The Premier League's best XI from the opening weekend of the season
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Version 0 of 1. Manchester United There has been plenty of talk about whether new Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was right to persist with a three-man defence in the defeat to Swansea City on Saturday, and although hindsight naturally affects opinion, it seems rather obvious that after the departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand the club do not possess sufficient quality at centre-back to play the Dutchman’s preferred 3-4-1-2. This formation requires defenders who are adept in possession and will carry the ball forwards on either flank and push the wing-backs higher up the pitch to start attacks. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and debutant Tyler Blackett all maintained pass-success rates over 88% but that was because much of their passing was lateral as they struggled to find a way through a well-drilled Swansea midfield. When United’s defenders looked up the pitch, they played a total of 33 long balls, and they clearly need at least one ball-playing centre-back to join the squad. It looks like Argentina’s Marcos Rojo is on his way to Old Trafford, but he will not be able to fix the problem on his own. West Ham United Firing a blank on the opening day of the season shouldn’t cause too much panic, but for this West Ham side it is an age-old problem. The Hammers failed to score in 15 of their 38 Premier League matches last season and did so again on Saturday despite having 18 shots. Of course, without Andy Carroll they are a different side, but he is out for a while so they need a Plan B. With Carlton Cole up front, they need more creative players to support him. An attacking midfield trio of Stewart Downing, Kevin Nolan and Ricardo Vaz Te hardly screams innovation. Downing was the only one of the three to create a chance in the match, while summer signing Mauro Zárate remained on the bench. In his last full season in Europe, Zárate played just 16 key passes in 22 appearances for Internazionale, so there is the wonder whether he is the answer to their creative deficiencies. Further investment may well be necessary in this department Arsenal Mikel Arteta is a very good player, no question about it, but is he the best option to protect the Arsenal defence? He is fantastic in possession, completing 95% of his passes on Saturday, but Crystal Palace’s breaks upfield bypassed him at times. The same happened last season, especially in Arsenal’s embarrassing defeats to Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. Fans are still calling for reinforcements in attack, but with Alexis Sánchez’s arrival and the return of Mesut Özil, chances will flow freely going forwards. The problem at present for the Gunners is that their opponents’ attempts are also too frequent. They should challenge for the title but one can’t help but feel that they are still an enforcer in defensive midfield away from being a real threat at the top. Burnley It is possibly unfair to call upon Burnley – whose all-time transfer spending totals £75m less than the players on Chelsea’s bench for their match on Monday night – to strengthen in the next two weeks, but there is one area that simply cannot be overlooked. A central midfield of David Jones and Dean Marney was enough to propel them into the Premier League but it is unlikely to keep them in the big time for more than one season. Both registered ratings of just 6.3 in the defeat as they were overrun and helpless against Chelsea’s waves of attack. Burnley won’t come up against the same calibre of midfield every week, but their current midfield will continue to struggle. Matt Taylor looks like a fine addition, with four key passes including an assist, but those in the centre will need help. Teams that do no strengthen sufficiently end up returning straight to the second tier, and Burnley need to look for some cheap deals, possibly loan signings, to reinforce the heart of their midfield. Aston Villa Aston Villa’s goal in an unlikely win at Stoke on the opening weekend may have come from the wing, but it was scored by a player who would still call himself a striker despite being played out wide for much of his time in the midlands. Andreas Weimann’s strike was a decent one, but he failed to provide a single key pass in the clash, while averaging 0.9 per game over the course of last season. On the other flank, an out-of-sorts Charles N’Zogbia returned to the side but recorded a rating of just 6.19 as he was ineffective both with and without the ball. Gabriel Agbonlahor and Kieran Richardson are Paul Lambert’s other options on the wing, but both would probably see themselves as best-suited to other positions. Villa have lacked a true creator since the days of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing and could really do with finding another in the coming weeks. All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings. • Follow WhoScored on Twitter• Follow Guardian Football on Facebook |