Since forming in 1992 to now, just 51 clubs have played in the Premier League.
Some, such as Bradford and Swindon are long forgotten, having fallen from grace to wallow in League 2. Oldham Athletic fared even worse, currently playing in the National League having been a founder club of the Premier League.
Others have remained in the top flight of English football ever since, making them the longest serving clubs in Premier League history. Some of those have had great success domestically and in Europe, while others have struggled for silverware despite playing at the highest level for 30+ years.
This post is all about the clubs which have played in the Premier League the longest, and will cover their journey so far. There are only 6 of them which may come as a surprise to some of you.
Clubs like Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa do not make it onto this list. Although it seems like they are Premier League mainstays, all have suffered spells in the lower leagues at some point since 1992.
So who are the Premier League’s longest serving clubs? Here they are, in alphabetical order.
Arsenal
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 2,141 points from 1,152 games, with a goal difference of +869
Not only one of the joint longest serving Premier League clubs but also one of the league’s most successful.
Arsenal enjoy a fierce rivalry with Manchester United that has never been more volatile than during the early 2000s. This was also Arsenal’s most successful period in the league. From the 1997/98 season to the 2004/05 season, Arsenal either won the league or came second, picking up 4 FA Cups and 4 Charity Shields during the same period.
In 2003/04 they famously went unbeaten for the entire season, playing 49 games in all competitions without a loss and reclaiming the title after losing out to United the season before. For this, they earned the nickname, ‘The Invincibles’. Who ended this unbeaten run? Manchester United, of course.
Arsene Wenger led the Gunners for the majority of their time in the Premier League, taking the reigns for 22 years between 1996 and 2018. He is by far the club’s most successful manager, not just in the Premier League era, but of all time.
Arsenal are now in their 19th season since their last Premier League win, although they have come 2nd a handful of times. They are looking good this season too, currently neck and neck with Manchester City. Can they deny the Citizens a 3rd consecutive triumph?
Arsenal Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Arsenal since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
Their lowest ever finishing position was 10th in 1992/93.
Chelsea
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 2,138 points from 1,152 games with a goal difference of +848
Chelsea are a more successful club than people give them credit for. In the Premier League era anyway. Before 1996 they had barely won anything at all, then a few FA Cups and a League Cup went their way.
They had been finishing just shy of the top 3 for a number of seasons when Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, bought the club in 2003. He invested heavily in the quest for Premier League success and didn’t have to wait long to get it.
Chelsea won the league back to back in 2004/05 and 2005/06, beginning a trophy laden decade in which they would win every major domestic and European competition in contention. Players like Frank Lampard and John Terry served the club loyally throughout this time, with the latter still being around for their last Premier League win in 2016/17.
Jose Mourinho was the man in charge for 3 of Chelsea’s 5 Premier League wins, although he had already dubbed himself ‘The Special One’ before winning a single trophy with the London club.
He became the club’s most successful manager winning 6 trophies in 3 years, before leaving to the surprise of pretty much everyone. He returned in 2013 to bag them another league title and a league cup, but was sacked after a short spell of bad results.
Chelsea developed something of a reputation for sacking managers quickly, even after winning trophies. This was often put down to Abramovich, but the trend continued even after the Russian was forced to sell the club following his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Chelsea since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Their lowest ever finishing position was 14th in 1993/94.
Everton
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 1,574 points from 1,152 games with a goal difference of +10
No team on this list has come closer to being relegated from the Premier League than Everton. They have finished one place outside the relegation zone on 4 occasions and got dangerously close plenty more. In 1998 they only stayed up on goal difference, it was that close.
They also hold the unenviable record as the most defeated team in the history of the Premier League. This is partly down to how long they have survived in the top flight to be fair to them, but still, it’s not something you want reminding about.
Their longest serving Premier League manager was David Moyes, who led them through a decade of relative stability, regularly finishing in the top third of the table. He never managed to win any silverware for the Toffees, but things began to fall apart quite quickly after he left for his disastrous stint at Manchester United.
Joe Royle is the only manager to have secured trophies for Everton since the Premier League began, winning the FA Cup in 1994/95 and nabbing the Community Shield the season after.
Everton’s biggest rivals in the league are Liverpool, due to the two clubs’ proximity to each other. In terms of success though, they couldn’t be farther apart. Liverpool have won every major trophy, and while Everton have spent more seasons in top flight football than any other English club (including the old First Division pre-dating the Premier League), trophies have been few and far between.
Everton Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Everton since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Their lowest ever finishing position was 17th, which occurred in 1993/94, 1997/98, 2003/04 and 2022/23. Their best season was 2004/05 when they finished 4th, despite having just lost Wayne Rooney to Manchester United.
Liverpool
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 2,109 points from 1,152 games with a goal difference of +874
Despite dominating the football world in the 1970s and 1980s, by the time the Premier League came around Liverpool FC were past their best. They came 6th in the inaugural season, their joint lowest finish since 1965.
Although they did win other trophies along the way, they had to wait 28 years to celebrate their first Premier League victory. Worse still, they had to watch bitter rivals Manchester United dominating the league for most of that time.
Liverpool were regularly finishing in the top 5, qualifying for European competitions and even winning the Champions League twice, but they could never quite do the business in the Premier League.
Then along came Jurgen Klopp.
The German needed 5 seasons to get them there, but in 2019/20 he led Liverpool to their first successful Premier League campaign. It was well deserved too. They amassed 99 points, finishing 18 point clear of Manchester City in 2nd place, who had pinched the league the season before with 98 points, just one ahead of Liverpool with 97.
Liverpool achieved the second highest number of points in Premier League history as well as the second highest winning points margin. Klopp became their most successful Premier League era manager with 8 trophies, and Mo Salah was their top scorer every season during this period of success.
Liverpool Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Liverpool since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Their lowest ever finishing position was 8th, which occurred three times in 1993/94, 2011/12, and 2015/16. Interesting, 2015/16 was also Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge, so he is responsible for the club’s joint worst Premier League finish as well as their best.
Manchester United
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 2,366 points from 1152 games with a goal difference of +1,119
Manchester United are the most successful club in the history of the Premier League. Which ever way you look at it, whether on trophies won, points scored, or any other metric, no other team has a better record.
This is all down to one man: Sir Alex Ferguson.
‘Fergie’ was in charge of Manchester United from 1986 until 2013, and all 13 of their Premier League victories came under his stewardship. He won 8 of the first 11 Premier League seasons, including the inaugural season, and twice won the league 3 times in a row. Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 season (winning the league again), but United were not able to retain that dominance after he left.
Although they have picked up a few FA Cups and League Cups under the various managers since Ferguson’s departure, the Premier League itself has eluded them.
In many ways then, Manchester United’s Premier League story is a tale of two halves. The first being one of dominance and success, the second being one of struggle and frustration.
Nevertheless, the Red Devils are arguably the biggest football club on the planet.
“Manchester United is the biggest club in the world – who wouldn’t want to be here and be part of it?”
He knows. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/cWn9Ap0GSD
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 28, 2018
They have produced some of the best young talent the Premier League has ever seen with the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and others coming through their academy, not to mention those bought in that became legends at the club.
Old Trafford remains a daunting prospect for the teams who travel their looking for points.
Manchester United Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Manchester United since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
Manchester United had never finished lower than 3rd until David Moyes took over for the 2013/14 season, when they finished 7th, marking their worst season ever in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur
Up to the end of 2021/22 season: 1,787 points from 1,152 games with a goal difference of +307
Tottenham Hotspur have been up and down the Premier League and all over Europe too, but despite being one of the top teams in England, they barely have any silverware to show for it.
They have only managed two trophies since the Premier League began. They won the League Cup in 1999 with George Graham at the helm, and again in 2008 led by Juan Ramos, beating London rivals, Chelsea.
At the beginning of the Premier League era Tottenham were a lower middle of the table side, even finishing dangerously close to the relegation zone at one point – 3 points fewer and they could have been down. The club was owned by Alan Sugar at this time, but he sold up in 2001 with ENIC International taking over.
In the years afterwards, the club improved and started to do better, helped by more effective management at the top. Around the 2005/06 season the club gained prominence and regularly finished in the top 5, playing European football in either the Champions League or Europa League every season but one since 2006/07.
Although they haven’t won much, Tottenham’s impact on the Premier League has been huge: players like Harry Kane, Jermaine Defoe, Gareth Bale and Teddy Sheringham all made their names with Tottenham, and no club relishes a dual with the Lilywhites.
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Record
Here are all the trophies won by Tottenham Hotspur since the first Premier League season:
| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Community Shield | Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Their lowest ever finishing position was 15th in 1993/94, and they claimed a club best 2nd place in the 2016/17 season.