Aston Villa is in turmoil after big-name departures. Next up is Arsenal in the Premier League

It was only three months ago that Aston Villa was celebrating a first major piece of silverware in 30 years and a return to the Champions League.

It was only two weeks ago that Villa was pushing the mighty Paris Saint-Germain all the way in the UEFA Super Cup.

All of a sudden, though, there is an air of despondency around the club at the end of a summer when the spine of the team has been ripped out, leaving manager Unai Emery facing a major rebuild.

Villa, which was hammered 4-0 by Brighton last weekend in their Premier League opener, will head into its home match against defending champion Arsenal on Monday without arguably its five star players from last season: goalkeeper Emi Martinez, center back Ezri Konsa, midfielders Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, and striker Ollie Watkins.

Martinez, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper from Argentina, has been nowhere near the first team as he seeks a move away, possibly to Chelsea; Konsa, the England international, has joined Arsenal; Rogers and Tielemans have moved to Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively; and Watkins is reportedly off to Saudi Arabia, having yet to feature so far this season. Throw in left back Lucas Digne leaving to join PSG and it's quite the list of departures.

“We're used to change,” Villa captain John McGinn told the Stick to Football podcast, "and we'll try and integrate new players and improve on last year.

“I'm not naive enough to think that's not going to be more difficult now.”

Villa went through problems this time last year, opening the Premier League season with a five-match winless streak that saw questions asked about Emery's ability to get Villa firing again.

They came through it — but back then they had Watkins and Rogers to get the team out of trouble.

Now?

Villa is reportedly close to signing Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea as a replacement for Watkins, but he isn't as reliable a striker. Johan Manzambi was signed from Freiburg off the back of a starring role for Switzerland at the World Cup, but he is only 20, new to the Premier League, and currently out injured.

On Thursday evening, Villa announced it signed Germany international Leon Goretzka. The 31-year-old midfielder arrives following a trophy-laden stint with Bayern Munich, where he helped the team win seven Bundesliga titles and one Champions League trophy.

Emery is clearly in a tough spot — and the last team he'd want visiting at this time is Arsenal, which beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield and started its Premier League title defense by beating Coventry by the same score.

“This problem (losing players during the summer) we had every season and every season we overcame it," said Emery. "It’s something we have to accept and always we reacted, especially the players.

“This is something hard for us every year but we are calm."

Alongside Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham also will look to bounce back from bruising opening-round defeats.

Coming off a 2-0 loss at Hull, United hosts another promoted team in Ipswich.

Tottenham is at home to Newcastle, a week after getting thrashed 3-0 by Brentford.

Man City starts the second round with a trip to Crystal Palace on Friday. Liverpool is at home to Nottingham Forest as new manager Andoni Iraola seeks a first win in charge after a 2-2 draw at Newcastle on Sunday.

Man City could give a debut to 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was signed from French team Lille in a $117 million deal Wednesday. City manager Enzo Maresca started Marc Guehi — a center back — in central midfield in the opening 2-1 win over Bournemouth, given the shortage of options in that position after releasing Bernardo Silva and selling Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders. Nico Gonzalez also left for Newcastle this week.

Look out for Cole Palmer, who started the season excellently by scoring one goal and setting up another in Chelsea's 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday. He appears to be over the injury issues that blighted him last season, leading to him missing out on selection for England's World Cup squad.

Winger Jeremy Doku remains sidelined for Man City with a calf injury while defender William Saliba is a long-term absentee for Arsenal, which might therefore give a debut against Villa to Konsa — fresh off that move from Villa Park.

Tottenham midfielder James Maddison missed most of last season because of injury and might be sidelined again for the home match against Newcastle, having hurt his shoulder in a substitute appearance against Brentford on Saturday.

This round of matches is being played to the backdrop of the final days of the transfer window, which has seen Premier League clubs spend around $3.7 billion on new players.

That's a record for a single window and there promises to be more signings made in the final days, with Man City and Liverpool among those still actively looking to strengthen their squads.

Watch out for the movements of certain players — notably Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, who are reportedly of interest to City, and Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, whose future is uncertain.

“When the market is open, you cannot guarantee anything with anyone," Iraola said Thursday when asked if Gakpo would be staying.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Aston Villa's Joao Gomes, 4th right, is sent off during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa, in Brighton and Hove, England, Sunday Aug. 23, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Arsenal's new player Ezri Konsa is introduced to the fans before the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Coventry City in London, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Chelsea's Morgan Rogers celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the pre-season match between FC Chelsea and Real Sociedad in London, England, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada.

The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow his preferred naming convention, however.

Trump has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down. Trump has been needling America’s northern neighbor since he returned to the White House last year, suggesting the ally with whom the U.S. once had warm relations should instead be absorbed as the 51st state.

Canada responded to Trump’s import taxes this week by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment.

Trump, who signed the order as he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, had a large sign behind him propped on a stand with a map of the Great Lakes. Over Lake Ontario, in big red letters, the map read “Lake America.”

On the other side of the president was another map with the words, “MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER.”

Trump said as he was signing the order that he'd “notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we’ve done everything that you have to do.”

“And this is official, effective immediately,” he added.

But the executive order Trump signed shows that the changes are supposed to be made within 30 days.

The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston dismissed Trump’s move in a social media post, writing: “We’re into some real foolishness now. It’s Lake Ontario, buddy.”

The lake is one of multiple Great Lakes that the U.S. and Canada share borders along.

There is no single international body that determines names of international bodies of water and Trump has wide latitude over how the U.S. government recognizes geographic places and landmarks.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has traded insults with Trump, this week brushed aside the prospect of Trump changing the lake's name as “a lot of rhetoric.”

The name Lake Ontario comes from the Huron Indigenous people’s word “oniatarí:io,” which means “lake of shining waters.” The province of Ontario, founded in 1867, took its name from the lake.

Trump said that while his action was not meant to send any particular geopolitical message, “Canada’s been ripping us off for a long time” on trade and military issues.

“They wanted to be treated like a state and they’re not a state,” the president said. “We just can’t do that anymore.”

“We love the people of Canada,” Trump added. “I don’t think their representatives do, an appropriate job. Maybe they’ll change. I really don’t know. It doesn’t make much difference.”

The move is reminiscent of his move last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”

Trump scribbled his name with a Sharpie pen on the executive order, then held it up for the cameras, offering, “And we filed all the necessary papers, documents, everything else.”

He also suggested his push to rename bodies of water may not be finished.

“So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean,” Trump said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them.”

Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

City Councillor Renaldo Agostino looks at the Detroit skyline across the Detroit River Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Windsor, Ontario (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

People look out across Lake Ontario from the harbor in Toronto, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)