Five things we've learned from pre-season ahead of this month's Premier League opener

As the new Premier League season approaches after a quite frankly relentless World Cup, all 20 top-flight clubs have begun their preparations for the 2026-27 campaign. So, what have we learned so far?

Arsenal, who will begin their Premier League title defence on August 21 against newcomers Coventry City, have made an interesting start to pre-season.

They eased past Girona in their first official game as goals from Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis, Max Dowman and Gabriel Jesus sealed a 4-1 win, but they struggled on Wednesday (August 5) against Real Betis.

In fact, Mikel Arteta says his players were "fuming" after a series of defensive errors saw them fall to a 3-1 pre-season defeat against the Spanish side.

However, the performance of Tzolis, a £34 million summer signing from Club Brugge, has encouraged fans, especially after Piero Hincapie nodded in his perfectly weighted inswinging corner from the left-hand side.

Just what the rest of the Premier League didn't want to hear: another set-piece specialist at the Emirates.

Anyway, here are five more things we've learnt from pre-season, including the emergence of a certain Aston Villa striker, and the midfielder Manchester United might need to rely on going forward.

Liverpool desperately need more signings to compete

It was a scene that summed up one of Liverpool's biggest issues coming into the new campaign.

To make up the numbers in training, Andoni Iraola's assistant manager Tommy Elphick joined in several sessions during their pre-season tour of the United States amid a shortage of centre-backs.

If they want to compete for trophies, those behind the scenes at Liverpool must provide Iraola with the necessary tools or risk making a poor start that could have a huge knock-on effect on their season.

So far, the Reds have brought in Victor Munoz and Jeremy Jacquet, but the departures of Andy Robertson, Mo Salah and Ibrahima Konate loom large. New additions are needed at Anfield, and fast.

IF he can stay fit, Man Utd have a gem in Mason Mount

As far as talent goes, few have ever questioned the ability of Mason Mount, yet persistent injury problems have disrupted his development in recent years.

In fact, since joining United from Chelsea in 2023, he has spent 394 days on the sidelines through injury, but the versatile midfielder is looking sharp ahead of their Premier League opener against Hull City.

After standout pre-season performances against Wrexham, Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid, Mount is being tipped to start for Michael Carrick's side on August 22 in a midfield three alongside Bruno Fernandes and Andrey Santos.

Given his injury record of late, many will hesitate to pass judgement, but Mount's early form is certainly positive as United prepare for a busy campaign.

England will have an abundance of talent when the 2034 World Cup rolls around

In no particular order, we've seen Shea Lacey, JJ Gabriel and Jim Thwaites in action for Manchester United this pre-season, while Arsenal's Max Dowman notched a goal and an assist against Girona.

Rio Ngumoha, who made 29 appearances for Liverpool last season, has also found the back of the net of late, while Ryan McAidoo and Reggie Walsh have both impressed for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.

Marli Salmon, who became the fourth youngest player ever to play for Arsenal when he came on against Club Brugge last season, is another highly-rated English prospect that looks destined for big things.

Jeremy Monga, Luca Williams-Barnett, Joshua Abe and Jesse Derry are also worth a mention. The future is bright for England.

Brian Madjo has what it takes to become a star

On the subject of talent, Brian Madjo has introduced himself to the Aston Villa faithful by scoring four goals in pre-season so far, including two in their opening friendly against League Two outfit Walsall.

The 17-year-old, who signed from French side Metz in January, had been unable to play for the club due to FIFA‘s rules on the international transfer of minors.

However, he is now eligible to play in official competition matches after it was announced on Tuesday (August 4) that the club’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding his registration has been upheld.

Unai Emery is said to be a huge fan of the 6ft 4in striker. You can understand why.

Enzo Maresca’s system is already taking shape at Man City

After a decade of Guardiola-ball, how will City look under new head coach Enzo Maresca? It's still early days, but we got a glimpse of how the Citizens will operate during their recent pre-season clash against Inter Milan.

Maresca wants his team to press high but unlike Guardiola's patient style, City were more direct through the middle. Their positional structure in possession was different to what we've seen over the years.

Phil Foden also said Maresca has "different ideas about how to play out from the back" compared to Guardiola. The Italian also wants his wingers to stay wide and draw players towards them.

Antoine Semenyo summed it up nicely after the Inter game, saying: "I think his ideas are great, quite similar to Pep, but if you watched the [Inter] game, you would have seen a couple of his ideas play out and it was good."

He added: "Enzo is just [stay] out wide and when you get the ball, just create opportunities. So it is music to my ears."

READ MORE: Man City's dream XI under Enzo Maresca as four new signings transform Pep Guardiola's old side