Gunners’ glory

 

Arsenal were crowned champions of England with a game to spare after finishing second 3 times in a row. Manchester City had been a constant thread. Manchester United finally found their feet to finish third, followed by Aston Villa, Liverpool and Bournemouth. With Wolves and Burnley already relegated, Tottenham were in serious danger of relegation, but a vital victory at Aston Villa gave them the edge over West Ham who fell on the final day.

Week 31 – On Friday evening Bournemouth twice levelled to draw at home to Manchester United who had been reduced to 10 players while on Saturday Liverpool lost 2-1 at Brighton for whom Danny Welbeck scored twice and a Beto brace was instrumental in Chelsea’s 3-0 downfall at Everton. Burnley ended up with 10 players as they lost the lead and the match 3-1 at Fulham and Brentford dew 0-0 at Leeds while on Sunday as Manchester City were beating Arsenal 2-0 to win the League Cup at Wembley, Tottenham were being humiliated 3-0 at hoe to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest. Sunderland came from behind to celebrate a 2-1 win at Newcastle and West Ham lost 2-0 at Aston Villa.

Week 32 – Konstantinos Mavropanos and Valentin Castellanos scored twice each for West Ham as the hosts punished Wolves 4-0 on Friday evening while on Saturday Arsenal suffered a huge blow to their title hopes when they lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth and Everton scored in stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw at Brentford for whom Igor Thiago scored both goals. Mats Wieffer scored both goals of the match in Brighton’s win at Burnley and Liverpool put 2 past their visitors from Fulham while on Sunday Manchester City closed the gap with Arsenal with 3 second-half goals at Chelsea. Jean-Philippe Mateta came off the bench at Selhurst Park to turn the match around with 2 late goals and give Crystal Palace a 2-1 win against Newcastle while Tottenham fell to a single goal at Sunderland and Aston Villa drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest. On Monday evening Noah Okafor netted a brace for Leeds United at Manchester United who pulled a goal back after being reduce to 10 men.  

Week 33 – Leeds United took a step towards safety with a 3-0 victory at home to bottom of the table Wolves while Tottenham were denied a home win when Brighton levelled at 2-2 deep into stoppage time and Newcastle were defeated 2-1 by their visitors from Bournemouth. A single goal gave Manchester United a win at Chelsea while there were no goals between Brentford and Fulham. On Sunday, in a 7-goal thriller at Aston Villa, Ollie Watkins netted a brace for the hosts but Sunderland fought back from 3-1 down to level with 2 late goals only to lose to a goal in stoppage time while Liverpool scored deep into added-on time to beat Everton 2-1 in their first Merseyside derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Morgan Gibbs-White scored 3 times at the City Ground as a 4-1 victory for Nottingham Forest pushed Burnley closer to relegation. In the battle of the top two, Arsenal lost 2-1 at Manchester City and on Monday evening West Ham United earned a point in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace, resulting in the relegation of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Week 34 – With the FA Cup semi-final matches at the weekend, several matches were played during the week. On Tuesday Brighton brushed visitors Chelsea aside 3-0 ending Liam Rosenior's short stint as Chelsea manager and on Wednesday Bournemouth twice took the lead but their visitors from Leeds earned a 2-2 draw with a goal late into stoppage time while Burnley were relegated I front of their home crowd as Manchester City scored an early goal to go above Arsenal on goals scored. On Friday Nottingham Forest thrashed Sunderland 5-0 at the Stadium of Light with 4 of the goals coming in the first half and on Saturday Tottenham finally won when they scored the only goal of the match at Wolves while West Ham United stayed above dotted line with a 2-1 home win over Everton and Arsenal picked up a nervous 1-0 win at home to Newcastle. Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Anfield while Aston Villa suffered a 1-0 loss at Fulham and on Monday Manchester United picked up a 2-1 win at home to Brentford.

Week 35 – On Friday evening Leeds United took a step closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Burnley at Elland Road while on Saturday West Ham suffered a 3-0 loss at Brentford and 10 men from Sunderland drew 1-1 at Wolves. Arsenal put 3 past Fulham in the first half with a double from Viktor Gyökeres and Newcastle enjoyed a 3-1 win over their visitors from Brighton while on Sunday Tottenham picked up a vital 2-1 win at Aston Villa. Liverpool fought back from 2 early goals to level, but lost 3-2 at Manchester United and Crystal Palace were beaten 3-0 at Bournemouth while on Monday Chelsea lost 3-1 at home to Nottingham Forest for whom Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice and in a thrilling match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium Thierno Barry netted a brace for Everton who took a 3-1 lead, but Manchester City earned a 3-3 draw when Jérémy Doku completed his double with a wonder strike with virtually the last kick of the match.

Week 36 – Liverpool drew 1-1 with Chelsea at Anfield while Manchester United played a goalless match at Sunderland and with both teams reduced to 10 players, a single goal gave Bournemouth a win at Fulham. Brighton struck twice in the first 5 minutes and added another late in the match to send Wolves home with their tails between their legs while Manchester City scored 3 times after the hour mark at home to Brentford and on Sunday Burnley drew 2-2 with Aston Villa as did Crystal Palace with Everton while Nottingham Forest scored late to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United. Arsenal scored a vital goal to win at West Ham while on Monday Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds and on Manchester City put 3 past Crystal Palace to keep the pressure on league leaders Arsenal.

 Week 37 – The fixtures began on Friday evening when Virgil van Dijk scored both goals for Liverpool who were thumped 4-2 at Aston Villa for whom Ollie Watkins netted a brace ensuring a spot in the Champions League for Villa. No league matches took place on Saturday as the focus was on Wembley where Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 to lift the FA Cup trophy, but on Sunday the Premier League resumed and Manchester Unites cemented third place with a 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford while Sunderland enjoyed a 3-1 win at Everton and William Osula scored twice as West Ham lost 3-1 at Newcastle, leaving them perilously close to the drop. Crystal Palace drew 2-2 at Brentford for whom Dango Ouattara scored both goals while Fulham drew 1-1 at Wolves and Leeds United scored the only goal of the match late in stoppage time to beat Brighton at Elland Road. On Monday Arsenal took a step closer to the title with a single goal at home to relegated side Burnley and on Tuesday they were confirmed champions of England when Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth while Tottenham lost 2-1 at Chelsea.

Week 38 – West Ham United’s spirited 3-0 win at home to Leeds United ended in profound sadness as they were relegated after Tottenham celebrated safety with a single goal in front of their home fans against Everton while Wolves drew 1-1 at Burnley to finish bottom of the league. Newly crowned champions, Arsenal, won 2-1 at Crystal Palace while Manchester City finished 7 points behind them after losing 2-1 at home to Aston Villa and Manchester United scored 3 times without reply at Brighton. Brentford drew 1-1 at Liverpool but missed out on a European spot while Sunderland earned a European place with a 2-1 victory at home to 10-man Chelsea and Bournemouth drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest while Fulham beat their visitors from Newcastle 2-0 to finish above them in the middle of the table. Coventry, Ipswich and Hull City were promoted to the Premier League.

 Final Premier League table 2025-2026