The Premier League is back, and the nine games across the weekend provided shock results, plenty of goals and several talking points.
Can anyone challenge Arsenal?
If Arsenal started the season as strong favourites to retain their crown, then that feeling only grew as the weekend progressed.
The Gunners swept aside promoted Coventry City on Friday night and then sat back and watched as their rivals struggled.
Manchester City eventually beat Bournemouth 2-1 thanks to some magic from substitute Rayan Cherki, but for the most part looked like a team with plenty of issues to resolve.
The same goes for Liverpool, while Manchester United were even worse in their Saturday lunchtime defeat at Hull City.
Arsenal's stability and patient squad building paid off last season, and now looks even more valuable with so many of the Premier League's other leading clubs looking undercooked.
Are Aston Villa already in crisis?
The presence of Unai Emery and the optimal levels of performance he consistently elicits from his players meant there was not much talk of Villa struggling this term.
However, being walloped 4-0 at Brighton on the opening day really shone a light on the chaos of their off-season.
Villa have banked around £220 million selling Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne, but are now deprived of their talents and could yet lose Ollie Watkins (to Al Hilal) and wantaway keeper Emi Martinez before the window shuts.
New faces have and will continue to arrive at the club, but it already looks a tall order to replicate the success of recent seasons.
Was Maresca sending a message?
City eventually got the job done against Bournemouth, but Enzo Maresca's first teamsheet was an eye-opener. The Italian's decision to use Marc Guehi in midfield was particularly curious, and he was certainly missed in defence as Abdukodir Khusanov and Ruben Dias endured a panicky first half.
Recognised central midfielders Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez and Matheus Nunes were all sat on the bench. The first two have been linked with moves away this summer, while Nunes is likely to come back into the side at right back. But, was Maresca sending a message that he is unhappy with his options?
Ayyoub Bouaddi is on the way in, while it is well documented that Maresca would like the club to bring in Enzo Fernandez from his former club Chelsea. That could be one to watch in the final week of the transfer window.
Will Wirtz and Isak ever come good?
In the end, Liverpool will have been delighted to escape St James' Park with a draw on Sunday in a game that highlighted many of the issues Andoni Iraola must solve.
Full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong continue to struggle, creating an imbalance in the team. Newcastle ruthlessly exploited the space behind them, with Liverpool's midfield ragged and unable to cover. It's easy to see why former player Jamie Carragher has been imploring them to sign a specialist holding midfielder.
But perhaps even more concerning were the performances of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Isak continues to struggle for form and fitness since his club-record move from Newcastle, while Wirtz picked up where he left off last season – and not in a good way. For all his technical ability, the pace and intensity of the Premier League continues to unnerve the German international.
Howe waits in the wings
Nine of the 20 Premier League clubs begin the season with new managers, but that won't stop more from making changes if results dictate.
Eddie Howe will be waiting for a prime Premier League job, having left Newcastle in the summer.
Could he end up at Manchester United if Michael Carrick struggles in his second season? Saturday's opening defeat at Hull was definitely concerning.
David Moyes is in his final 12 months at Everton. What about Spurs? They were as bad as ever at Brentford, leaving Roberto De Zerbi unable to explain what was a disastrous opener for a big-spending club where failure is becoming ingrained.
It's a fair bet Howe will be back in football before the season is through.
Which new faces impressed?
The new season always means fresh imports, and the weekend was the first chance to have a look at some of them.
Christos Tzolis continued his fine start to life at Arsenal with another strong display against Coventry.
Amir Dedic and Lukas Hornicek enjoyed steady debuts for Newcastle, while Sean Steur was bright before being withdrawn.
Ipswich Town's new Brazilian striker Emersonn immediately got off the mark, but the debut of the weekend must go to Mamadou Sangare, Brentford's record signing, who shone as Tottenham were put to the sword at the GTech Community Stadium. The Mali midfielder, 24, joined from Lens for £40m and looks a real find.
