Arsenal are top of the Premier League table after the club’s best ever start to a season, with the Gunners outperforming even their title-winning vintages during the current campaign to date.
The north Londoners are just the fifth team to have reached 50+ points at the halfway point of the season and could set a new club-record points total if their consistency remains over the coming months.
As Arsenal chase a new record points total, we’ve ranked each of the current Premier League clubs by their best ever hauls in the division.
Ranking every Premier League club by their record points total:
20. Brentford – 46 points (2021/22)
Brentford made their debut in the Premier League last season, returning to the top tier of English football for the first time since 1946/47 after beating Swansea 2-0 in the Championship play-off final.
Thomas Frank’s side had emerged as one of the Football League’s best-ran clubs and continued their progress during an impressive first season in the Premier League. Despite a rocky run following the turn of the New Year, The Bees secured their top-flight status for another season with a 13th-placed finish in the table.
Highlights of the campaign included wins over London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, with Ivan Toney and January recruit Christian Eriksen at the centre of the side’s success. Frank’s side won 46 points, a total that the Bees will be confident of bettering this season after taking 30 points from their opening 20 games to sit just outside the European positions.
19. Bournemouth – 46 points (2016/17)
Bournemouth spent five consecutive campaigns in the Premier League under the management of Eddie Howe, with the club’s best season coming in their second at the top level.
Howe guided the Cherries to ninth in the table, their first – and to date only – top-half finish in the Premier League era. Josh King led the Cherries’ charge with 16 league goals, including a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-2 win over West Ham at the Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth reached 40+ points in each of their first four seasons in the Premier League, but were relegated in 2019/10 after a decline in results. The club returned to the top division ahead of the current campaign and are battling to survive under Gary O’Neill.
19. Crystal Palace – 49 points (2018/19)
Crystal Palace have the unwanted record of being arguably the biggest English club to have never won a major trophy.
The Eagles have been regulars in English football’s top division but have never lifted silverware, with two runners-up finishes in the FA Cup (1990 and 2016) the closest the South Londoners have come.
Palace’s best Premier League season in terms of points total came during the 2018/19 campaign as the club finished 12th under Roy Hodgson on 49 points. Their highest finish in the Premier League era was in 2014/15, as a 48-point haul saw the Eagles end the season in tenth.
17. Brighton – 51 points (2021/22)
Graham Potter led Brighton to their best-ever Premier League season in 2021/22, as the Seagulls celebrated a fifth consecutive campaign at the top level with a ninth-placed finish.
Brighton ended the campaign with a five-game unbeaten run – which included wins of Manchester United and West Ham – to smash their previous points total by ten points. Potter’s side won more points (51) and scored more goals (42) than in any other Premier League season.
It was also the first time since promotion that Brighton had finished above rivals Crystal Palace in the Premier League table. Despite Potter’s mid-season exit, the Seagulls are on course to better those totals once again. Brighton are sixth in the table under Roberto De Zerbi, on 31 points from 19 league fixtures.
16. Fulham – 53 points (2008/09)
Fulham’s best period of the Premier League era came under the management of Roy Hodgson, whose tenure included a best-ever league finish and memorable run in European competition.
Having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, Fulham won 53 points in 2008/09 to end the season seventh in the Premier League and secure Europa League football. It was an improvement of ten places and 18 points from the previous campaign and led to a famous run the following season.
Fulham reached the Europa League final in 2009/10, eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg during a thrilling run to the decider.
15. Wolves – 59 points (2019/20)
Wolves made an impressive return to the Premier League after a six-season absence in 2018/19, ending the campaign in seventh to secure Europa League football.
Nuno Espรญrito Santo’s side matched that achievement the following campaign, setting a new club-record Premier League points total in the process (59).
Wolves’ performances in the Premier League came alongside a run to the Europa League quarter-finals, though the club missed out on continental football for a second season in a row despite their league finish after Arsenal – who finished eighth – won the FA Cup.
14. Southampton – 63 points (2015/16)
Ronald Koeman led Southampton to a best-ever Premier League finish and points total in 2015/16, as the Saints finished sixth.
Southampton ended the season above both Liverpool and Chelsea, securing Europa League football as their talented side set a number of club records. Virgil van Dijk won the Saints’ Players’ Player of the Season award and Sadio Mane ended the campaign as the club’s top scorer on 15 goals.
Each went on to win the Premier League and Champions League at Liverpool, while Dusan Tadic – who has led the Eredivisie for assists in each of the past four seasons at Ajax – was also a part of the Southampton side.
13. West Ham – 65 points (2020/21)
David Moyes was brought back in at West Ham to help the club survive relegation in 2019/20 and the experienced Scot succeeded to lead the side to safety.
The following season saw Moyes take the Hammers to new heights, earning a club-record 65 points in the Premier League era to secure European football. West Ham also set new records for wins (19) and away wins (9) in a season, with the January loan signing of Jesse Lingard from Manchester United propelling their charge.
It was just the second time in the Premier League era that West Ham had secured a top-six finish, ending the campaign above both Tottenham and Arsenal.
12. Everton – 72 points (2013/14)
Everton just missed out on Champions League qualification during an impressive 2013/14 season, as Roberto Martinez’s side set a new club-record points total.
Everton won 72 points for the campaign to finish fifth, above defending champions Manchester United who had taken David Moyes from Goodison Park the previous summer.
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— Premier League (@premierleague) April 6, 2017
Martinez’s signings of Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea and Gareth Barry from Manchester City proved inspired, with a seven-game winning run in March and April – the club’s first since 1987 – pushing their charge for European football. Martinez’s side passed the previous landmark (65) set in 2007/08.
11. Leeds – 73 points (1994/95)
Leeds secured back-to-back top-five finishes in the mid-nineties with the club’s best points total coming during the 1994/95 season. The arrival of Tony Yeboah from Eintracht Frankfurt in January saw the club’s season spark into life, as the Ghanaian forward scored 12 goals in just 18 league games.
Leeds’ points total came in the final 42-game season of the Premier League era, before the division was reduced to 20 teams the following season. The club’s best total across a 38-game campaign is 68 points, recorded in 1999/2000 as David O’Leary’s team finished third and secured Champions League qualification.
O’Leary’s team reached the semi-finals of Europe’s top competition the following season in a memorable run, before losing to Valencia in the last four.
10. Aston Villa – 74 points (1992/93)
Aston Villa ended the inaugural Premier League season as runners-up in what remains the club’s best points return.
Ron Atkinson’s side challenged for the title during the 1992/93 season and led the title race with six games remaining, but fell away to allow Manchester United to fight back and be crowned Premier League champions.
Villa’s best return over a 38-game season (64) came in 2009/10, as Martin O’Neill led the side to a third consecutive sixth-place finish. John Carew ended the season as top scorer on 17 goals, while James Milner was named as the PFA Young Player of the Year.
9. Nottingham Forest – 77 points (1994/95)
Nottingham Forest sprang a surprise on their Premier League return in 1994/95, achieving the joint-highest finish by a newly-promoted team (3rd).
Forest thrived in the post-Brian Clough era, as Frank Clark’s side mounted an unexpected title challenge on the back of Stan Collymore’s prolific form. Collymore scored 22 league goals for the campaign, form which earned the forward a British record ยฃ8.5m move to Liverpool at the end of the season.
Forest ended the season in third and on a run of 13 games without defeat, a run of results which secured UEFA Cup football. Forest’s best return in a 38-game season came the following year, recording 58 points to finish ninth.
8. Newcastle – 78 points (1995/96)
The 1995/96 season is one that remains vividly etched into the memories of Premier League fans, the campaign which saw Newcastle’s ‘Entertainers’ suffer a spectacular collapse.
The Magpies had rode a wave of momentum that saw them climb from bottom of the second tier to the upper echelons of English football and began the season in blistering fashion, winning nine of their opening ten games to take control of the title.
The Entertainers โค pic.twitter.com/NwY0DbHZBW
— Newcastle United Times (@Newcastle_Times) June 1, 2020
Les Ferdinand was firing in goals and David Ginola was leading full-backs on a merry dance, as all roads appeared to lead to a Tyneside title party.
What followed was an unforgettable collapse, as Newcastle squandered a 12-point lead held in late January to finish as runners-up to Manchester United. Their 78 points remain a club record in the Premier League era and resulted in a highest league finish in 69 years, but it is a season remembered with regret as Kevin Keegan’s side blew their title chances.
7. Leicester – 81 points (2015/16)
The most incredible season in Premier League history?
Leicester’s title triumph in 2015/16 remains perhaps the greatest sporting underdog tale of all time, with Claudio Ranieri’s troops having began the season as 5000/1 outsiders to be crowned champions.
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Leicester ???? EvertonThe Foxes cruised to victory over Everton before being presented with the #PL trophy in front of a jubilant King Power Stadium https://t.co/DGna6GLXQH pic.twitter.com/FJY1ar2DJe
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 25, 2021
The Foxes had narrowly survived relegation the previous year after a late revival and took that momentum into the new campaign, taking the top spot in January and leaving the chasing pack in their wake.
Jamie Vardy fired the Foxes towards the first title in their 132-year history, while Riyad Mahrez claimed the PFA Player of the Year award after some sparkling performances from the right wing. Even now it is difficult to comprehend the scale of their triumph, as a squad that cost just ยฃ72m – ยฃ15m less than Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba the following summer – upset England’s established elite.
6. Tottenham – 86 points (2016/17)
Tottenham competed at the top end of the division under Mauricio Pochettino, finishing in the Premier League’s top three in three consecutive campaigns.
Spurs were runners-up during a 2016/17 season that saw them set a club-record 87 points. The north Londoners completed a league season unbeaten at home for the first time since 1964/65 and secured their highest league finish since 1963.
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โฝ๏ธ Dele Alli header@SpursOfficial beat Chelsea 2-0 #OnThisDay in 2017 thanks to two similar goals pic.twitter.com/Cr82238kW0— Premier League (@premierleague) January 4, 2021
Dele Alli won the PFA Young Player of the Year accolade for a second time andย Harry Kane won the Premier League’s Golden Boot for a second successive season after netting 29 goals in 30 league appearances. It remains the best goal-per-game ratio of any Golden Boot winner in the Premier League era.
5. Arsenal – 90 points (2003/04)
Arsenal’s title-winning side of the 2003/04 campaign hold a strong argument as the Premier League’s best-ever team, having become the first side since Preston North End in the inaugural Football League season (1888/89) to go an entire top-flight campaign without defeat.
Arsene Wenger’s team won 26 and drew 12 of their 38 games to end the season on 90 points, securing a third Premier League crown under the Frenchman’s management.
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— Premier League (@premierleague) May 15, 2020
Thierry Henry was the star of the side and scored 30 league goals – the best return of his Premier League career – to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Golden Boot.
Arsenal extended their run without defeat to an English record 49 league games the following season.
4. Manchester United – 92 points (1993/94)
Manchester United have been the dominant force of the Premier League era, winning 13 league titles under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson led the Red Devils to a first league title in 26 years during the 1992/93 season, before retaining the title the following season with a record points total. United swept all before them on route to a domestic double, finishing eight points clear of nearest challengers Blackburn Rovers before adding the FA Cup with a final win over Chelsea.
United’s 92 points came during a 42-game season, with their highest total since the change to 20 teams coming in 1999/2000. The reigning treble winners set a number of then-Premier League records during a dominant campaign, including an 18-point winning margin and 97 goals scored.
3. Chelsea – 95 points (2004/05)
Jose Mourinho waltzed into Chelsea ahead of the 2004/05 campaign with the task of turning the billionaire-backed Blues into title winners.
Roman Abramovich had to wait just one season for the ‘Special One’ to deliver, as Mourinho’s men were crowned champions in his debut campaign in charge. Chelsea racked up 95 points during a dominant domestic campaign, one which saw the west Londoners set record numbers for clean sheets (25) and least goals conceded (15).
Frank Lampard's delightful double secured @ChelseaFC's first #PL title ????
???? #OnThisDay in 2005 pic.twitter.com/xQN4KOHbC5
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 30, 2022
It was a first league title in 50 years for Chelsea, with Frank Lampard’s brace at Bolton crowning the club champions.
Chelsea retained the title the following season after a record-breaking start to the campaign. Mourinho’s side began the season with nine consecutive wins and won 20 of their opening 22 league games.
2. Liverpool – 99 points (2019/20)
Liverpool ended their long wait for a top-flight crown during a stunning 2019/20 season, as the Reds bounced back from an agonising near miss the previous season to romp to the title.
Jurgen Klopp’s side earned a club-record 99 points after a record-breaking start to the season that saw Liverpool win 26 and draw one of their opening 27 assignments – the best start to a campaign in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.
Memories made. History created.
A season to remember โ #LFCchampions pic.twitter.com/Wbb1A6hH1Z
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 26, 2020
Klopp’s side matched the Premier League records for wins in a season (32) and consecutive wins (18) in an almost flawless campaign.
During the season Liverpool set also set a new record for the biggest points gap to second place at any stage of a Premier League season (25) and wrapped up the title earlier than any other side in history with seven games of the season still remaining.
1. Manchester City – 100 points (2017/18)
Manchester City hold the record for the most points in a Premier League season, as Pep Guardiola’s ‘Centurions’ became the first team in history to reach the 100-point mark in 2017/18.
City were an unstoppable force during a campaign that saw Guardiola win his first Premier League title, setting new records for points (100), winning margin (19), wins (32), goals scored (106) and biggest goal difference (+79).
Champions. Centurions. @ManCity. pic.twitter.com/szKkreog99
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 13, 2018
Gabriel Jesus sealed the history-making moment in the final seconds of the Premier League season, as his stoppage-time winner earned a 1-0 win at Southampton and took City to 100 points.
It is a season that seems unlikely to be matched and one that gives City’s 2017/18 vintage a strong argument as the Premier League’s best-ever side.
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