JEREMY CROSS COLUMN What will the landscape of English football look like without Pep Guardiola - and will Arsenal win all the trophies now he's gone and a new Premier League era is set to begin
13:00, 01 Jun 2026Updated 14:30, 01 Jun 2026
Mikel Arteta
View 5 Images
Can Mikel Arteta lead Arsenal to a period of domestic dominance?(Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
The final ball has been kicked on a football season of hellos and goodbyes, as Arsenal re-acquainted themselves with an old friend, having won the biggest prize of all in the shape of the Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta's men made no new mates in the process of doing so, it has to be said. Having battled, bashed and sometimes bludgeoned their way to the crown, Arsenal will not go down as a team for the footballing purist.
But whether reaching the Holy Grail of the English game by foul means or fair, no-one can claim Arsenal don't deserve it. League titles have to be earned. Just like Champions League ones do, something Arsenal came agonisingly close to in Budapest.
Mikel Arteta
View 5 Images
Can Mikel Arteta lead Arsenal to a period of domestic dominance?(Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
So now we wait to discover if Arteta can go on to make the right signings he needs to, to engineer a period of sustained success on behalf of the London club. If the Spaniard can make the most of a 'sliding doors' moment.
Due to the fact another manager from Spain has said a fond and emotional farewell to the Premier League. Pep Guardiola has called time on his decade of dominance as Manchester City manager.
He is heading back to Barcelona, to give someone else a chance to win all the silverware. The game will miss him, even if the likes of Arteta, Xabi Alonso, Michael Carrick and whoever replaces Arne Slot, won't do.
Will Carrick continue to flourish at Manchester United? Can Alonso provide stability, identity and success to one of the most dysfunctional clubs in Europe.
Pep Guardiola
View 5 Images
Pep Guardiola has waved goodbye(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Elsewhere, will Unai Emery take Aston Villa to that next level, building on his Europa League success to smash the status quo of usual title challengers?
Will Bournemouth continue to thrive without Liverpool bound Andoni Iraola? Will Tottenham Hotspur learn to do things better? The farcical club survived relegation at the expense of West Ham, but only just.
Two seasons of abject failure have left chief executive Vinai Venkatesham apologising for the club's incompetence - and promising better times ahead.
Long-suffering supporters will not be holding their breaths. Can the likes of Brentford, Brighton and Sunderland strive to secure a place in the Champions League?
And what of the newcomers, Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City? Leeds United and the Black Cats have proved this season that survival can be achieved first time back in the big time.
COVENTRY, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Frank Lampard, Manager of Coventry City, celebrates with the Sky Bet Championship trophy after his team's victory in the Sky Bet Championship match between Coventry City and Wrexham AFC at The Coventry Building Society Arena on April 26, 2026 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
View 5 Images
Frank Lampard has taken Coventry City back into the Premier League(Image: Dan Mullan, Getty Images)
The leap is a big one, and Coventry boss Frank Lampard in particular, will face a huge test when it comes to stopping his fairy tale from turning into a nightmare.
He's been here before, of course, so what has he learned? Because reputations can count for little in the top flight.
Just ask West Ham, who have headed back to the Championship, but have at least managed to persuade Nuno Espirito Santo to remain as boss.
First, there is the small matter of a World Cup to come in North America this summer, before the rollercoaster of a new domestic campaign starts moving again.
When memories of this one will be forgotten - and new ones will be made.
Raheem Sterling's alarming nosedive shows he needs help - and fast
Raheem Sterling's fall from grace has plunged new depths. The former England, Manchester City and Liverpool star has been arrested on suspicion of 'drug driving'.
Which means Sterling has somehow gone from being the golden boy of English football to a free agent without a club - and a bloke on police bail awaiting his fate. How has it come to this? His downfall began when he left City to join Chelsea in the summer of 2022.
Having lifted 10 trophies for Pep Guardiola's side, he endured a torrid spell at Stamford Bridge, then Arsenal on-loan, before joining Feyenoord in February, where things went from bad to worse.
Raheem Sterling
View 5 Images
Raheem Sterling's career has gone rapidly downhill (Image: Getty Images)
Now he is in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. Sterling used to be one of the first names on the England team-sheet when Gareth Southgate was in charge.
But despite being only 31, he hasn't played for the Three Lions since 2022. Only Sterling himself - not to mention those who are supposed to look after his best interests - know the reasons for such a damaging nosedive.
Article continues below
But one thing anyone with half a brain should realise is this. Sterling needs some help - and fast.