With the curtains having already fallen on yet another scintilating English Premier League season, let us take a look at the defining storylines that characterised one of the most consequential seasons in the English top flight.
Arsenal put end to ‘bottlers’ tag
It has been a long 22 years since Arsenal last lifted the Premier League title. In that period, the Gunners have had far more heartbreak than success. A club that was treading water towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s tenure. Once the legendary French manager retired, Arsenal embarked on a new journey.
It was anything but smooth sailing as then Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, was sacked by the club after just one season in charge. His successor was Mikel Arteta. The Spanish coach, a former Gunner himself, struggled early on with many Arsenal fans calling for his removal as the club sat rock bottom of the table after the first month of the season in 2021.
Fast forward a couple of years, and Arteta has had the club consistently challenging for the league. However, every season since 2022/23’ until this year has ended in familiar fashion. In the aforementioned season, Arsenal threw away an eight-point lead with nine games to go.
The following year, Arteta’s men surrendered their lead to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City leading to the team from North London earning the “bottlers” tag. The pattern seemed destined to repeat itself after Manchester City retrieved a nine-point deficit following a 2-1 victory against Arsenal in April.
However, this time it was City who slipped up after a 3-3 draw away to Everton, putting Arsenal back in control. The Gunners eventually sealed the title after a 1-0 win over Burnley to put an end to their reputation as “bottlers” and subsequently end their 22-year wait to taste Premier League supremacy.
End of an era as Guardiola, Salah depart
Sometimes you just know when it is time. Few could have foreseen the impact that Pep Guardiola would have after joining Manchester City in 2016. After 10 years as manager of the citizens, Pep Guardiola won 20 major honours while revolutionising the way the game was played. Before Pep’s arrival in Manchester, City was a club firmly in the shadow of neighbours Manchester United.
However, Pep soon made his presence in the Premier League felt. After winning his first Premier League title in the 2017/18’ season, Pep and City never looked back and in 2023 they joined United as the only English clubs to win the treble. Pep’s time at City saw the “noisy neighbours” kick the door down and it has been United who have been living in City’s shadow ever since.
On the red half of Merseyside, Liverpool bade farewell to one of its greatest ever players, the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah. One of the most decorated African footballers, Salah won 12 major honours with Liverpool, including being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year three times, the only footballer to achieve that milestone. Despite leaving in disgruntled fashion, Salah departs as a footballing icon not just in Liverpool but around the world as well.
Newly promoted clubs show their worth
While every season ends with fireworks and a team bathed in confetti during the trophy presentation, the final day also marks the end of three teams’ stays in the English top flight. As a result, 3 new teams from the EFL Championship must be promoted to replace the outgoing Premier League class.
This season, Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland earned their promotion to the Premier League. The 2024/25’ season saw all three promoted teams, Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City, go straight back down. This comes after the previous season, which saw the same pattern with Sheffield United, Burnley FC and Luton Town all securing topflight status for just one season. Following back-to-back seasons of all promoted teams being relegated, expectations were not very high for Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland.
However, these three teams drastically exceeded expectations. Only Burnley, who despite being extremely competitive throughout, would not keep their spot for the 26/27’ Premier League season. Leeds United achieved the dreaded 40-point threshold, which usually secures safety with four games to play, and comfortably ensured their spot for next season with two games to spare.
Sunderland on the other hand, was the pick of the bunch. After eight seasons away from the Premier League, the Black Cats secured a seventh-place finish, amassing 54 points and consequently bringing Europa League football to the Stadium of Light just a year after being promoted from the Championship. The newly promoted teams truly showed their worth, marking the first time since the 2022/23’ season where at least two newly promoted clubs stayed in the Premier League.
- Arsenal ended their 22-year Premier League title drought, overcoming previous collapses and shedding their "bottlers" reputation to secure the championship.
- Pep Guardiola departed Manchester City after a decade, leaving behind a legacy of 20 major trophies and having transformed the club into a dominant force.
- Mohamed Salah left Liverpool as a club legend with 12 major honours and three PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards, despite a contentious exit.
- Newly promoted clubs Leeds United, Burnley, and Sunderland defied recent trends by outperforming expectations, with Sunderland notably finishing seventh and qualifying for the Europa League.
- This season marked a significant shift in the Premier League landscape with the successful survival and impact of promoted clubs, contrasting with previous seasons' immediate relegations.
