Johnny Phillips: Challengers required to step up to dominant Man City

But looking beyond the supremacy of Pep Guardiola’s near-invincible team there was enough about the 2022/23 season to herald it an engaging if not vintage campaign.

Arsenal will be hurting after finishing the season so poorly, but Mikel Arteta deserves the plaudits for moulding the Gunners into a serious team who should be capable of challenging again.

There was so much to admire about Arsenal, and a bit more squad depth might have made the difference in the final run-in.

Critics will nod to the eight-point lead in January that was surrendered, but it was no disgrace to be pipped by an Erling Haaland-inspired City.

Eddie Howe continues to impress in management and Newcastle United’s return to the Champions League has caused great excitement among the club’s support.

It is tangible reward for an impressive season, particularly in defence, which proved to be the foundation of the success.

Roberto De Zerbi’s debut season in the Premier League was brilliant.

Graham Potter left a great team behind, but the Italian showed boldness in the way he allowed the players to express themselves going forward.

Julio Enciso, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma were a revelation, but Pascal Gross deserves a special mention too. The German midfielder had his best season yet and the Seagulls fully deserve their place in Europe.

As do Villa, who have been inspired by Unai Emery’s return to English football.

A workaholic, the former Arsenal head coach has restored his reputation in this country after a difficult first spell here.

Villa were outside the relegation zone only on goals scored when Steven Gerrard was dismissed at the end of October.

He has done it with much the same squad, and the return to form of Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins through the middle of the side has been impressive.

Emery got the big calls right, sidelining Philippe Countinho which allowed Emi Buendia a greater creative responsibility.

Where there were once doubts about the ability of some players, there are now envious glances from elsewhere at the talents within the squad, with Douglas Luiz a prime example of a player who looks the part.

It was also a great season for the promoted teams as all three survived despite some serious doubts about their capabilities. Fulham impressed most under Marco Silva. Aleksandar Mitrovic was the focal point of the attack until his eight-game ban. Further back, Joao Palhinha looks an absolute steal at £20million, bringing real authority and presence into the midfield.

Under Gary O’Neil, Bournemouth defied the odds and while there were no stand-out individuals, the impressive run of six wins in nine games during March and April secured their Premier League status.

At Nottingham Forest, Steve Cooper’s achievement was every bit as impressive as Guardiola’s given the complete overhaul of the squad that he was required to undertake. Cooper essentially had to build a team from scratch after last season’s promotion from the Championship. It took a while, but eventually signings like Taiwo Awoniyi, Felipe and Morgan Gibbs-White came good as Forest’s home form became crucial during the run-in.

And we can’t leave the subject of signings behind without a reference to Chelsea’s shambolic season.

Two managers, a caretaker and an interim and £600m spent in the transfer market saw the Blues limp to 12th in the table.

With two dressing rooms worth of misfiring players, many of whom do not particularly want to be at the club, Mauricio Pochettino will have his work cut out to trim the excess waste and mould a team capable of challenging again.

Everton rivalled Chelsea for mismanagement at board level.

Years of incoherent transfer strategies and careless spending, not to mention a succession of failed managerial appointments, left the Merseysiders staring relegation in the face right up until the final whistle blew last Sunday, with the players hanging on for dear life to a 1-0 lead at home to Bournemouth.

The pitch invasion that followed was an embarrassing sight. Fans of a club of that stature should never be celebrating staying up, but that is where Everton find themselves.

Sean Dyche has a big rebuilding job on his hands.

At least that managerial change worked. At Leeds United and Leicester City, the decision to part company with managers did not pay off.

Leicester must surely be regretting sacking Brendan Rodgers. The team was struggling but they were still in decent shape to stay up.

Leeds threw money at the problem but once Jesse Marsch left, the cracks just opened up. Neither Javi Gracia nor Sam Allardyce could tighten the gaps in defence and the revolution under Marcelo Bielsa seems a distant memory.

With three new faces managing in the Premier League next season – Vincent Kompany, Paul Heckingbottom and Rob Edwards – there will be more storylines to look forward to next season, but the bigger challenge will be at the top.

For a more democratic and captivating Premier League season in 2023/24, we really need to see City’s dominance coming to an end.