The 2025/26 Premier League Winners: Arteta's Gamble Pays Off as Challengers Rise

The 2025/26 season has delivered no shortage of compelling narratives, but few rival the vindication of those who dared to dream big. Let us celebrate the architects of success before the inevitable post-mortems begin.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta

When Arteta sat down for his first managerial press conference in December 2019, fresh from his role alongside Guardiola at City, he articulated a vision that seemed almost delusional at the time. Arsenal were ninth, directionless, and had just been dismantled 3-0 by City's reserves. The easier path was obvious: wait for the Manchester job, inherit a finished product, and coast to glory.

Instead, he walked away from the "family" at the Etihad to build something from rubble.

"You have to be ruthless and consistent," Arteta reflected. "You have to fit the culture of the club every single day to create a winning mentality."

It was no fairy-tale trajectory with a neat narrative arc. The journey proved arduous and frequently questioned. Yet seven years on, as Guardiola steps aside and Arteta claims his first Premier League crown, the apprentice has genuinely become the master. This title represents something far more substantial than silverware: it is validation of patience, process, and unwavering belief when few shared it. The investment came at significant cost, but crucially, it landed on the right people at precisely the right moments.

Manchester United

Only two Premier League sides have engineered a more dramatic season-to-season transformation than this thoroughly transitional Manchester United outfit. Remarkably, neither had to endure Ruben Amorim's theatrics.

Bournemouth and Andoni Iraola

The decision to ditch Gary O'Neil's steady hand for Iraola's controlled chaos looked bizarre. It has proven inspired beyond measure.

When chairman Bill Foley explained the gamble in June 2023, he was candid: "We needed a different direction" to achieve their ambitions and reshape their football. That meant going up, not sideways.

Iraola's final campaign stands as his masterwork. The Cherries generated over £270m in player sales, moved on five starters for at least £40m apiece, and watched young, untested replacements flourish when given structure and opportunity. For six consecutive seasons, Bournemouth have climbed the table. For three straight campaigns, they have set new Premier League points records. An 18-game unbeaten run—matched by only six other top-flight teams in history—helped deliver European football well ahead of schedule, fulfilling Foley's five-year timeline in half the time.

Unai Emery

Few single seasons in British football coaching can rival what Emery achieved with Aston Villa. The summer transfer window had been actively destructive. The campaign began with five games without a win. Yet he delivered a comfortable fourth-place finish and added a drought-ending Europa League trophy to the cabinet.

Qualifying for European football through league position four years running is extraordinary. Doing so with Victor Lindelof as the only significant new arrival on a free transfer borders on the absurd. Villa look potentially stronger than any title contender for next season under Emery's stewardship.

Sunderland and Regis Le Bris

The xG supercomputer simulated 10,000 seasons and predicted Sunderland's relegation in every single run. Yet Le Bris has consistently reminded observers that data cannot account for "the human element"—a point he underscored by completing the league double over Chelsea and securing the club's first European season in 52 years.

The fourth newly-promoted team in Premier League history to reach continental competition through their league finish have done so during an era when Championship clubs face unprecedented obstacles. Yet Sunderland's blueprint resists easy replication. It rests on intangible "connections" Le Bris has meticulously cultivated, combined with ruthless boardroom and dugout upgrades executed with impeccable timing.

"We won't play like Guardiola or De Zerbi, because we are Sunderland and I'm Regis Le Bris," he declared upon arrival. Europe is about to discover what that means.

Brentford and Keith Andrews

Brentford lost their manager, captain, goalkeeper, and two leading scorers to bigger clubs. They still came within touching distance of European qualification—their first ever continental adventure.

Andrews, a set-piece specialist stepping into senior management for the first time, would have gladly accepted this outcome in August when relegation seemed plausible. Seven draws in their final ten matches proved costly, costing them a Conference League spot on goal difference and Europa League football by a single point. The frustration lies in how close they came repeatedly. Yet overachieving to this degree, then narrowly missing an ambitious secondary target, constitutes genuine success.

Brighton

Lewis Dunk's deflated celebrations after a 3-0 home defeat on the final day captured Brighton's bittersweet conclusion perfectly. Champions League qualification hung in the balance before that performance, followed by Sunderland's leap into the Europa League places, then an agonising wait to see whether Brentford would snatch their continental dreams entirely.

"The timing was the worst possible," Hurzeler admitted. "But reflecting on the season overall, it's definitely an achievement."

After a harrowing mid-season spell—one win in 14 games, FA Cup elimination, and a tumble to 14th—Brighton's resurgence provided genuine uplift, even if the final day stung.

Daniel Farke

Leeds had two distinct moments where Farke's future seemed genuinely uncertain. Yet they strolled to safety and added an FA Cup semi-final appearance to their resume. That one crossroads arrived before the Championship was even settled speaks volumes about the initial scepticism.

The former Norwich manager who once looked hopelessly out of his depth has adapted and evolved. One pivotal tactical adjustment at the Etihad in that five-month window has essentially redefined his entire trajectory. Farke has earned the right to plan a second consecutive Premier League season without constant questions about his job security.

Vitor Pereira

The natural successor to Sam Allardyce's template. Quietly amusing how his Wolves opening has been airbrushed from the record.

Roberto De Zerbi

The final form of Sam Allardyce's evolution.

Crystal Palace

Roy Hodgson was absolutely right about one thing: those supporters have been spoiled rotten. A guaranteed 40-odd points plus a European final appearance? Absolutely preposterous.