2023 saw Manchester City clinch their third straight Premier League title, with Erling Haaland finishing as the top-scorer with 36 goals, a record for the single season. Meanwhile, the Premier League also finished 2023 by bagging a small domestic media rights increase, which saw then end this year on a positive note.
Manchester City dominate
In mid-March, City trailed Arsenal by eight points, but their form over the final weeks saw the Gunners bottle their lead. Pep Guardiola’s side registered their fifth Premier League title in six seasons, with three matches to play. In the ongoing 2023-24 Premier League, they are currently in fourth position with 37 points in 18 matches, behind league leaders Liverpool (42), Arsenal (40), Aston Villa (39) in a very tight title race.
Dangerous Arsenal and under-fire Manchester United
Meanwhile, Arsenal had an excellent season, except for their poor form in the last six weeks of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign. Mikel Arteta has a young squad, with tons of potential. Martin Odegaard has been the perfect captain for them, and is the most-crucial cog in their unit. The arrival of Declan Rice has been key and the Englishman has added another dimension to this squad. The Gunners are currently second in the league table, only two points behind Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge as manager of Manchester United saw the club finish in third position in the Premier League, they won the League Cup trophy and also reached the FA Cup final. In the ongoing season, United are seventh in the standings, and Ten Hag is under fire, triggered especially by their Champions League elimination.
Newcastle’s fairytale ends and Liverpool re-emerge
On the other hand, Newcastle United had a special season, breaking up the established big six, and finished in fourth position. But since then, it hasn’ been going good for Eddie Howe’s side as they made a return to the UCL, but failed to get past the group stage. They are also currently ninth in the table.
Liverpool failed to impress last season as they finished in fifth place, qualifying for the Europa League. Key injuries to their forward line-up, aging midfield and failure to replace Sadio Mane saw the Reds collapse. This season has been different, and are currently on top of the table.
The other title contenders
Brighton and Hove Albion had a sensational 2022-23 season, finishing in sixth position. Roberto Zerbi led them to their first European qualification, entering the Europa League. They also made a lot of money through player sales, especially the transfer of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea and Gabriel MacAllister to Liverpool. But the departure of key stars has seen them fail to replicate their previous campaign in this season and they are in eighth position.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa finished in seventh position, and had a tough season, where Steven Gerrard was sacked as coach after six losses in their opening 11 Premier League matches. But the arrival of Unai Emery saw them bounce back as they climbed from 17th to finally seventh in the table. This season, they are in top-four and are in second place.
Tottenham were eighth last season, and were poor in all departments. Things turned worse with the departure of Harry Kane in the summer transfer window. But the arrival of Ange Postecoglou saw them impress early on in the ongoing season. They are currently in fifth position with 36 points in 19 matches.
