Premier League Round-Up: Talking Points

The season is done, another riveting Premier League season came to an end on Sunday with Man City crowned as champions of England once more, it was only the relegation scrap that remained as a point of intrigue. Bet Central brings you 5 talking points as the season concluded.

Man City Are Deserved Champions

They weren’t perfect in their start to the campaign, but they kept up the pace with Arsenal knowing that if the London side slipped up they would be on hand to take advantage and for that alone, they deserved their championship. They could have easily shifted focus to the Champions League at the end of the season, but they kept at it in pursuit of a 3^rd league title in a row.

Pep Guardiola’s dazzling style of football also made their game more appealing than most teams and nothing is better than watching attractive football win games. Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva strung together a beautiful attacking game, Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland were inspired signings, Ilkay Gundogan was a titan and it all came together beautifully.

Arsenal Under Mikel Arteta Are On The Right Track

Despite falling away in the end, Arsenal did not disgrace themselves in the Premier League this season. In fact, they made far more progress than has been evident since the days of Arsene Wenger at the helm. Mikel Arteta clearly has a plan and a very good one at that, he just needs to bring in a few more pieces to complete the puzzle. 

The growth and progression of both wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka were pleasing to see, as was the combination between Gabriel and William Saliba at the back. Martin Odegaard was sensational in midfield while Granit Xhaka also contributed positively. Some additional depth up front will be welcome in this off-season and one more central defender.

Brighton, The Best Of The Rest

When Graham Potter left for Chelsea, everyone thought that Brighton & Hove Albion were doomed to be basement dwellers, in came Roberto de Zerbi and the team went to a whole new level with the heart of the team being a sprinkling of young South American talent. That is why they are the best team in the league away from the traditional big 6 of City, Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal

The football the team played at times was breathtaking. Brighton refused to go into their shell even against the bigger sides – they went toe to toe with the best. The midfield duo of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Alister were outstanding combining guile on the ball with incredible work rate. Roberto de Zerbi’s biggest task this off-season will be keeping a hold of this duo who are attracting offers across Europe.

A Season To Forget At Stamford Bridge

The promise of a new dawn quickly turned into a miserable 1^st season under the new owners at Chelsea this season. Chelsea ran through 3 coaches and just completed the hiring of a 4^th one in Mauricio Pochettino – the middle 2 were never good enough for the job. The biggest mistake of the season was the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel who began the season with Chelsea – it seemed to destabilise everything around the club.

The new ownership was also trigger-happy at the beginning of the season getting rid of a lot of people who had been crucial to the success of Chelsea in the Roman Abramovich era like Marina Granovskaia. Pochettino has a massive job on his hands in trimming down a massive squad and finding the players that will fit his plan in the long run, but his biggest task is making sure Chelsea are a lot better than the recently concluded season.

End Of An Era For Leicester City

From their great escape a season after they gained promotion in 2015 through to the against-all-odds 5000-1 Premier League winning title in 2016, Leicester City have been a great source of thrills and spills in the top flight of English football. But it has all come to an end after their relegation was confirmed on Sunday despite a win over West Ham.

Ageing stars like Jonny Evans and Jamie Vardy are not likely to kick a ball in the Premier League again, so this relegation is an end of an era. Leicester City have entertained and will be missed in the top flight, but they have the structure and finances to quickly come back into the Premier League – they just need to make the right decisions.