Arsenal could pull away in the Premier League but past traumas remain | OneFootball

After feeling the pressure from Manchester City at the end of last year, Arsenal have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points.

It won't be easy against the defending champions Liverpool, who are fourth in the standings and responsible for one of only two defeats suffered by the Gunners this season, but there is a 14-point difference and Arsenal will have home advantage.

If Arsenal do secure the three points at Emirates Stadium and opens up an eight-point lead, Mikel Arteta will see his team in a comfortable position, a situation he has experienced not so long ago, which ended poorly for the London team. 

In the January of the 2022/23 season, Arsenal had an eight-point lead over Manchester City who had just lost a derby against Manchester United. However, February began with a loss to the struggling Everton, a draw at home with Brentford, and a 3-1 defeat to City, on a night inspired by Kevin De Bruyne, with a goal and an assist. 

Arsenal did recover and won seven in a row but drew with Liverpool, West Ham, and Southampton before losing once more to City, this time 4-1, to bid farewell to the title they haven't won since the 2003/04 season.

The season ended with Arsenal finishing as runners-up – their best campaign since 2015/16 – marking a series of three consecutive seasons finishing just behind the champion. Will history change this time?

Trauma that Led to the Invincibles

The Invincibles of 2003/04 might be the most famous team in Arsenal's history and it had an origin story worthy of a comic book. In the previous season, 2002/03, Arsène Wenger's side were chasing back-to-back titles and had an eight-point lead over Manchester United at the beginning of March. 

But the marathon of games – competing in the Champions League and the FA Cup simultaneously – was simply too muchwith Arsenal winning only two out of a sequence of seven games and losing the lead. 

The final two games of that game ended in 6-1 and 4-0 thrashings of Southampton and Sunderland, respectively, kicking off a series of 49 unbeaten games in the Premier League.

The Biggest Collapses

Although Arsenal is remembered for recent 'chokes', the Gunners are nowhere near the biggest flops in Premier League history. Newcastle United, in the 1995/96 season, had opened up a 12-point lead after 23 games, only to finish the championship four points behind Manchester United. Kevin Keegan, who has sadly recently been diagnosed with cancer, served up one of the all-time memorable rants: "I would love it if we beat them..."

Sir Alex Ferguson's team, however, would also squander a huge lead shortly thereafter. Entering the 1997/98 season as back-to-back champions, United were also enjoying 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal at the beginning of March even if the Gunners had three games in hand at the time.

Regardless, not only did the London team do their part but the Red Devils stumbled in three consecutive rounds which ended in Wenger's first title.