Premier League
Premier League 2025-26 Review
The 2025/26 Premier League season closed with fireworks, emotion, and unforgettable storylines.
Arsenal were officially crowned champions and started their celebrations at Selhurst Park after sealing the title on the final day against Crystal Palace. Their 22-year wait came to an end in scenes of pure euphoria, marking the culmination of Mikel Arteta’s long-term plan and a season defined by resilience.
Elsewhere, Tottenham barely escaped relegation on the final day.
While West Ham were relegated alongside Burnley and Wolves, falling through the trapdoor into the Championship.
At the top of the European qualification ladder, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Liverpool secured Champions League places. With Bournemouth and Sunderland booking spots in the Europa League.
Brighton completed the continental cast by qualifying for the Conference League.
The Emotional Farewells
Pep Guardiola bid farewell to Manchester City after a decade of managing the club.
Manchester City said goodbye to a generational figure as Pep Guardiola, Silva, and John Stones stepped down after a period of unprecedented success.
Pep’s influence on English football will outlive his tenure, leaving a tactical blueprint adopted across the divisions.
On Merseyside, Liverpool’s Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, ended his memorable nine-year spell at Anfield. His exit marks the end of one of the most decorated and influential eras in Premier League history.
Yet even those departures couldn’t overshadow the raw emotion at Selhurst Park. Where Arsenal supporters watched their captain lift the Premier League trophy for the first time since the Invincibles.
The Season Where Set Pieces Ruled England
The 2025/26 campaign will be remembered as the year set pieces became a superweapon. Corners, free-kicks, and throw-ins decided titles, survival, and European races.
Every division crowned a champion among the teams with the highest set-piece conversion rates. It was a season where marginal gains weren’t just important they were decisive.
Liverpool, now desperate to reclaim their place at the top, knows precisely what’s missing specialist coaches like Nicolas Jover. The summer window could reshape their future around this crucial department.
SPORTXPARTE AWARDS 2025/26
Below are the standout players and managers who shaped this remarkable season.
Bruno Fernandes: The Captain Who Carried a Club
Nothing this season was more symbolic than Manchester United’s reliance on Bruno Fernandes. He dragged the team through difficult months early on and became the heartbeat of Michael Carrick’s revived side in the second half of the campaign.
His record-breaking 21 assists, his availability, and his work rate made the Portuguese playmaker the most influential Premier League captain. Fernandes admitted he nearly left Old Trafford, stating the club once viewed his departure as “not really that bad.”
That admission adds weight to how vital he became. Without him, United’s season might have collapsed.
David Raya: Arsenal’s Wall Behind the Title
While the forwards took the headlines, Arsenal’s title triumph hinged on the man between the posts. David Raya delivered another season of elite consistency, earning at least a share of the Golden Glove for the third straight year.
Composed, alert, and decisive in key moments.
Raya started every match except the final day a clear sign of his irreplaceable status. Arsenal’s leap from nearly-men to champions owes as much to defensive stability as attacking flair, and Raya was at the center of it.
Erling Haaland: The Relentless Goal Machine
Critics still question Erling Haaland’s involvement outside the box but the numbers remain impossible to argue with. With 27 goals and a goal every 110 minutes, he once again proved why Guardiola called him “the best striker in the world.”
Haaland doesn’t just score goals; he shifts defensive structures and terrifies backlines. The Norwegian remains English football’s most devastating finisher.
Igor Thiago: From Injury Doubts to Brazilian Breakthrough
Brentford’s season was expected to unravel after losing manager Thomas Frank and key players. Instead, Igor Thiago became one of the league’s surprise superstars.
After spending his first season injured, Thiago exploded with 12 goals in his first 14 matches and never looked back. His performances earned him a Brazil World Cup call-up a remarkable rise for a player written off months earlier.
Brentford’s ninth-place finish and push for Europe owed everything to his transformation into a top-tier Premier League striker.
Morgan Gibbs-White: The Leader Who Saved Forest
Turbulence at Nottingham Forest could have derailed their season. Managers came and went, results fluctuated, and pressure mounted. Yet Morgan Gibbs-White held everything together.
Under Vítor Pereira, the midfielder flourished into a Premier League powerhouse, with 15 goals, Europa League semi-finals, and leadership beyond his years.
With multiple clubs now circling, Forest face a battle to keep their midfield talisman.
Managers Who Redefined the Season
Unai Emery: The Comeback King of Aston Villa
A disastrous start turned into a historic campaign under Unai Emery. Villa collected 12 wins from 13 league matches during a mid-season surge and combined European commitments with domestic consistency.
Despite a midfield injury crisis and financial restrictions. Emery delivered one of the most impressive recoveries in modern Premier League history.
His omission from the manager-of-the-year shortlist still raises eyebrows.
Régis Le Bris: The Architect of Sunderland’s European Dream
Promoted through the playoffs and widely tipped to be relegated. Sunderland stunned the league under the guidance of Régis Le Bris.
His tactical flexibility, fearless squad overhaul, and composed touchline presence reinvented the club.
Victories over Newcastle home and away cemented his status as a Wearside legend. Europa League qualification on the final day confirmed him as one of the season’s great managerial success stories.
Mikel Arteta: The Man Who Ended the Wait
Despite doubts over Arsenal’s mentality and their history of late-season collapses. Mikel Arteta delivered the Premier League title with smart tactical adjustments and a calm response to pressure.
After back-to-back defeats ignited talk of another meltdown, Arteta rallied his players and engineered a run of gritty, often narrow victories.
With a Champions League final approaching and rivals in transition, Arsenal may be on the brink of a new era of dominance.
Keith Andrews: Brentford’s Unexpected Mastermind
Keith Andrews entered his debut season as an underdog facing enormous skepticism. He replaced a beloved coach and inherited a squad in transition.
Yet he adapted the club’s tactical identity without abandoning its principles and navigated set-piece mastery.
And delivered wins over Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Manchester United.
What seemed like a gamble turned into one of the season’s smartest managerial hires.
