Man City found guilty of financial breaches as Arsenal left with four title and trophy questions

Arsenal will have many questions after Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of the 115 alleged financial breaches

Arsenal are awaiting the verdict of what punishment, if any, Manchester City could face after being found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges brought against them for alleged breaches of financial rules by the Premier League. City denies any wrongdoing, and the process has moved to the appeal stage.

If their appeal is unsuccessful, then City could face a variety of different sanctions as a result. From a financial sanction to a points deduction, among others.

Many have posited whether titles won between and after the dates of the alleged breaches should be stripped retrospectively. 54 charges relate to allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

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Between December 2018 and February 2023, it is alleged that City failed to co-operate with Premier League investigations, which amount to 35 charges. 14 charges related to failures to provide accurate details for player/manager payments between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

There are a further seven charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations between 2015-16 and 2017-18. And finally, five charges relating to an alleged failure to comply with UEFA’s rules, including Financial Fair Play, between 2013-14 and 2017-18.

City beat Arsenal in the League Cup final in 2018, the last final Arsene Wenger competed in before leaving the club. The Gunners also finished second in the Premier League behind City in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons and lost to City in the 2026 League Cup final.

While the 2018 League Cup final falls within the range of the majority of the charges, many have argued that the impacts of City’s breaches, if found to have benefited them, would have helped them and contributed to their successes in the years since.

Burnley won a landmark legal case against Everton for breaching Premier League financial rules in June of 2026, and the Merseyside club were ordered to pay Burnley close to £40million. Burnley successfully argued that Everton had gained a sporting advantage by breaching PSR, and naturally, if City’s appeal fails and the guilty verdict of their breaches of PSR is upheld, it paves the way for other potential legal disputes with clubs.

Hence why Arsenal fans will be asking if the appeal from City fails and the charges are upheld, whether they could retrospectively be awarded two Premier League titles and two League Cup titles?