The definitive history of London's rulers in the Premier League era
London is England's football city. You can barely walk a mile or two without being reminded of that.
In some ways, that's paradoxical. The north is where the nation's two most successful teams — Manchester United and Liverpool — reside, and towns up there are often noted for 'loving football in this part of the world'. Football is a working class sport after all, so that makes sense.
But the capital is city for the sport. It's irrefutable and undeniable.
There are 13 professional clubs competing in the top four divisions of English football and a further 18 competing in tiers five to eight. 10 — Arsenal, Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Wimbledon — have played in the Premier League, with seven there for the 2023/24 season.
The power shift has swung back and forth across the capital and has managed to pinpoint who's ruled London in the Premier League era.
Heading into the inaugural Premier League season, the London championship belt (proverbial in this instance, but the clubs should consider banding together to get a real one made) belonged to Arsenal.
The Gunners ended as the highest-ranked capital club by a country mile in the final year of the old Division 1, finishing in fourth place on 72 points, 15 clear of the nearest challenger in Crystal Palace. To emphasise the point that Arsenal ruled this land, they even poached the Eagles' best player — Ian Wright — during that season.
Surprisingly, Arsenal finished tenth in the 1992/93 Premier League season, and the only reason that QPR — who came fifth — don't get this crown is due to the Gunners winning both domestic cups that campaign. Sorry, Super Hoops.
Arsenal's streak of local dominance
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