There is no doubt that the Premier League has been dominated by so-called Big Six clubs, consisting of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. 

These six teams have distinguished themselves from other clubs in the division thanks to financial power, influence, global fan bases, quality of players in their squads and the success in terms of silverware. 

Despite the growing off-field fame shared by all of them, there are stark differences in the on-field results among the clubs in recent years, with some separating themselves as clear winners and others not very successful. 

Following the conclusion of the 2025/26 Premier League season, Peoples Gazette took a cursory review of the league highlights of each of the six teams on the pitch over the last 10 years. 

Manchester City 

City spent the whole of the duration under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, who announced that he would be leaving the club once his contract expires in the summer, with former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca set to replace him. 

Guardiola completely transformed the status of the club into currently the most dominant club in England, winning six league titles in the past 10 years to emerge the clear winner among the Big Six teams. 

City have not finished below fourth place since the 2015/16 season.

League record: Six titles, second place (3), third place (1) and fourth place (1).

Liverpool 

The Reds are the far second most successful team in the league within the same period, with two league titles in their trophy cabinet. The first title came in the 2019/20 season to end Liverpool’s 30-year league title drought. 

Since then, Liverpool have placed second, third and fourth twice respectively. The Reds also recorded fifth and eighth endings in the period under consideration. 

League record: Two titles, second place (2), third place (2), fourth place (2), fifth place (2) and eighth place (1). 

Arsenal 

The Gunners are the latest entrant to the list of Big Six clubs that have lifted the Premier League title in the last 10 years. After years of coming close, Mikel Arteta’s side finally got the job done to end Arsenal’s 22-year wait to win the league. 

The signs were there that Arsenal would cross the finish line after finishing second consecutively in the previous three seasons. Before that, Arsenal had recorded three fifth place finishes since the 2015/16 season.

Arsenal finished eighth two times and sixth once. With Guardiola gone, the Gunners are expected to use the opportunity to further enrich their trophy cabinet. 

League record: One title, second place (4), fifth (3), sixth (1) and eight (2). 

Chelsea 

Chelsea have experienced mixed fortunes on and off the pitch in the past decade. The Blues have won just one league title within the period which was during the 2016/17 campaign.

Subsequently, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced by the United Kingdom government to sell the club in 2022 over his alleged ties with President Vladimir Putin in the aftermath of Russia invasion of Ukraine.

Many Chelsea fans maintain the sale has caused the club’s overall performance to dwindle as they have not finished above fourth position since the change of ownership.

League record: One title, third place (2), fourth place (3), fifth place (1), sixth place (1), 10th place (2) and 12th place (1). 

Manchester United 

The Red Devils are one of the two Big Six clubs without any Premier League trophy since the 2015/16 season, qualifying them as on-pitch losers in the last 10 years after dominating England decades prior. 

Manchester United recorded two second-place finishes, three third-place finishes, one fifth-place finish, one eighth-place finish, and one 15th-place finish during the period under review.

League record: Zero title, second place (2), third place (3), fifth place (1), sixth place (3), eighth (1) and 15th (1).

Tottenham 

Spurs are the other Big Six team without a Premier League trophy in the past 10 years. In fact, they haven’t won the title since the top flight division rebranded as the Premier League in 1992.

Tottenham have only come close once within the timeline when the club finished second during the 2016/17 campaign, making them another loser among their fellow Big Six. 

They have recorded mixed results since then — from third place to relegation battles. 

Spurs had to wait until the final day of the season in the just concluded campaign to secure their safety following their relegation battle with West Ham United. 

League record: Zero title, second place (1), third place (2), fourth place (2), fifth place (1), sixth place (1), seventh place (1), eighth place (1), and 17th (2).