Have Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle, Man City, Spurs, Chelsea, Forest and Aston Villa had successful seasons?

Liverpool: Winning the PL title the ultimate definition of success

Winning the Premier League title is the ultimate definition of success – doing so with four games to play even more impressive. And Arne Slot has already defined Liverpool’s summer as a success after signing Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah up to new deals.

There was also a domestic final in the Carabao Cup, and a slender exit in the Champions League to PSG. They finished top of the league phase group, too, with time to spare.
Charlotte Marsh

Arsenal: Ignore the noise, progress still coming

Arsenal’s target at the start of the season was to win the Premier League. They would have also been hoping to improve on last season’s run to quarter finals of the Champions League and potentially go on and taste success for the first time in that competition.

The Gunners wanted silverware. Mikel Arteta wanted to win.

However, with Liverpool running away with the Premier League, a Champions league last-four exit to PSG, an early exit in the FA Cup and a semi-final defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, the reality is a fifth trophyless season under Arteta.

Is Arsenal’s season a failure? No. Can it be classed as a success? No. Is it a disappointment? That answer is a definite yes.

The Gunners have fallen well below the standards they have set themselves over the last couple of seasons. There are reasons for that drop-off, a Premier League-high 27 injuries for one, but they have managed to keep themselves respectable in the league, where other teams have not. A run to the last four of the Champions League is also not to be sniffed at.

There will be no excuse from Arsenal behind the scenes. It’s not been good enough this season and Arteta will know it, the players will know it, and of course the fans will know it too, but it is also a sign of how far the club have come under Arteta. One difficult season shouldn’t detract from how far he has dragged Arsenal.

Arguments will be made around Tottenham or Man Utd winning a trophy, despite their poor league performances. There’s no doubt that short-term success will be enjoyed, and so it should be, but long-term, would those supporters want their clubs to be in Arsenal’s position? They would, and that is what Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim are striving for long term at their respective clubs – to compete for the biggest honours in the game.

When you ignore the noise and take a step back, Arsenal’s season has not been a disaster. Winning the biggest prizes doesn’t come easy. It’s time for Arsenal to dust themselves down, improve this summer, and go again as they look to stay on the upward trajectory they have found themselves on in recent years.
Oliver Yew

Man City: Is perspective needed?

The 2024/25 season will go down as one of the worst under Pep Guardiola. Barely a sniff of a title defence, making it out of the Champions League phase on goal difference and exiting the Carabao Cup in the fourth round.

Their saving grace is reaching the FA Cup final, facing Crystal Palace on May 17. But even Guardiola admitted that winning the competition would not make up for their league campaign, saying: “The FA Cup keeps us safe. The Premier League dictates how good your season has been, and it has not been good, but it could be worse.”

Man City also faced a battle to finish in the top five and guarantee a Champions League place. However, on a run of seven unbeaten games and with Arsenal’s dip in form, there is the possibility they could finish second.

But Man City are arguably victims of their own success. Years of sustained, multiple trophy wins – including four successive Premier League titles – means one possible trophy and securing Champions League football is nothing to celebrate.

Perhaps perspective is needed, though. While Guardiola’s side have certainly underperformed compared to previous years, given their two months of turmoil between October and December when they won just one game in all competitions in the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, to potentially come away with something tangible marks a good recovery – even if Guardiola may disagree.
Charlotte Marsh

Newcastle: Carabao Cup win ensures historic campaign

This one is pretty straightforward. Newcastle’s season went down as a success the moment the final whistle blew at the end of their Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool in March.

The 2-1 victory at Wembley ended a 70-year wait for silverware. It sparked jubilant celebrations among players and fans and also served as a turning point in the side’s Premier League season.

Newcastle lost four out of seven games leading into the Carabao Cup final, but have won five out of seven since, only losing once and putting themselves in an excellent position to clinch a Champions League finish in addition to a first trophy since 1969. There may be more celebrations to come.
Nick Wright

Chelsea: Champions League return the real measure of success

Enzo Maresca says winning the Conference League would show Chelsea are “back” after several turbulent seasons. A European trophy would mark the high point of the head coach’s career, but it will take more than winning UEFA’s third-tier competition to make their season a success.

Chelsea’s budget dwarfs that of every other side in the Conference League. Lifting the trophy against Real Betis in Wroclaw later this month represents the bare minimum.

The real test of whether their campaign has been a positive one depends on qualifying for the Champions League. Chelsea have won the competition twice in the last 13 years. They have invested over £1bn on players since 2022. They simply have to return to competing with Europe’s elite.

Maresca looked set to achieve just that as the season approached its midway point, even feeling the need to dampen talk of a title challenge.

But 2025 has been troublesome. Chelsea now require positive results against Champions League rivals Newcastle and Nottingham Forest if they want to finish in the top five. Maresca has also alienated significant sections of the fanbase with his occasionally sterile brand of football, as well as several misguided public comments.

To the Italian’s credit, he has steadied the ship in recent weeks and will surely lead Chelsea to their first trophy since that night in Porto four years ago.

But their season is still on a knife edge. Pair silverware with a top-five finish and Maresca will have achieved par for the course. But missing out on the Champions League once again – especially from such a position of strength in mid-season – would represent failure for Maresca, his team and Chelsea’s ambitious owners.
Joe Shread

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest were level with Arsenal at the start of February, six points clear of fourth. When they beat Manchester United at the beginning of April, that gap to fourth had increased to eight points and Champions League qualification appeared theirs.

But the slump that has followed has left Nuno Espirito Santo’s side outside the top five. Failing to pick up a single point from back-to-back home fixtures against Everton and Brentford has led to a feeling of frustration at what could be a missed opportunity.

Forest fans know that their overriding emotion should be gratitude given that they finished one spot above the relegation zone last season – the worst of the rest. But what a chance this still is for the club to transform their prospects in the medium term.

Any European football would have been a welcome surprise in August. Forest have been to Wembley and enjoyed many magical moments at the City Ground. But with hopes raised, fans crave the perfect ending now – and that means Champions League.

It is still possible. Forest have won all 10 matches they have played against the bottom six so far and two more remain. Winning those against Leicester and West Ham would set up a showdown with Chelsea by the Trent on the final day. It could be very special indeed.
Adam Bate

Aston Villa: Can success be measured in enjoyment?

Beating Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in their return to Europe’s elite competition for the first time in 42 years will live long in the memory of their supporters, as well as the spirited comeback that almost was against Luis Enrique’s side, who have since booked their place in the final.

Aside from their European tour, the strong and consistent form in the Premier League has given them a fighting chance of securing a top-five spot to build on those Champions League memories next season.

However, there is a real chance that Villa will walk away from this memorable season with nothing to show for it.

The debate hinges on what you want from football. Is success completely defined by silverware or can it be measured on pure enjoyment and delight?

To suggest it hasn’t been a resounding success would be a narrow-minded approach.

With more games than ever – and a new intensity to deal with – Villa have not only balanced Champions League and domestic football, they have thrived.

Two defeats to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup semi-final will linger in the driven mind of Unai Emery but the priorities were always clear. League form first with one eye on being competitive in midweek.

Elsewhere, Morgan Rogers has continued his meteoric rise at the highest level, world-class talents Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford have raised the standards and, even if they are forced to settle for the Europa League, Villa can hold their heads high.

No manager has won the trophy more than Emery. Champions League football might not be at Villa Park next season, but he will be. It could be a blessing in disguise to end that 29-year wait for silverware.
Patrick Rowe

Man Utd’s failure is another team’s success

Only two managers, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, can truly claim to have been successful at Manchester United, but achievement at Old Trafford is measured differently to most clubs because of the standards set by those two legendary figures.

This is apparent when you consider United, at their lowest ebb for 30 years, have reached five major finals in the last five seasons. If they beat Spurs in the Europa League final on May 21, it will be their third piece of major silverware in that time.

No one could seriously argue the case for United being in the conversation about the best teams in England over the past five years which, after all, is the ultimate aim at Old Trafford.

But Liverpool have that same record in finals over that period. Man City and Chelsea are the only sides to reach more (6). Arsenal, the second-best team in England for the best part of three years, haven’t made one, losing their last four semi-finals.

Ruben Amorim is right to say the season cannot be saved, whatever happens in Bilbao, because, as seen under Erik ten Hag, silverware doesn’t always translate into league success, the measure United will always live and die by.

Beating Spurs in the final on May 21, however, would at least give United something to show for their season – and Champions League qualification, which, for some clubs, will be the only prize they take home.

Only Liverpool, really – and perhaps City, if they lift the FA Cup – could argue to have had a better season than whichever team is victorious in Bilbao. Football, after all, is about winning trophies, not top-five finishes.
Zinny Boswell

Tottenham: Europa League glory would make season a success despite a lowly PL finish

It has been 17 years since Tottenham last won a trophy. You have to go back 41 years since they last won a European title.

The thirst for silverware at Spurs has never been greater.

Watching Newcastle’s joyous scenes in March at Wembley and then the open-top bus parade around the city after their Carabao Cup final win – which ended an even longer trophy drought than Spurs’ – only heightened the north London club’s desire for silverware success.

You do not get such scenes for Champions League qualification. There is no honours board showing top-four finishes, but there is one for trophies.

Spurs fans are always mocked for the club’s lack of recent silverware and a dusty trophy cabinet, but this month’s final in Bilbao is the chance to change that narrative.

Glory in Spain would make up for a disastrous Premier League campaign, which has seen them lose an alarming 19 games.

It is clear that the domestic campaign has been abysmal, but there is no chance those Spurs fans in Bilbao would suddenly temper any potential celebrations because they embarrassingly lost at home to relegated Leicester and Ipswich earlier this season.

That would all be forgotten because a trophy means everything right now, and a European one would be even more special.

But with Spurs all-in on the Europa League, it is a dangerous high-wire act for boss Ange Postecoglou.

He will either be a hero for delivering on his promise of “always winning things in his second season” and in the process, possibly save his job.

Or, he will be a villain for presiding over what is set to be their worst Premier League campaign in history and would almost certainly leave the club.

There is no middle ground here for the Australian.

Europa League glory to end the infamous trophy drought and qualify for the Champions League, despite a potential club-record Premier League low finish, would be a successful season for Spurs.
Declan Olley