $100 million.

Chelsea's net spend is almost $300 million, as Alonso reshapes the squad. Tottenham has also spent around $300 million on new players, in a reversal in policy following back-to-back 17thplace finishes.

The window remains open for two more weeks.

A set-piece-heavy style?

A significant change in English soccer last season was a reversion to old-school tactics, such as long throws into the area, a reliance on set-pieces and long clearances by goalkeepers, in a perceived snub to the Guardiola-influenced style of play where possession of the ball was king.

With Guardiola now out of the picture, will this trend increase further? Marco Rose at Bournemouth, Pierre Sage at Crystal Palace, Alvaro Arbeloa at Fulham and Alonso at Chelsea are all coaching in the Premier League for the first time.

Will this wave of new managers establish another different approach?