Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League after drawing with Nottingham Forest at the weekend, but two goalless draws in a row have reopened an old conversation: can they actually last the course?
If they were to let this title slip, it would go down as one of the biggest chokes in the club’s history — and that’s saying something. Arsenal have a long, painful tradition of losing when it was easier to win.
Here are eight of the most infamous occasion where Arsenal bottled it.
2022/23 – The Eight‑Point Head Start That Vanished
Eight points clear. Ten games left. Playing the best football they’d produced in years. And then, in true Arsenal fashion, the whole thing unravelled. Leads thrown away at Anfield, the London Stadium and at home to Southampton. A humbling at the Etihad. A brief revival, then Brighton and Forest finished the job. City didn’t so much chase them down as stroll past them while Arsenal tripped over their own shoelaces.
2010/11 League Cup Final – Birmingham City, Of All Teams
A final against a side who would end the season relegated. A trophy drought begging to be ended. And yet Arsenal contrived to lose to Birmingham City after a defensive calamity that still gets replayed every February. It was the softest of soft landings, and they still belly‑flopped.
2007/08 – Eduardo, Birmingham and the Collapse That Followed
Five points clear with 12 games to go, Arsenal looked set for a title. Then came that day at St Andrew’s: Eduardo’s horrific injury, Gallas sitting on the pitch like a man questioning his life choices, and a late equaliser that sucked the life out of the season. They didn’t recover. Three straight draws followed, United pulled away, and Arsenal finished third. A title lost in a single afternoon.
2002/03 – Bolton, Leeds, and a Gift-Wrapped Title for United
Arsenal were cruising. They had the best goal difference in the league. They were playing the best football. And then they drew at Bolton after leading, lost at home to Leeds in their 36th game, and handed the title to Manchester United. Win either of those matches and they’re champions. Instead, they opened the door and United walked straight through it.
2009/10 – The Spring Fade
A run of six wins put Arsenal right back in the title conversation. Then the conversation ended abruptly. They failed to win five of their last seven, including painful defeats at Tottenham and Wigan. It wasn’t a dramatic collapse, more a slow, predictable deflation. The kind Arsenal specialise in.
2015/16 – Leicester’s Miracle, Arsenal’s Miss
When Arsenal beat Leicester on Valentine’s Day, they moved within two points of the Foxes. The title was right there. And then, in the most Arsenal sequence imaginable, they won just two of their next seven games. Leicester kept marching; Arsenal kept stumbling. By the time they woke up, the miracle was complete, and it wasn’t theirs.
2007/08 Champions League – The Anfield Implosion
Arsenal actually played well at Anfield. They controlled the tie, scored the big away goal, and when Adebayor put them ahead late on, it looked like they’d finally cracked Europe. Then, within minutes, they conceded a penalty, conceded again on the counter, and were out. It was the purest form of Arsenal heartbreak: hope, belief, collapse.
1998/99 – The Penultimate-Game Disaster That Changed Football History
Many say Arsenal were the best team in England that season. They conceded just 17 goals. They were relentless. And yet they lost their penultimate game away at Leeds, handing the initiative to Manchester United. United won the league by a single point and went on to complete the treble. One more Arsenal win, literally anywhere, and the entire story of English football changes.
If Arsenal choke this season, it won’t be new. It’ll just be the latest chapter in a long, painful anthology.
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