Stars from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are among the Premier League players who were dropped completely from their matchday squad on the opening day.
For the purposes of this article, we’re not talking about injured players that haven’t quite recovered in time for the start of the season.
These are 10 fully fit players who, for one reason or another, were left out of their matchday squad on the opening day.
Andre Onana
While the Cameroonian international was deemed fit to play against Arsenal, Ruben Amorim dropped him from United’s squad.
Altay Bayindir took his place, but didn’t cover himself in glory for the goal that United conceded. On the bench, experienced shot-stopper Tom Heaton was also picked ahead of Onana.
After the game, Amorim was quizzed on his decision to play Bayindir ahead of Onana.
“He’s not injured, he’s recovered… but the other players did well during pre-season, so I have to find a balance,” Amorim said after the game.
“Next week, it will be a different story. This week, we chose these players.”
With plenty of uncertainty surrounding United’s number one spot, it’s no surprise that the club are actively looking for a new goalkeeper.
Rasmus Hojlund
There was also no room in Amorim’s squad for Hojlund, amid speculation that he’ll be leaving the club.
With the increasing interest from AC Milan, Amorim decided not to include Hojlund in favour of new signing Benjamin Sesko.
“He has to fight for his place,” Amorim told reporters after the match.
“We will see what’s going to happen in the market. Rasmus has the same characteristics as Ben [Sesko], so sometimes we need to choose.”
Jadon Sancho
With United desperately trying to offload Sancho before deadline day, he was an obvious omission from Amorim’s squad.
Roma have been heavily linked with the winger of late, but according to the latest reports, that deal is far from done as things stand.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Given the strong exit rumours surrounding Zinchenko, it wasn’t much of a surprise that he was left out of Arsenal’s squad.
The 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order in recent seasons and only made five starts in the Premier League last season.
“It was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional,” Zinchenko told The Athletic when reflecting on 2024-25.
“The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you’re the most resilient guy on the planet.”
Jakub Kiwior
With William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly ahead of him in the pecking order, there was no room for Kiwior in Arteta’s squad either.
Seemingly deemed surplus to requirements by Arteta, a summer exit seems like a real possibility for Kiwior in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Both Crystal Palace and Everton have registered an interest in the 25-year-old of late.
Alexander Isak
With the Swedish forward currently on strike, he wasn’t involved against Aston Villa over the weekend.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has insisted that there is a way back for Isak at St James’ Park, but it’s safe to say that the majority of the fanbase has turned against him.
“Nothing has changed,” Howe said when questioned about Isak’s future.
“The door is well and truly open. He has to decide what he wants to do. We would like a resolution. We need that clarity. You don’t need any kind of distraction.
“I am not in control of that. There is one person who can control that. Let’s wait and see. I have made my stance clear. I am concentrating on the team.”
Alexander Isak and Alan Shearer
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Yoane Wissa
With Wissa pushing for a move to Newcastle, Igor Thiago took his place in the Brentford XI against Nottingham Forest.
“It’s a day-by-day one in terms of Wiss,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews told reporters.
“As far as I know nothing else has happened today, definitely didn’t yesterday, so as it was really.
“I have no idea what the situation will be, I have been up here since yesterday so we will deal with that during the week.
“Hopefully, it can resolve itself sooner rather than later.”
Raheem Sterling
It didn’t come as much of a surprise when Sterling’s name wasn’t on the Chelsea teamsheet.
After spending last season out on loan with Arsenal, Chelsea have been looking to offload the winger throughout the summer.
Despite being Chelsea’s highest-paid player on £325,000 per week, he doesn’t seem to have a future at the club.
Ben Doak
Doak was withdrawn from Liverpool’s squad to face Bournemouth on Friday night, just a few hours prior to kick-off.
With the winger seemingly on his way to sign for the Cherries, it made sense that Liverpool didn’t want to risk him during the season opener.
Bournemouth are set to pay £25million for the winger, with the deal set to go through this week.
Alan Browne
Plenty of Championship clubs will have been alerted by Browne being dropped from Sunderland’s squad to face West Ham.
Given how many signings the Black Cats have made over the summer, it’s no surprise that someone like Browne has fallen down the pecking order.
If he wants regular game time this season, a move back to the Championship seems likely.
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