2016/17 · Rebuilt without Manchester City
For real, Arsenal finished fifth in 2016/17, outside the top four for the first time in 20 years. Take Manchester City out and Arsène Wenger's side finish third on 74, straight into the Champions League group stage.
The story
On 5 November 2016 Andy Murray became the world number one, the first British player to reach it in the modern era. The same day Marten de Roon equalised for Middlesbrough in injury time at the Etihad, and Manchester City slipped to second. They were not top again all season.
Pep Guardiola's first six league games brought six wins, and City led the table on every matchday but one from 28 August to the end of October. They finished third on 78, 15 points behind the champions.
The champions were Antonio Conte's Chelsea. After a 3–0 defeat at Arsenal on 24 September, Conte switched to 3-4-3 against Hull a week later, and Chelsea went on to win 13 league games in a row. They finished with 30 wins from 38, the first English side to reach 30 top-flight wins in a 38-game season.
Arsenal's spring went the other way. Bayern Munich knocked them out of the Champions League 10–2 on aggregate, and before the 2–2 draw with City on 2 April supporters protested against Arsène Wenger. They finished fifth on 75, a point behind Liverpool, then beat Chelsea 2–1 in the FA Cup final on 27 May, Arsenal's 13th FA Cup and Wenger's seventh, both records.
The table
Clubs lose only the points they took off City, so a club that lost both games loses nothing. Everyone who finished below City moves up a place automatically; we count it as a change only when a club climbs further, or its fate changes.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | Move | Real pos | Real pts | City pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ChelseaChampions | 87 | +49 | No change | 1st | 93 | −6 | 36 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 80 | 31 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur (top four) | 82 | +58 | No change | 2nd | 86 | −4 | 36 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 82 | 24 |
| 3 | Arsenal (top four) | 74 | +34 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 5th | 75 | −1 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 74 | 40 |
| 4 | Liverpool (top four) | 72 | +35 | No change | 4th | 76 | −4 | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 76 | 41 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 68 | +26 | Up 1 place | 6th | 69 | −1 | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 53 | 27 |
| 6 | Everton | 57 | +14 | Up 1 place | 7th | 61 | −4 | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 57 | 43 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | −6 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 9th | 46 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 55 | 61 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion | 45 | −2 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 10th | 45 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 44 |
| 9 | Southampton | 45 | −4 | Down 1 place | 8th | 46 | −1 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 40 | 44 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 45 | −11 | Up 1 place | 11th | 45 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 46 | 57 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 43 | −12 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 13th | 44 | −1 | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 52 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 41 | −7 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 14th | 41 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 49 | 56 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 41 | −16 | Down 1 place | 12th | 44 | −3 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 43 | 59 |
| 14 | Swansea City | 41 | −22 | Up 1 place | 15th | 41 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 65 |
| 15 | Burnley | 40 | −14 | Up 1 place | 16th | 40 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 37 | 51 |
| 16 | Watford | 40 | −21 | Up 1 place | 17th | 40 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 40 | 61 |
| 17 | Hull City (relegated) | 34 | −38 | Up 1 place | 18th | 34 | 0 | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 36 | 74 |
| 18 | Middlesbrough (relegated) | 26 | −26 | Up 1 place | 19th | 28 | −2 | 36 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 24 | 50 |
| 19 | Sunderland (relegated) | 24 | −37 | Up 1 place | 20th | 24 | 0 | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 28 | 65 |
The real movers: Arsenal, Bournemouth, West Brom, Stoke and Palace climb two places; Southampton and Leicester are the only clubs to fall.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 93 | +52 | 38 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 85 | 33 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 86 | +60 | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 86 | 26 |
| 3 | Manchester CityRemoved | 78 | +41 | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 80 | 39 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 76 | +36 | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 78 | 42 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 75 | +33 | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 77 | 44 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 69 | +25 | 38 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 54 | 29 |
| 7 | Everton | 61 | +18 | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 62 | 44 |
| 8 | Southampton | 46 | −7 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 41 | 48 |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | −12 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 55 | 67 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 45 | −8 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 51 |
| 11 | West Ham United | 45 | −17 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 47 | 64 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 44 | −15 | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 63 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 44 | −15 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 56 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 41 | −13 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 50 | 63 |
| 15 | Swansea City | 41 | −25 | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 45 | 70 |
| 16 | Burnley | 40 | −16 | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 39 | 55 |
| 17 | Watford | 40 | −28 | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 40 | 68 |
| 18 | Hull City | 34 | −43 | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 37 | 80 |
| 19 | Middlesbrough | 28 | −26 | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 27 | 53 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 24 | −40 | 38 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 29 | 69 |
20 clubs, 38 games each. Rebuilt from the published data; it matches the published final table in two independent sources.
What changed
The top four
Two points ahead of Liverpool rather than one behind, and into the Champions League group stage.
Chelsea beat City home and away, so they lose six points, more than any other club. They win the league by five instead of seven.
Spurs lose four points and finish second on 82, in White Hart Lane's last season: 17 home league wins, two draws and no defeats.
Top four Changes
For real
Arsenal 5th
75 points: the Europa League, as FA Cup winners
Without City
Arsenal 3rd
74 points: straight into the Champions League group stage
Arsenal's best day against City came at Wembley in April, when Alexis Sánchez scored in the 101st minute of the FA Cup semi-final. In the league, City were worth a single point to Arsenal all season.
Beaten 2–1 at the Etihad on 18 December, Arsenal lose nothing from that game. The 2–2 at home on 2 April is the point that goes, and they finish on 74.
Liverpool lose more. Wijnaldum's header beat City at Anfield on New Year's Eve, and they drew 1–1 at the Etihad in March. Both results go, four points in all, and Liverpool finish on 72.
That puts Arsenal third, two points clear of Liverpool in fourth. Manchester United finish fifth and reach the Champions League as they did for real, by winning the Europa League final in Stockholm. Arsenal's own accounts describe what fifth meant for their income.
The stakes
£34.6m
Arsenal's football revenue fell from £422.8m to £388.2m the year after fifth; the club said the fall was “mainly attributable” to the Europa League.
Source: Arsenal, financial results 2017/18 (year to 31 May 2018)
One point lighter. Two places higher.
The same three go down, and Watford stay six points clear of Hull. Middlesbrough, the only relegated club to take a point off City, lose both draws and finish 18th of 19.
Careers in the rebuilt table Changes
Two Arsenal careers that end the season in the Champions League.
Alexis Sánchez Top four without City
Alexis Sánchez played all 38 of Arsenal's league games and was their top scorer, with 24. In reality it all ended in fifth place and the Europa League. In the rebuilt table the same season ends 3rd, in the Champions League group stage.
Arsenal 2016/17 · 38 league apps · 5th → 3rd, Champions League group stage
Danny Welbeck Top four without City
Danny Welbeck played 16 league games for Arsenal in 2016/17, and without City they finish 3rd. He had joined Arsenal on transfer deadline day in September 2014. United are the rebuilt champions of 2011/12, when he played 30 league games for them, so he is on the right side of the table twice.
Arsenal 2016/17 · 16 league apps · 5th → 3rd, Champions League group stage
What if?
Only Arsenal's fate changes, so there is one question, and it is about them.
Door 1
Without City, Arsenal go into the summer of 2017 as a Champions League club. In reality they went into it as FA Cup winners in fifth. How different would that summer have looked?
Read the club's own words and the answer sounds like a lot. The chairman's statement for the year to 31 May 2017 named the blow as “dropping out of the Premier League's top four for the first time in 20 years”. It even showed in the wages: the club said the comparison was distorted by there being “no players' Champions League qualification bonus” in that year's figures.
Watch what the club did and it sounds like much less. On 31 May, four days after the Cup final, Wenger signed a contract extension until 2019. That summer Alexandre Lacazette arrived for £45m, Arsenal's record fee. Neither decision waited for the Champions League.
Then came 2017/18. Arsenal finished sixth on 63 points, and on 20 April 2018 Wenger announced he was leaving. Third place pays that bonus and takes fifth out of the argument. Whether it changes the sixth that followed is the part nobody can check.
Over to you. Third place and a Champions League autumn: does Wenger still announce he is leaving in April 2018?
2016/17 is one of the seasons covered by the charges the Premier League referred to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. On 25 September 2026 BBC Sport, The Athletic and Sky Sports reported that the commission had found City in breach of Premier League rules. The Premier League has not published the decision, City say the process is ongoing, reports say City are expected to appeal, and no sanction has been announced (as of 27 September 2026).
Arsenal were among the four clubs The Times reported in November 2024 had lodged legal notices reserving the right to claim compensation if City were found in breach. More on the case: the nine-season summary
Reference · Every club
Where every club finishes without City.
The only club to beat City twice in the league, so they lose the most: six points. 87 points, still first.
Games against City
The 2–0 win in October and the 2–2 in January both go. White Hart Lane's last season: the most league goals and the fewest conceded, and Kane's 29 won the Golden Boot.
Games against City
Arsenal lose the 1 point they took off City. 74 points: 3rd, not 5th.
Games against City
The four points they took off City go. 72 points, still fourth, two behind Arsenal.
Games against City
Beaten 2–1 at home in September, so that game costs nothing; the 0–0 in April, when Fellaini was sent off, costs a point. 68 points, 5th.
Games against City
The 1–1 at the Etihad, when Stekelenburg saved penalties from De Bruyne and Agüero, and the 4–0 at Goodison Park, Everton's largest Premier League win over City, both go. 57 points, 6th.
Games against City
Beaten 4–0 away and 2–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 46 points: 7th, not 9th.
Games against City
Beaten 4–0 at home and 3–1 away by City, so no points come off. 45 points: 8th, not 10th.
Level on 45 points with Southampton; ahead on goal difference (−2 v −4).
Games against City
The 1–1 at the Etihad goes, and Bournemouth and West Brom, who lost both City games, pass them. 45 points, 9th instead of 8th.
Level on 45 points with West Brom; behind on goal difference (−4 v −2).
Games against City
Beaten 3–1 away and 4–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 45 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 45 points with West Brom; behind on goal difference (−11 v −2).
Games against City
Stoke lose the 1 point they took off City. 43 points: 11th, not 13th.
Games against City
Beaten 2–1 at home and 5–0 away by City, so no points come off. 41 points: 12th, not 14th.
Level on 41 points with Leicester; ahead on goal difference (−7 v −16).
Games against City
The 4–2 win in December, with Vardy's hat-trick, goes. 41 points, 13th instead of 12th.
Level on 41 points with Palace; behind on goal difference (−16 v −7).
Games against City
Beaten 3–1 at home and 2–1 away by City, so no points come off. 41 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 41 points with Palace; behind on goal difference (−22 v −7).
Games against City
Beaten 2–1 at home and 2–1 away by City, so no points come off. 40 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 40 points with Watford; ahead on goal difference (−14 v −21).
Games against City
Beaten 2–0 away and 5–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 40 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 40 points with Burnley; behind on goal difference (−21 v −14).
Games against City
Beaten twice by City, so no points come off. 34 points, 17th of 19, and 80 goals conceded, the most in the league. They went down on 14 May, beaten 4–0 at Crystal Palace.
Games against City
Middlesbrough lose the 2 points they took off City. 26 points, 18th of 19.
Games against City
Their season began at the Etihad on 13 August, David Moyes's first match in charge and Pep Guardiola's first at City, lost 2–1 to an 87th-minute own goal. They lost both games to City, so keep all 24 points, and ten years in the top flight end either way.
Games against City
Reference · The 38 games
City won 23, drew 9 and lost 6. Those 15 results were worth 27 points to ten clubs, and they are the only points that come off.
9
of 19 clubs lose nothing at all
15
of City's 38 league games cost them points