1997–98 FA Premier League
The 1997–98 FA Premier League was the sixth season of the FA Premier League. It saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991 and, in so doing, became only the second team to win 'The Double' for the second time.
It was Arsenal's first full season under French manager Arsène Wenger, who became the third manager to win the Premier League. Wenger followed in the footsteps of Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish and, while both Ferguson and Dalglish were Scottish, Wenger was the first manager from outside the British Isles to win a league title in England.
Season summary
At the end of the 1997–98 FA Premier League season, a record total of nine English teams qualified for European competition.Premiership champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, while UEFA Cup places went to Liverpool, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Qualifying for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup were Chelsea and FA Cup runners-up Newcastle United. Crystal Palace, while finishing bottom, qualified for the Intertoto Cup.
The gap between the Premier League and Division One of the Football League was highlighted at the end of 1997–98 when all three newly promoted teams were relegated. Crystal Palace were confined to bottom place in the final table having won just two home games all season. Barnsley's first season in the top division ended in relegation, although they did reach the FA Cup quarter finals and knock out Manchester United in the Fifth Round. Bolton Wanderers went down on goal difference, with 17th place being occupied by Everton: despite preserving top flight football there for the 45th season running, Howard Kendall quit as manager at Goodison Park after his third spell in charge.
Another mark of the gap was that the three relegated teams in the previous season took the top three places in the 1997–98 Football League. Had Sunderland not lost the play-off final to Charlton Athletic on penalty shootout, the 20 teams from 1998–99 Premier League would have been exactly the same as those in the 1996–97 Premier League.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace. They replaced Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated after top flight spells of one, two and three years respectively.Stadiums and Locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arsenal | London | Arsenal Stadium | 38,419 |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,573 |
| Barnsley | Barnsley | Oakwell | 23,287 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 |
| Bolton Wanderers | Bolton | Reebok Stadium | 28,723 |
| Chelsea | London | Stamford Bridge | 42,055 |
| Coventry City | Coventry | Highfield Road | 23,489 |
| Crystal Palace | London | Selhurst Park | 26,074 |
| Derby County | Derby | Pride Park Stadium | 33,597 |
| Everton | Liverpool | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Leeds United | Leeds | Elland Road | 40,242 |
| Leicester City | Leicester | Filbert Street | 22,000 |
| Liverpool | Liverpool | Anfield | 45,522 |
| Manchester United | Old Trafford | Old Trafford | 55,385 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield | Hillsborough Stadium | 39,732 |
| Southampton | Southampton | The Dell | 15,200 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| West Ham United | London | Boleyn Ground | 35,647 |
| Wimbledon | London | Selhurst Park | 26,074 |
Personnel and kits
A list of personnel and kits of the clubs in the 1997–98 FA Premier League.| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arsenal |  Arsène Wenger |  Tony Adams | Nike | JVC |
| Aston Villa | John Gregory | Gareth Southgate | Reebok | AST |
| Barnsley |  Danny Wilson | Neil Redfearn | Admiral | Ora |
| Blackburn Rovers | Roy Hodgson | Tim Sherwood | Asics | CIS |
| Bolton Wanderers | Colin Todd |  Guðni Bergsson | Reebok | Reebok |
| Chelsea |  Gianluca Vialli | Dennis Wise | Umbro | Autoglass |
| Coventry City |  Gordon Strachan | Gary McAllister | Le Coq Sportif | Subaru |
| Crystal Palace | Ron Noades Ray Lewington | Andy Linighan | Adidas | TDK |
| Derby County | Jim Smith |  Igor Štimac | Puma | Puma |
| Everton | Howard Kendall | Dave Watson | Umbro | One2One |
| Leeds United | George Graham |  Lucas Radebe | Puma | Packard Bell |
| Leicester City | Martin O'Neill | Steve Walsh | Fox Leisure | Walkers |
| Liverpool | Roy Evans | Paul Ince | Reebok | Carlsberg |
| Manchester United | Alex Ferguson |  Roy Keane | Umbro | Sharp |
| Newcastle United | Kenny Dalglish | Robert Lee | Adidas | Newcastle Brown Ale |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Ron Atkinson | Peter Atherton | Puma | Sanderson |
| Southampton | Dave Jones | Matt Le Tissier | Pony | Sanderson |
| Tottenham Hotspur |  Christian Gross | Gary Mabbutt | Pony | Hewlett-Packard |
| West Ham United | Harry Redknapp | Steve Lomas | Pony | |
| Wimbledon | Joe Kinnear |  Robbie Earle | Lotto | Elonex |
Managerial changes
League table
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dion Dublin | Coventry City | 18 |
| 1 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | 18 |
| 1 | Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers | 18 |
| 4 |  Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 16 |
| 4 | Kevin Gallacher | Blackburn Rovers | 16 |
| 4 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Leeds United | 16 |
| 7 | Andy Cole | Manchester United | 15 |
| 7 |  John Hartson | West Ham United | 15 |
| 9 | Darren Huckerby | Coventry City | 14 |
| 10 |  Paulo Wanchope | Derby County | 13 |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
| | Coventry City | Chelsea | 3–2 | 9 8 1997 | |
| | Blackburn Rovers | Aston Villa | 4–0 | 13 8 1997 | |
| 4 P | Chelsea | Barnsley | 6–0 | 24 8 1997 | |
| | Arsenal | Leicester City | 3–3 | 27 8 1997 | |
| | Arsenal | Bolton Wanderers | 4–1 | 13 9 1997 | |
 | Liverpool | Chelsea | 4–2 | 5 10 1997 | |
| | Manchester United | Barnsley | 7–0 | 25 10 1997 | |
| | Sheffield Wednesday | Bolton Wanderers | 5–0 | 8 11 1997 | |
| | Chelsea | Derby County | 4–0 | 29 11 1997 | |
 | Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur | 6–1 | 6 12 1997 | |
| | Everton | Bolton Wanderers | 3–2 | 28 12 1997 | |
| | Blackburn Rovers | Aston Villa | 5–0 | 17 1 1998 | |
| | Liverpool | Sheffield Wednesday | 3–3 | 14 2 1998 | |
| | Blackburn Rovers | Leicester City | 5–3 | 28 2 1998 | |
| | Coventry City | Leeds United | 3–3 | 25 4 1998 | |
 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | Wimbledon | 6–2 | 2 5 1998 |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | David Beckham | Manchester United | 13 |
| 2 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 12 |
| 3 |  Eyal Berkovic | West Ham United | 10 |
| 3 | Dion Dublin | Coventry City | 10 |
| 3 | Steve Guppy | Leicester City | 10 |
| 3 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | 10 |
| 3 | Teddy Sheringham | Manchester United | 10 |
| 8 | Ryan Giggs | Manchester United | 9 |
| 8 | David Ginola | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| 8 | Matt Le Tissier | Southampton | 9 |
Awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Premier League Manager of the Season | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal |
| Premier League Player of the Season | Michael Owen | Liverpool |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Michael Owen | Liverpool |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |