Liverpool is obvious but which other opening-day starters – one per club

Not many teams get to pick their strongest possible side on the opening weekend of the season, not least this year because there was still almost a month of transfer window left at the time.

But with summer injuries and lingering suspensions and match readiness all factors, which players secured starting berths at the weekend but might be advised not to get too used to that situation?

Handily there was (almost) exactly one such player for each Premier League club which is useful given the premise of the feature.

Arsenal – Ben White
Certainly not about to find himself out in the cold, but William Saliba turning out to be just as good in England as he was in France means someone has to miss out. White was utilised at right-back against Palace, but with Takehiro Tomiyasu back in the squad after injury it could well be the England defender who finds himself odd man out in Mikel Arteta’s first-choice XI.

Aston Villa – Steven Gerrard
Yeah. Look at us, bending our own rules to dramatic effect almost straight away. We are so dangerous and exciting. Unlike Villa, who are just a bit shit. Seriously, though, signing a load of 30-year-olds on big wages with the obvious intention of being immediately good enough to catch Liverpool’s eye is really not working out well for Gerrard, whose expensively assembled Villa side is starting to look like a right mess.

Nobody really believed him when he said Villa weren’t a stepping stone, but the obvious job he understandably craves looks a long way off at the moment.

Brentford – Rico Henry
This one is rubbish, but there’s little scope for anything in Brentford’s line-up from the weekend. We’re clinging here to the idea that Brentford signing one of the most promising left-back/wing-backs in Europe to play him at right-back seems a bit mad, but at the same time that does seem to be very much the reality of what is happening. Aaron Hickey’s versatility and Brentford’s terminal lack of current alternatives in that position means that Henry probably hangs on to the left-back spot by default.

This should have been N/A really, but a) that’s a coward’s way out and b) we don’t want to play our N/A joker before we get to Brentford’s opponents from the opening weekend.

Bournemouth – Mark Travers
Scott Parker had a wafer-thin squad to choose from on Saturday, making the 2-0 victory over Villa all the more impressive. A few of the opening-day heroes are under threat, though. Adam Smith surely makes…