Arsenal have been the most exciting and efficient Premier League club in London over the last five seasons, according to data collected from Transfermarkt.
The North London side rank first among the capital’s seven Premier League clubs since the start of the decade using a combination of match efficiency and volatility, while FA Cup holders Crystal Palace sit bottom overall despite their recent success.
The rankings are based on an Efficiency–Volatility (EV) rating which combines win percentages with goals scored and conceded per game to assess both effectiveness and entertainment.
A high EV rating reflects teams that win consistently while producing attacking, goal-filled matches, whereas a low score points to sides that struggle for results and offer little excitement.
Over the past five seasons, Arsenal sit firmly ahead with a London-high EV score of 184 – nearly 20 higher than second-placed Chelsea and almost 100 ahead of Palace.
Freddie Cardy, an editor from the Gooner Fanzine, said: “I think on their day, Arsenal can be so exciting to watch, when everything seems to click and the tactics are spot on.
“Maybe the game as a whole isn’t exciting, but for 15 or 20 minutes they suddenly become unstoppable.”
The Gunners’ peak came in the 2023/24 season, where Mikel Arteta guided the club to a Community Shield and a 67% win ratio in all competitions.
Cardy added: “They are efficient as they have found ways to win.
“Previous Arsenal teams tried to score goals and play in a certain way, Mikel Arteta has built this team on being hard to beat, first and foremost.”
However, despite their high efficiency at winning games, Arsenal have struggled to convert performances into trophies, while West Londoners Chelsea have found it much easier.
Despite a turbulent five seasons for the Blues, they have won four trophies, the highest total in the capital.
With an EV rating of 170, Chelsea sit behind Arsenal for efficiency and excitement on the pitch, but remain the most successful side in the period, including a Champions League win.
However, the club have faced domestic lows, with the 2022/23 season’s 32% win rate the worst of any London ‘Big Six’ club and had the highest level of managerial turnover.
Tottenham Hotspur sit just behind Chelsea with an EV rating of 165, however they were by far the most volatile club in the time period.
Spurs recorded a Match Volatility score of 3.27, 0.19 higher than second-placed Fulham, and 0.5 higher than Palace at the bottom.
This means Spurs played the most chaotic and entertaining matches in the period, though only boasting a win percentage marginally over 50%.
Their volatility peaked in Ange Postecoglou’s first season, where Spurs posted a score of 3.59, a reflection of the Australian’s high-intensity, over-committing style which did not always guarantee results.
Postecoglou would go on to deliver their only trophy over this period – the Europa League.
Another European trophy winner over the past five seasons was East London’s West Ham United, who recorded the same EV rating as Fulham (129), but with silverware to show for it.
Their lower win percentage and moderate volatility demonstrate David Moyes’ pragmatic approach to knockout football, a style that delivered success but drew internal criticism.
Moyes was removed and replaced by Julen Lopetegui in pursuit of a more modern identity, but the change backfired, with both win percentage and volatility dropping, leaving the Hammers with their lowest EV rating of the period at 84.
Despite this decline, West Ham still outperformed Crystal Palace, who were consistently among the lowest-ranked sides for the first four seasons of the decade.
Palace’s EV rating did not exceed 100 until the most recent, FA Cup-winning season under Oliver Glasner, where it reached 125.
Despite sitting bottom overall with an average EV score of 96, Palace have won more prestigious trophies than leaders Arsenal, demonstrating that efficiency extends beyond sustained league performance.
Andrew Rowan, a lifelong Crystal Palace fan who lives local to Selhurst Park, said: “I don’t think efficiency is always about winning.
“Sometimes it’s about peaking at the right moment, and we proved we can do that.”
Though Palace have a low EV rating, their defensive stability has secured them their long-awaited trophy, even if it came without playing a modern, expansive style.
Rowan continued: “Tense is probably the best way to describe Palace.
“It feels like you’re permanently waiting for something to happen, and even when we win, it feels more hard earned than exciting.”
Though Palace were worst overall, Fulham recorded the lowest individual season, posting an EV rating of just 39 in 2020/21, when Scott Parker’s side were relegated with an 18.6%-win rate.
When excluding their Championship season, Fulham’s average EV rating drops to 112, the second-lowest overall and 17 points lower than when including their time in the second tier.
However, Fulham also recorded the single most volatile season in the dataset, with 2024/25 producing a Match Volatility score of 3.71, 0.6 higher than Chelsea’s Super Cup-winning 2021/22 season.
This anomaly was driven by an EFL Cup tie against Preston, which Fulham lost on penalties 16–15, with the shootout goals included in the overall tally.
When adjusted to reflect the match’s actual 1–1 scoreline, Fulham’s volatility drops to a more representative 3.05.
The team who benefit most from this anomaly is Brentford, who would otherwise have been the most volatile club of the 2024/25 season.
The Bees were the only other club to spend time in the Championship, starting the decade in the second tier before establishing themselves as a consistent Premier League side.
Their 148 EV rating last season ranked second only to West Ham among non-‘Big Six’ clubs, underlining Brentford’s status as one of London’s most entertaining mid-table teams.
Featured image: Joseph Saunders
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