Arsenal: When teams have let big leads go in Premier League title races

It is the statement dividing pundits and societal media - did Arsenal 'bottle it', oregon are relentless Manchester City conscionable excessively strong?

Premier League array connected 1 April 2023

Fast guardant to May and the Gunners' hopes of securing a archetypal rubric since the unbeaten 'Invincibles' broadside of 2003-04 look over, aft a second-half capitulation astatine location to Brighton connected Sunday.

City are 1 triumph distant from a 3rd successive top-flight crown acknowledgment to winning 11 league games successful a enactment and dropping conscionable 2 points from 42.

Data experts Nielsen's Gracenote suggest it was not a lawsuit of Arsenal 'bottling' the title, and much Manchester City raising the barroom adjacent higher to instrumentality it distant from them, with their calculations showing City person "outperformed expectations by 7 points since mid-January".

BBC Sport looks astatine the different Premier League rubric races successful which important leads person been overturned.

• When tin Manchester City triumph title?
• 'It feels similar determination is nary hope' - Arsenal's rubric dreams slice

'Agueroooooo!' - Man City & Man Utd, 2011-12 (eight-point lead)

The 2011-12 rubric combat was a two-horse contention betwixt Manchester City and Manchester United, with the rivals swapping places astatine the apical of the array passim the campaign. Following a 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Arsenal astatine Emirates Stadium connected 8 April, City recovered themselves 8 points down United with six matches remaining.

Would manager Sir Alex Ferguson beryllium bringing a 13th Premier League trophy backmost to Old Trafford? Or could Roberto Mancini unafraid City's archetypal top-flight occurrence successful 44 years?

In 1 of the astir melodramatic endings to a Premier League campaign, City won each of their past six matches - including a 1-0 triumph against United - to triumph the league connected extremity difference. While Guardiola's men collected 3 points aft 3 points, Ferguson watched his broadside suffer 1-0 to Wigan and driblet 2 points successful a 4-4 gully with Everton aft starring 4-2 with 7 minutes to go.

Two minutes into wounded clip successful their last lucifer of the season, losing 2-1 astatine location to QPR and with United beating Sunderland, City's Edin Dzeko scored a 92nd-minute equaliser earlier Sergio Aguero's celebrated winner successful the 4th infinitesimal of added clip turned Manchester entity blue.

Title ambitions gaffe distant - Liverpool & Man City, 2013-14 (nine-point lead)

Steven Gerrard told his erstwhile Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher connected The Greatest Game podcast successful 2020 that helium thinks astir his gaffe against Chelsea "most days"

Liverpool and winning league titles utilized to spell hand-in-hand, but the hunt for a top-flight trophy since 1990 had been a fruitless task for the Merseyside club.

Brendan Rodgers was present successful the managerial seat and arsenic the play drew person to its conclusion, the Reds deed a scintillating tally of form, picking up 11 consecutive victories - including a location triumph implicit Manchester City - to pb the Premier League rubric contention successful April 2014 by 5 points implicit second-placed Chelsea and 9 points implicit Pep Guardiola's City successful third.

With Liverpool having played much games than their 2 closest rivals, Rodgers and his broadside knew they could not spend immoderate mistakes successful their last 3 games.

The rubric contention was blown wide open, however, erstwhile Jose Mourinho's Chelsea arrived astatine Anfield connected 27 April. Demba Ba gave the Blues the pb astatine the extremity of the archetypal fractional aft Reds skipper Steven Gerrard's slip, earlier Willian capped a 2-0 win with a breakaway extremity successful stoppage time.

One week aboriginal Liverpool's trophy ambitions were severely dented again aft a three-goal pb was squandered successful the last 11 minutes successful a 3-3 gully astatine Crystal Palace.

In the midst of the Reds' rubric stumble, City won their past 5 matches and picked up their 2nd Premier League prize successful 3 years by 2 points.

French gyration - Arsenal & Man Utd, 1997-98 (11-point lead)

This was Arsenal's archetypal rubric successful the Premier League epoch and 11th successful English football

Arsene Wenger was successful his archetypal afloat play arsenic Arsenal manager erstwhile helium delivered Double delight to the Gunners by securing their archetypal league rubric successful 7 years and the FA Cup.

The squad they pipped to glory was Manchester United, who took power of the array successful October 1997 with a 7-0 thumping of Barnsley, stayed connected people for a 3rd consecutive Premier League honour until April and had an 11-point buffer to Arsenal and Blackburn by the commencement of March - though the sides beneath them had games successful hand.

Wenger's gyration astatine Highbury picked up gait successful the second stages of the run and 10 wins successful a enactment saw them assistance the rubric with 2 fixtures remaining arsenic Ferguson's broadside faltered with defeats by Sheffield United and the Gunners, positive draws against West Ham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

'I volition emotion it if we bushed them' - Newcastle & Man Utd, 1995-96 (12-point lead)

Kevin Keegan (right) slumped successful the dugout erstwhile Liverpool striker Stan Collymore scored the injury-time victor against Newcastle astatine Anfield successful April 1996

Before Kevin Keegan fto his emotions spill implicit successful his celebrated "I volition emotion it" post-match interview, Newcastle United had started the run successful title-winning signifier and held a 12-point vantage implicit Manchester United by January 1996.

The remaining 15 fixtures did not spell to program for Magpies manager Keegan, however, arsenic Newcastle mislaid 5 of their adjacent 8 matches and were defeated by Ferguson's broadside astatine St James' Park successful March to chopped the spread astatine the apical to 1 point.

More distant woes were to travel with losses to Arsenal, Blackburn, and the 4-3 thriller astatine Anfield against Liverpool, allowing United to gully level connected 64 points earlier overtaking the Magpies with a 1-0 triumph against the Gunners astatine Old Trafford.

The caput games started erstwhile Ferguson questioned whether immoderate teams were arsenic committed to getting a effect against Newcastle arsenic they were his ain team.

Cue Keegan's rant to the Sky Sports cameras aft a hard-fought 1-0 triumph implicit Leeds United, erstwhile helium said: "He [Ferguson] has got to spell to Middlesbrough and get something," earlier ending with the classical enactment "I'll archer you, honestly, I volition emotion it if we bushed them - emotion it."

Unfortunately for Keegan and Newcastle, getting thing retired of the last lucifer astatine Boro was elemental for Manchester United who won 3-0. With 1-1 draws against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham successful Newcastle's last games, their hold to beryllium crowned English champions for the archetypal clip since 1927 continued.

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