It was a Premier League season filled with drama from start to finish, and it finished with Arsenal ending a 22-year wait to be champions. Tottenham Hotspur avoided relegation, West Ham United dropped to the Championship after 14 years in the top flight, and Sunderland qualified for Europe. Pep Guardiola bade an emotional farewell to Manchester City, where a stand has been named after him, and Mohamed Salah delivered a tearful goodbye to Liverpool, according to Ian Darke.
Darke selected a 4-3-1-2 Team of the Year with David Raya (Arsenal) as goalkeeper. Raya was a three-time Golden Glove winner for most clean sheets and produced several standout stops, including a crucial save from Mateus Fernandes in Arsenal’s pivotal 0-0 moment at West Ham, Darke wrote.
In defence Darke picked Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) at right back, noting his long-range free kicks against Arsenal and Manchester City and his repeated deployment there despite not being a natural full back. Centre backs William Saliba and Gabriel (both Arsenal) were described as quick, alert and robust, forming the backbone of what Darke called the league’s best defence. Left back Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City) was praised for a meteoric rise from youth-team midfielder to first-choice left back for club and country and for scoring both City goals in the Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal.
The midfield three named were Granit Xhaka (Sunderland), Declan Rice (Arsenal) and Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest). Darke called Xhaka perhaps the signing of the season after his move from Bayer Leverkusen, crediting his leadership with Sunderland’s run to seventh and Europa League qualification. Rice was described as a tireless torch-bearer for Arsenal, and Anderson was noted for topping the league stats for possession won and passing and for being viewed as a surefire England starter.
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) occupied the attacking midfield role after a season in which he set a Premier League record with 21 assists, created twice as many chances as any other player and won the Footballer of the Year award as voted by the nation’s football writers and broadcasters. The front two were Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland. Semenyo moved from Bournemouth to Manchester City in January, scored on his debut and finished with 17 Premier League goals for both clubs, while Haaland began the campaign with an avalanche of goals, suffered a quiet patch with fatigue, then regained his scoring touch, according to Darke.
