Is the Premier League's Big 4 still the same?

It is quite well known that for majority of the 2000’s the Premier League was dominated by four clubs. Namely, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool & Manchester United but is it still the same? Is the top 4 spot for Champions League still dominated by these 4 teams?

Having a look at Premier League table since 2010 and the teams that have been mostly at the top 4 might give us a strong point to argue about it.

2010-11 : Man United, Chelsea, Man City & Arsenal

2011-12 : Man City, Man United, Arsenal & Tottenham

2012-13 : Man United, Man City, Chelsea & Arsenal

2013-14 : Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal

2014-15 : Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal & Man United

2015-16 : Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham & Man City

2016-17 : Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City & Liverpool

Having one look at the table shows that, Chelsea (5) , Man City (7), Arsenal (6) have been the most consistent to finish top 4 every season. So, where does this leave Man United and Liverpool, who have been part of the original Premier League’s Big 4?

Other things to consider are Tottenham’s rise and Arsenal’s dip in the league. For two consecutive seasons, Tottenham have made in the top four and for the first time in their history Arsenal have finished outside of top 4. Will this trend continue? Looking at the way how the 2017-18 season has started, I do believe that it’s possible for Tottenham to chase the League title while Arsenal will struggle in the league and will focus more on winning the Europa League much like United last season.

In this picture, where do we place Liverpool? I believe that they’ll definitely fight to be in the Top 4 but I do not see them toppling the likes of the two Manchester Clubs’ and Chelsea.

In view of this, I think we can forget the word Big 4, split the meaning of it into two. The Big 6 and Top 3.

If you ask me, it’s highly unlikely that any team other than Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man United will finish in the Top 6 as they are on a league of their own. However, the strongest among these 6 teams can be determined by, who finishes the Top 3.  The point difference between the top 3 would be less unlike the big margin of points between the teams who finish 4^th, 5^th and 6^th.

Slowly but surely the firm grip which the Big 4 had on the Premier League has been broken and it is now all about the Big 6 and Top 3. Agreed?