Premier League winners and losers as Chelsea claimed the title, Liverpool returned to the Champions League and Wenger felt the heat

The 2016/17 Premier League season came to an end last weekend.

Here, Blair Newman, from our friends at Football Whispers summarise the winners and losers from another riveting campaign.

WINNER: ANTONIO CONTE

The former Juventus boss furthered his reputation as one of the finest managers on the continent by leading Chelsea to the title. And the Italian could build on that by guiding his team to an FA Cup success against Arsenal this Saturday.

Conte set a new tactical trend by implementing his 3-4-2-1 shape, enabling Eden Hazard to rediscover his finest form from a more central role. With a coherent system in place, the Blues won 30 of their 38 league fixtures to break the record for most wins in a single Premier League season.

LOSER: BORJA BASTON

Swansea paid a club-record £15.5million transfer fee to secure Baston’s services last summer, but the Spaniard failed to settle in his maiden Premier League campaign. Scoring just once in 14 outings, he found himself ousted from the starting line-up with his more experienced compatriot, Fernando Llorente, stepping into the centre-forward role to greater success.

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At 24 years of age, the ex-Atletico Madrid striker can come again. Indeed, manager Paul Clement recently stated that his poor form “doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a future here”. However, it will be hard to shake a curiously unproductive first year in English football.

WINNER: EDDIE HOWE

After a prolonged mid-season hiccup that saw them fail to win in eight Premier League games, Bournemouth finished well to not only ensure survival, but a comfortable ninth-place finish. For this, credit must be bestowed upon manager Eddie Howe.

The 39-year-old is widely regarded as the most promising English coach around and this term only enhanced his reputation. He improved the Cherries’ fortunes drastically, once again maximising the talent available while focusing on an aesthetically pleasing brand of football.

LOSER: PEP GUARDIOLA

There was something ominous about Manchester City’s start to 2016/17. They won their opening six Premier League fixtures, including a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, scoring 18 goals along the way. But, after 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, they never looked quite so convincing.

With his cloak of invincibility remorselessly torn from him, Guardiola at times looked more depressed and anxious than ever before in his impeccable managerial career.

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For the first time he went a year without trophies and his side only secured a Champions League berth on the final day. All in all, it was pretty underwhelming.

WINNER: HARRY KANE

Kane ended the campaign with a stunning flourish, hitting a remarkable seven goals in the last two Premier League games as Tottenham trounced Leicester City and Hull City by scores of 6-1 and 7-1 respectively. He leapfrogged Romelu Lukaku to win the Golden Boot award with 29 strikes in all.

The Englishman was a pivotal figure in an exciting and youthful side that ran Chelsea close for the title. His manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was quite right to describe him as: “One of the best strikers in the world.”

LOSER: RIYAD MAHREZ

Leicester City were always going to struggle to repeat their 2015/16 spectacular but few saw their fortunes turning so sour, so quickly. Title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked, the team flirted – albeit briefly – with relegation, and they finished the season in a disappointing 12th.

Nobody was more symbolic of the decline than Mahrez. The Algerian winger scored six Premier League goals and set up three, producing a tally that could be described as ‘peanuts’ when compared with his 17 goals and 11 assists last term.

WINNER: N’GOLO KANTE

Future defensive midfielders may have Kante to thank for increased recognition of their duties. The Frenchman was instrumental to Chelsea’s title win, with his relentless harrying and pressing in a central midfield two proving vital to the successful implementation of Conte’s tactics.

For his performances, the dogged ball-winner was named the PFA Player’s Player of the Year. To put this achievement into context, he was the first non-attacker to win the award since Steven Gerrard in 2006.

LOSER: DAVID MOYES

Sunderland’s survival streak came to an end this term under the auspices of Moyes, who endured a painful 2016/17. The Scotsman led the club to a mere six wins, leaving the Black Cats a sizeable 16 points off safety at the season’s conclusion.

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To add to the woe, the former Manchester United manager was charged by the FA for comments he made following a 0-0 draw at home to Burnley in March in which he suggested he might “slap” a female reporter.

WINNER: JURGEN KLOPP

Liverpool were one of just two Premier League clubs to make a net gain in the transfer market this season – the other being Southampton – but they still managed to achieve their aim of a top four finish.

Klopp was the mastermind re-deploying players such as Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and James Milner to build an effective team.

Only three sides scored more than the Reds, while their 76 points was the joint-third-highest tally the club has achieved in the last decade. All of this, along with a Champions League return, makes Klopp’s first full season in charge a success.

LOSER: ARSENE WENGER

The 2016/17 season was perhaps Wenger’s worst campaign in charge of Arsenal as calls for his exit grew.

An embarrassing Champions League second round exit to Bayern Munich was coupled with a failure to reach the Premier League’s top four for the first time since the Frenchman took charge.

While Wenger could still lead the club to another FA Cup win next weekend, even that may not be enough to grant his reprieve.