In what is an exciting start to the new season, the first round of matches suggest there is more to the eye this season than the usual top four suspects.
With all top four clubs losing key players over the summer, there is a larger degree of equilibrium these days with the likes of serious pretenders Tottenham and Man City knocking at the door. The three sides that looked really good on first match impressions were Arsenal, Tottenham and Wigan.
Man City was closely scrutinized because of their big spending over the summer. While Adebayor scored, Man City still looks far from the finished product of top four calibre. Mark Hughes was not able to birng out the best of Gareth Barry or Robinho in a lineup that saw Blackburn conjure more shots on target than their prized strikers despite a 2-0 loss. Had it not been for the reliable Shay Given, the match could have turned in Blackburn's favour. The defence needs to be better protected at the midfield if Man City is to face a bigger side than Blackburn.
Arsenal impressed with a 6-1 thrashing of lifeless Everton. Without Arteta, Everton was lacking creativity and their conservative approach was punished by Arsene Wenger's stylish side. Normally solid in set-pieces, Everton gave away two goals to Arsenal's centrebacks from free kicks. If David Moyes is wise, he will cash in on want-away Jolean Lescott to cash-rich Man City and reinforce his ailing team. Lescott's recent antics look like a serious dent on the usually water tight Everton defence. But if anyone was quick to point Arsenal as firm favourites for the title, Arsene Wenger was quick to deny it. He will know... afterall his squad is so thin, all it takes is an injury to one key player to seriously affect their chances.
Liverpool was left rueing their loss of Xabi Alonso. Without their Spanish playmaker who dictated play last season, Torres and Gerrard was not the potent attacking force of last season. Without a main man spreading those visionary passes, Rafa has a major decision to make. Either he places Gerrard in the Alonso position and sticks Benayoun behind Torres or he can continue to believe in an inferior Lucas Leiva to do the job. What will Rafa do? Only Rafa knows, but he needs to change something quick to prevent a domino effect from this first loss to the Spurs. The Totenham Spurs on the other hand was impressive in their first outing of the season. Bassong was majestic in defence, Modric was silky smooth, Robbie Keane was inspirational, Palacios was tigerish; even more so than the Reds' Mascherano. the only blip is the clumsy goalkeeper that is Herulho Gomes. For heaven's sake, Harry Redknapp should start thinking about getting rid of him.
Wigan was the surprise package of the first round. Roberto Martinez the new manager in charge of the club had managed to transform the club into a classy attacking side that had more poise and purpose in their style of passing. Expect that from a Spanish manager who harps on beautiful football. One player who stood out was Roberto's countryman Jordi Gomez who fills in the creative role behind the chief striker Hugo Rodallega. Think Deco, Iniesta... Jordi is looking like the surprise of the season at a club that had given the Premier League fans unpolished gems like Palacios, Valencia and to a certain extent Amir Zaki. A 2-0 victory at Villa Park was indicative of a genius in the making in Roberto Martinez who is set to raise a few more eyebrows over the course of the season. Martin O'Neill for one was honest in saying he did not expect Wigan to be that good against his side which finished just behind the top four teams.
Exciting start to the season for the fans. Mind-boggling one for the managers who are still living in the yesteryear.
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