How to Win the Premier League

 by Nikhil Patel

Mikel Arteta

In England we are very lucky to have such an exceptional football system. From the premier league to national league, we are surrounded by quality football clubs everywhere. The best of the best compete in the Premier league, which is widely considered as the most competitive football league in the world. Winning leads to eternal glory for all involved, whereas relegation is the lowest of humiliation. Right now Arsenal (my club), are at the top and are right now the bookies favourite (I’m sure Erling Haaland will have something to say about that). Therefore in the spirit of the promise that this season has, I thought it would be interesting to explore what any team needs to do in order to win the most coveted title in English football.

Firstly, your home form must be impeccable. Right now, out of 24 available points from home, Arsenal have won 22. Whilst other teams (Man City, Man Utd and Newcastle) have the same number of points at home, Arsenal have more games in hand than the rest. Therefore Arsenal currently have the best home form in the Premier league. If we look at the past winners, (generally) the team with the best home form has gone on to win. Two notable exceptions to this are Liverpool 20/21 and Spurs in 16/17. Other than that the team with the most home points almost always wins. This makes sense as youve got your galvanised fans cheering you on when you're at home. The lowest number of points won at home by a winner was Arsenal in 01/02. Yet they had won the most points at home that season. Most notably in the 20/21 season, Liverpool won the most home points despite coming second in the league (finishing on a remarkable 92 overall points, it was Man Citys centurion season). So if we ignore Jurgen Klopps unfortunate yet remarkable season (they won the champions league so I dont think he was too sad), the team with the most points at home tends to go on to win the title.

Secondly there are clean sheets. American ‘Hand egg’ coach Bear Bryant once said that ‘offense wins games, defence wins championships’. At the moment, Newcastle leads the league in least goals conceded (11) and clean sheets. The number of clean sheets a team keeps during a Premier League season can be an indicator of their defensive strength and overall team performance. Teams that are able to keep more clean sheets are likely to have a more solid defense and may be more likely to win the league. 

Thirdly, a team needs to have a good balance of youth and experience. Youth brings energy and new ideas, while experience brings stability and leadership. Teams that have a good mix of both are more likely to succeed. Manchester United in the 2012/13 season is a great example of this. They had a young and exciting team with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and David De Gea, but also had experienced leaders like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. This balance helped them win the title. If we look at current teams, both Arsenal and Man City are both fine examples of this aswell. Just looking at my team of Arsenal, the products of hale end academy (Saka, Reiss Nelson, Smith Rowe) as well as other young players such as Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Martinelli, when combined with the maturity

Finally, a team needs to have a good manager. A good manager can make a huge difference in a team's performance. They need to be able to motivate and inspire their players, as well as make the right tactical decisions. Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles with Manchester United, is a great example of a successful manager. Famous for his ‘hairdryer treatment’ and ‘squeaky bum time’, Sir Alex was a winner. The Scott was at times abrasive and heavy handed, something which Man Utd legend Roy Keane said he’d never forgive. However he was also one of the great motivators in football, once telling the story of a group of Chilean miners to inspire his team. If we look at the current crop of managers in the premier league (or really those who have half a chance of making the top four), you have serial winners such as city’s Pep Guardiola, Liverpools Jurgen Klopp, and Spurs’ Conte. Then you have the less experienced but equally hungry, Arteta, Howe and Ten Hag. If we look at the model of someone such as Sor Alex, Klopp fits the mould. But the German lacks the materials around him to even make the top four at this point. The favourites in City and Arsenal also show these traits. Fans know from the all or nothing series on Amazon know that both Guardiola and Arteta possess all the traits of a top manager. Arteta was Guardiola's assistant for several years, so the fact it seems that the title is set for a showdown of master vs apprentice.

These are all things that can help a team win that most coveted title, but there is no metric for grit, determination and the effect of the twelfth man (the fans). At the end of the day, stats and history only tell us so much. The premier league is the most competitive in the world, and quite frankly, the mental health of millions relays heavily upon it. Only time will tell who will win, but I can tell you this : it won’t be Spurs.