Premier League club-by-club preview

[silentassassin]

Arsenal:

2010-11 season

Premier League: 4th

FA Cup: Quarter-finals

Carling Cup: Runners-up

Champions League: Last 16

Players in: Gervinho (Lille) £10.7m*, Carl Jenkinson (Charlton) £1m*, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £15m* (Southampton)

Players out: Gael Clichy (Man City) £7m*, Denilson (Sao Paulo) Loan, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich) £1.5m-£2m*, Mark Randall (Chesterfield) Free, Roarie Deacon (Sunderland) Free, Wellington (Levante) Loan, Kyle Bartley (Rangers) Loan

Summer so far:

• Captain Cesc Fabregas was left out of the club's pre-season tour of Germany, after being heavily linked with boyhood club Barcelona. Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis has met Barcelona officials to discuss their interest.
  
• Manager Arsene Wenger has said that he would rather allow playmaker Samir Nasri to leave for free next summer rather than join Manchester United or Manchester City.
  
• Pre-season has been hit by injury setbacks to Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby..
  
• A bid of £10m for Everton defender Phil Jagielka was rejected with the Merseyside club holding out for £20m.
  
• Former director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith took to Twitter to call for the club's entire board to be sacked.

Key fixtures:

• Arsenal start the season with three tricky opening games away to Newcastle on 13 August, at home against Liverpool on 20 August and away to Manchester United on 28 August.
  
• Local derbies against Tottenham are on 2 October (away) and 25 February (home).

 

[silentassassin]

Aston Villa:

2010-11 season

Premier League: 9th

FA Cup: Fifth-round

Carling Cup: Quarter-finals

Europa League: Play-offs

Players in: Shay Given (Manchester City) £3.5m*, Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa) £9.5m*

Players out: Ashley Young (Manchester United) £16m*, Stewart Downing (Liverpool) £20m*, Brad Friedel (Tottenham) Free

Summer so far:

• In the wake of Gerard Houllier's departure, former Birmingham boss Alex McLeish was appointed manager despite protests from fans.
  
• Before McLeish's appointment, Roberto Martinez opted to stay with Wigan rather than discuss the vacancy. A meeting to discuss the role with Steve McClaren was cancelled..
  
• Ten out-of-contract players, including Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew and Robert Pires, were released by the club..

Key fixtures:

• Villa play Arsenal (away), Chelsea (home), Liverpool (away) and Manchester United (away) on consecutive weekends between 24 March and 14 April.
  
• With Birmingham relegated last season, matches against Wolves on 27 August (home) and 21 January (away) and West Brom on 22 October (home) and 28 April (away) provide the local opposition.

 

[silentassassin]

Chelsea:

2010-11 season

Premier League: 2nd

FA Cup: Fourth round

Carling Cup: Third round

Champions League: Quarter-finals

Players in: Oriol Romeu (Barcelona) £4.35m, Thibaut Courtois (Genk) £7.9m*, Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo) £10.7m**

**Sao Paulo confirmed a fee of 12m euros in March 2011. Piazon will join Chelsea in January 2012.

Players out: Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala) £13.2m*, Michael Mancienne (Hamburg) £3m, Jack Cork (Southampton) £750,000*, Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid) Loan, Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg) Loan, Fabio Borini (Parma) Free, Sam Walker (Northampton) Loan.

Summer so far:

• Andre Villas-Boas, who guided Porto to a domestic double and the Europa League last season, was appointed manager after Carlo Ancelotti's departure.
  
• Tottenham have continued to resist Chelsea's attempts to sign Luka Modric with a bid of £27m turned down by the London club, while Javier Pastore, another target, joined Paris Saint-Germain for £37m.
  
• Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been ruled out for six months after undergoing knee surgery.
  
• The club have agreed a fee, believed to be around £20m, for Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku. The move will go through subject to the 18-year-old agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

Key fixtures:

• Matches against London rivals Arsenal (away) and QPR (home), on the 21 and 28 April, are followed by a trip to Liverpool on 5 May for the penultimate game of the season.
  
• Chelsea play defending champions Manchester United away on 18 September and at home on 4 February.