Five things we learned from the 2024/25 Premier League season | OneFootball

Following the conclusion of the Premier League campaign, we’ve picked out five things we learned from the 2024/25 season.

Five things we learned from the Premier League season

Arsenal are close – but a striker is mandatory

Arsenal might have gone backwards in terms of Premier League points, but there’s no doubt that Mikel Arteta’s team are close to major trophies.

An impressive European run saw the Gunners reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 16 years, eliminating Real Madrid in unforgettable fashion. Arteta’s side again boasted the best defensive record in the Premier League, but a lack of firepower cost the North Londoners.

Leading scorer Kai Havertz ended the season on nine league goals, the first time in 101 years that Arsenal have failed to have a player reach 10+ goals in a top-flight league campaign. Arteta insisted Arsenal were the better side in their European exit and the statistics – if not eye-test – added weight to that argument.

The lack of a reliable goalscorer came back to bite Arsenal, however, and it’s an issue that must be addressed. Whether it’s Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, or another, Arsenal need to get their number nine right.

Slot shows improvement starts from within

Arne Slot’s achievements this season are being lauded after the Dutchman became just the fifth manager to win the Premier League in their debut season. Most anticipated a drop-off from Liverpool after the exit of Jurgen Klopp, but Slot steered the Reds to an unexpected title triumph.

The 46-year-old made the bold call to resist heavy investment, insisting that he wanted to evaluate his squad properly before making signings. With a short pre-season due to Euro 2024, he made just one permanent addition. That signing, the rarely seen Federico Chiesa, totalled just 104 league minutes.

Slot instead looked to nurture what was an admittedly strong inheritance. Ryan Gravenberch was a revelation in a number six role, while constructive talks with Mohamed Salah brought out the best numbers of the latter’s career. Fan culture often demands shiny new signings but Slot proved that improvement is primarily made on the training ground.

The end of the Big Six?

In recent years, the Premier League’s marquee group has been dubbed the ‘Big Six’, an informal term used to describe Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

The group each feature among Europe’s top 10 highest-earning clubs but are their days as the Premier League’s dominant group over? For the third straight season, a non-Big Six side has secured Champions League qualification, while both domestic cups were won by sides outside that group in a refreshing change.

Newcastle United and Aston Villa – the latter Champions League quarter-finalists – have genuine claims to have broken up the established order, while both Manchester United and Tottenham endured their worst-ever seasons in the Premier League era.

Few, for example, would have guessed that there would only be a six-point gap between Manchester City (1st last season) and Nottingham Forest (17th last season) at the season’s end.

With the Premier League more lucrative than ever, the gap between the elite and chasing pack does not appear as big as it once was.

Proper number nines are back in fashion

Football’s traditionalists have pulled their hair out at the concept of false nines across the past decade. Well, football comes in cycles and old-fashioned number nines are back on trend.

Chris Wood pulled up plenty of trees at Nottingham Forest this season, as the New Zealand international bagged 20 goals for the first time in a Premier League season.

Elsewhere, the 6ft 4in Jorgen Strand Larsen produced one of the season’s most underrated campaigns at Wolves, and Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta enhanced his VARclaysman status with another season to remember.

Down at Portman Road, Ipswich’s Liam Delap appeared to take equally as much enjoyment from bulldozing centre-backs as he did bulging the net.

The number nine is hot property again, with almost every leading side searching for one this summer.

Championship chasm a cause for concern

Prior to last season, just once before had all three promoted teams gone straight back down in a Premier League season.

It’s now happened in successive campaigns, with Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton struggling to compete.

Their combined return was the lowest ever recorded by the relegated sides (59), while none of the relegated teams across the last two seasons have breached 30 points. The magical 40-point mark seems a mile off.

Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland return to the division next season and each will need to invest to have any chance of survival. Sunderland’s current squad was assembled for just £18m combined, the same amount that relegated Ipswich paid for Omari Hutchinson last summer. The next lowest-cost squad in the league is Nottingham Forest (£173m).

The Premier League is a monster and it’s in danger of becoming a closed shop.

Read – Our Premier League Team of the Season for 2024/25

See more – Premier League end-of-season awards for 2024/25

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