Winning four in a row shouldn't be possible. Honestly, the level of consistency required to keep 20-something millionaires motivated after they’ve already won everything is a psychological feat we don't talk about enough. But that’s exactly what Manchester City did. They didn't just win; they outlasted an Arsenal side that looked, for long stretches, like the better team.
The 2023 24 Premier League season was weird. It was the year of the "never-ending" match, with stoppage time regularly hitting double digits. It was the year Sheffield United's defense basically went on vacation, conceding a record-breaking 104 goals. And yeah, it was the year VAR somehow got even more polarizing.
Why the 2023 24 Premier League Title Race Felt Different
Usually, when a team wins the league with 91 points, you say they cruised. City didn't cruise. Arsenal pushed them until the very last Sunday. Mikel Arteta’s squad finished with 89 points—a total that would have won the league in almost any other era. They were
defensively rock solid, but they lacked that one "X-factor" moment when it mattered most.
Remember the 0-0 draw at the Etihad in March? Most people called it boring. In reality, it was a tactical chess match that eventually handed City the keys. Arsenal played for the draw, got it, and then watched as Pep Guardiola’s machine simply refused to drop points for the rest of the spring. City went on a 9-game winning streak to close the season. Talk about inevitable.
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The Klopp Farewell That Sorta Fizzled
We have to talk about Liverpool. For a while, it felt like the stars were aligning for a fairytale ending for Jurgen Klopp. They won the Carabao Cup in February with a bunch of teenagers, and the "quadruple" talk started heating up. Then, the wheels just... fell off.
A string of draws and a painful loss to Everton in the Merseyside derby effectively ended their title hopes by April. It wasn't the "blaze of glory" everyone expected. Instead, it was a quiet, emotional 2-0 win over Wolves on the final day. Third place. Respectable, sure, but Klopp deserved a closer fight.
The Chaos at the Bottom: 66 Points and a Record
If you were a fan of a newly promoted club, the 2023 24 Premier League was a nightmare. For the first time since 1997, all three teams that came up went straight back down. Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United. They were basically the "Three Musketeers" of disappointment.
Luton was the only one that actually put up a fight. Kenilworth Road became a genuine "banana skin" for big teams. But Sheffield United? Man, it was rough. They conceded 101 goals by May 11th and finished with 104. You can't stay in the most expensive league in the world if you're conceding nearly three goals every time you step on the pitch.
- Manchester City: 91 points (Champions)
- Arsenal: 89 points (Second place)
- Luton Town: 26 points (Relegated)
- Burnley: 24 points (Relegated)
- Sheffield United: 16 points (Relegated)
Aston Villa: The Real Success Story Nobody Predicted
While everyone was obsessing over the top three, Unai Emery was busy turning Aston Villa into a juggernaut. They finished fourth. Let that sink in. Villa is playing Champions League football for the first time since the early 80s.
Ollie Watkins was arguably the player of the season if you remove the "Haaland bias." He racked up 19 goals and 13 assists. He wasn't just a poacher; he was the focal point of everything Villa did. They beat City and Arsenal in the same week in December. That was the moment we should have realized they were for real.
The VAR Elephant in the Room
We can't ignore the officiating. The Luis Diaz "offside" goal against Tottenham was the peak of the madness. It wasn't a subjective "was it a foul?" debate. It was a literal communication breakdown where the VAR officials thought the goal had been given on the field.
It changed the trajectory of Liverpool’s season. Howard Webb, the head of refereeing, had to go on TV multiple times to apologize for "significant human errors." At what point does the technology stop helping and start hurting the product? Most fans would say we hit that point about halfway through November.
Final Thoughts on the 2023 24 Premier League Legacy
The season ended with Phil Foden holding the Player of the Season trophy and Erling Haaland grabbing another Golden Boot with 27 goals. It felt like status quo on the surface, but underneath, the gap is closing. Arsenal proved they aren't "bottlers" anymore—they're just playing against a team with infinite depth and a manager who treats football like a science experiment.
If you’re looking to apply lessons from this season to your own football knowledge or even betting strategies, focus on "squad depth" over "starting XI." City won because their bench could start for almost any other team in Europe.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Watch the tactical breakdown of Arsenal's defensive structure from the second half of the season; it's the blueprint for how to challenge City.
- Keep an eye on the financial fair play (PSR) rulings, as points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest played a massive role in the final standings.
- Re-watch the highlights of the 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Manchester City—it was arguably the best game of the decade.