Ranking The 5 Best Sides In Premier League History 

The English Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world, which boasts a depth of talented teams that the other top 5 leagues don't.

Since its debut season in 1992, the Premier League has hosted many memorable teams, with some dominating Europe as well as in England.

For a club to assemble a great squad requires a lot of different factors: talent, good management, chemistry, and a dash of luck.

It also often requires money, but as some teams have learned in the past, in and out of England, spending big bucks is no guarantee that it will result in immense success for a club.

Whilst there have been a number of truly brilliant squads in the history of the Premier League, this article will look at arguably the top 5.

#5 Chelsea 2004-2005

Chelsea won their first major league title in 50 years under Mourinho in 2005

Before the 2004/05 season, Chelsea were one of the strongest sides in the English Premier League. However, they weren't quite as good as Manchester United or Arsenal.

Despite consistently being amongst the possible contenders for the Premier League during the early and mid stages of the league, they never really looked like they could make the final push and actually win it.

This all changed however with the arrival of Jose Mourinho, who transformed the club in his first season and consequently won the league.

Not only that but he would lead them to a famous league cup victory against Liverpool, who would prove to be arguably Chelsea's biggest rivals during this period.

Other than perhaps Arsene Wenger, who also won a league title in his debut season, has a manager ever had such an immediate impact in the Premier League.

This Chelsea team was the perfect balance of raw talent and also the tactical genius of their manager Jose Mourinho.

Although Chelsea already had a number of incredible players at this point such as Frank Lampard and John Terry, the arrival of Didier Drogba and Petr Cech completed the set, and they would go onto form one of the greatest premier league sides.

Despite ultimately failing to win the Champions League during this period, they did win two consecutive league titles and a league cup.

#4 Manchester City 2018/19

Manchester City became the first side to win a domestic treble in the Premier League era.

Manchester City have adopted the title as perhaps the most divisive club in Premier League history. This is mainly due to the nature in which they have ascended to the pinnacle of English football.

Before their huge financial takeover in 2008, Manchester City were an average Premier League side at best. However, since then, they've made a very good case for money buying success

Although, one thing that cannot be contested is that the 2018/19 side are one of the best in the league's history.

In one of the most hotly contested title races of recent years, Manchester City ultimately won by one point through a brand of exciting attacking football that brought heaps and heaps of goals.

Guardiola made his name when managing, arguably the greatest team ever, FC Barcelona, between 2008-12, and also Bayern Munich between 2012-2016.

Many were interested to see how the Catalan would do in England, and whilst admitting it is the toughest league in the world, he has been hugely successful there.

Winning the league wasn't all that this Manchester City side accomplished, as they also won the FA Cup and the League Cup to become the first side to complete a domestic treble.

Whilst it may seem strange for this side not to be higher up on the list when one examines their routes to both the FA Cup and the League Cup, the significance of their triumph does lessen slightly.

Manchester City's route's to both domestic cups were very favorable.

As shown in the table, Manchester City faced only one tough side on their routes to both titles, with this being Chelsea; who Manchester City defeated on penalties in the League Cup.

Whilst it wasn't Manchester City's fault who they faced en route to these two titles, we are dealing with the greatest sides in Premier League history, therefore, these things have to come into account.

With all of this considered, it seems fair to place Manchester City's 2018/19 squad in 4th place on the list, and when we look at the other 3 teams on the list, this is arguably an appropriate choice.

#3 Arsenal 'Invincibles' 2003/04

Arsenal are the only side ever to win a Premier League title without losing a single game in the league.

Under the wing of Arsene Wenger, the 2003/04 Arsenal became the first and only side to ever go a season undefeated.

Sporting one the strongest squads in Premier League history, the Arsenal "Invincibles" had Thierry Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Pires, and Cole, just to name a few.

Not only did they go undefeated, but they were also heralded for their beautiful style of attacking football, where virtually all of their players were goal threats.

However, all of their efforts were directed towards the Premier League, and although winning a league title undefeated is an unprecedented feat in the English top division, it did come at the cost of being unceremoniously defeated in all the other competitions.

Furthermore, if the Arsenal side played in the 2018/19 season of the Premier League they would have only finished third, which gives an indication of how many games they drew that season.

Nonetheless, when considering the players they had, and the unequaled feat they achieved, it is without question that they are one of the best sides in the Premier League, and you'd fancy their chances against any of the teams in this list.

It may seem controversial to place them above Manchester City, but when considering the rarity of their undefeated triumpj, their arguably higher caliber players, and the standard of teams Manchester City had to beat to win their domestic trophies, it does seem fair to place Arsenal's "Invincibles" at 3rd

#2 Manchester United 2007-2008

With Ronaldo as the star, Manchester United won three league titles in a row and famously the Champions League in 2008

Whilst this teams dominance began in the 2006/07 season where they won the club's first title in 3 years, it was during the 2007/08 season where they peaked.

This 2007/08 season is perhaps best remembered as the moment that Cristiano Ronaldo first cemented himself as the best player in the world, winning the first of his five Ballon d'Ors.

However, it mustn't be forgotten what a truly exceptional squad this Manchester United team actually were.

This team sported many players during their peak with the likes of Rooney, Teves, Ferdinand, Vidic, and Van der Sar all playing for United during this period.

Furthermore, they also had some remnants of the 'Class of 92' which added a needed aura of leadership and experience which aided this squad in its era of dominance.

However, as mentioned above, itwas Cristiano Ronaldo who was the star of this side, who in the 2007/08 season scored 42 goals and lead his team to a league title and a Champions League title as well.

It must also be mentioned that Manchester United were guided by Sir Alex Ferguson, who for many is the greatest manager of all time, and the culmination of all of this makes them unquestionably one of the best sides in Premier League history.

#1 Manchester United 1998-1999

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer famously scored a last-minute winner in the 1999 Champions League final to win the treble for Manchester United

In at number one is the Manchester United side who are, still to this day, perhaps the most famous Premier League side of all time.

Like the Manchester United side in 2007/08, the 1998/99 side won both the Premier League and the Champions League. However, this side went one better and triumphed in the FA Cup as well, which the 07/08 team were unable to do.

Whilst the 2018/19 Manchester City side also won a treble, this was limited to only English domestic cups, and whilst that's impressive, it's nothing compared to winning the Champions League.

Furthermore, the caliber of teams that Manchester City had to play to win both domestic cups was largely mediocre, and whilst that isn't their fault, Manchester United had to play many of the top teams in England and Europe to win the FA Cup and the Champions League.

It was not just the triumphs themselves that make this team memorable, but also the dramatic nature in which they pulled off the treble, most notably the two stoppage-time goals they scored to defeat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

In addition, Manchester City have received a lot of criticism for being a "plastic club" whose recent success has been largely down to their financial takeover.

This cannot be said about the treble-winning Manchester United side, however, as a huge bulk of their team was made up of young talents like Scholes, Beckham, Giggs, and the Nevill brothers who all graduated from the Manchester Academy as the 'Class of 92'.

With all of these things considered, it is virtually impossible not to hold this team as the greatest Premier League side ever, even with 20 years passing since then.

If you disagree with any of the choices in this list, feel free to put in the comment section who you think should be in the list and why!