The 1997–98 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the FA Premier League. It saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991[3] 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.
Moment That Happens During The Season. Arsenal Win The Premiership And FA Cup In Wenger's First Season. Manchester United Bottled 11 Point Lead. Chelsea won the Cup Winners' Cup. Liverpool Mounted A Title Challenge But Failed. Bolton Relegated with 40 Points. Barnsley Only Stay For One 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 (as defending champions) and FA Cup runners-up Newcastle United. Crystal Palace, while finishing bottom, qualified for the Intertoto Cup.
Manchester United led the table for most of the season before a dip in form during the final two months of the campaign saw Arsenal overtake them in April, taking advantage of games in hand, and winning the league title with two matches remaining, however, the gap between the champions and runners-up was a single point in the final table as Arsenal lost their final two fixtures and Alex Ferguson’s men won both of theirs. Arsenal then completed the double by winning the FA Cup. Despite the sudden dismissal of FA Cup-winning player-manager Ruud Gullit, Chelsea won the League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup under new player-manager Gianluca Vialli.
