’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Everton within the Merseyside derby might not have been the best outcome for the Reds, but it surely has offered them with a seven-point cushion on the high of the with simply 14 matches left to play.
And stay their closest challengers, with Mikel Arteta’s facet difficult for the title for the third season in a row.
Arne Slot’s facet have grow to be the dominant pressure within the division for the reason that Dutchman’s arrival, with only one loss within the league up to now this season, and a few followers and pundits will regard their lead as unassailable given their present kind.
However lots can occur over the past months of the season, as earlier campaigns have confirmed. Whereas a seven-point hole in February is a tricky ask for the Gunners, there have been seven seasons wherein even a double-digit deficit has been clawed again.
And with Arsenal dealing with Liverpool at Anfield in Might, historical past tells us that the race for the title is just not over but.
Can Arsenal shut the hole on Liverpool?
Because it stands, Liverpool and Arsenal have performed the identical variety of matches and there’s a seven-point hole between the 2 sides.
Liverpool’s kind so far means that they’re unlikely to lose many extra video games, and even when Arsenal win the assembly at Anfield in Might, they would wish to realize one other 4 factors on the Reds.
Maybe most crucially, Arsenal ‘can’t afford to lose’ once more at this stage – no less than in idea – having misplaced two and drawn eight up to now this season.
Loads of different elements may have a say within the vacation spot of the 2024/25 Premier League title, from troublesome fixture lists to key accidents, although it seems like Arteta’s facet have obtained the primary blow there, with Gabriel Martinelli lately dominated out.
However Arsenal followers can maintain out hope as we enter the enterprise finish of the season, with the Gunners themselves having overturned the largest deficit in Premier League historical past.
The most important factors gaps overturned within the Premier League
13 factors – Arsenal, 1997/98
Arsenal’s maiden Premier League title will need to have seemed almost inconceivable in December 1997, although the Gunners ultimately clawed again a mammoth 13-point deficit.
Although that they had a recreation in hand, Arsenal discovered themselves 13 factors adrift of within the final month of 1997, having misplaced 4 and drawn two in an eight-game run from mid-October. Most pertinently, Arsene Wenger’s facet even trailed United by 12 factors in February.
Nonetheless, after Christmas the Gunners didn’t lose a recreation till after they’d already wrapped up the title, with a 10-match profitable streak – together with a 1-0 win at Previous Trafford courtesy of Marc Overmars – serving to them on their technique to the title in early Might.
12 factors – Man Utd, 1992/93
The inaugural Premier League season noticed the start of Manchester United’s 90s dominance, however in December 1992 it seemed far off with United sitting in seventh, 12 factors behind leaders Norwich.
Remarkably, ’s facet have been high of the league as rapidly as mid-January, with Norwich not managing to win any of their six matches between 12 December and 16 January.
Although United didn’t keep high for the remainder of the season, they did find yourself ending 10 factors away from second-placed Aston Villa.
12 factors – Man Utd, 1995/96
Maybe probably the most well-known Premier League title comeback got here within the 1995/96 season, with Kevin Keegan’s “I might find it irresistible if we beat them” rant now immortalised in English soccer historical past.
Keegan’s led United by 12 factors as late as 12 January 1996, however a powerful run of kind from Ferguson’s facet – and an equally as shocking drop in kind from the Magpies – meant that the Crimson Devils arrived at St James’ Park simply three factors behind on 4 March.
An early aim from Eric Cantona gave United the win, they usually have been instantly second solely on targets scored. From there, Newcastle’s run of simply 9 wins of their final 17 matches meant that the title as soon as once more ended up in Manchester, with the Magpies ending second by 4 factors.
10 factors – Man Utd, 1996/97
United appear to have made a behavior of overturning factors deficits throughout the 90s, an they needed to do it for the second season in a row in 1996/97.
Nevertheless, it was extra simple this time, as United have been 10 factors behind Liverpool in December however with two video games in hand. A 3-1 win at Anfield in April 1997 helped to cut back the deficit, and United went on to win the league with a document low complete of 75 factors.
In a season when most of the groups struggled, this document low complete was nonetheless seven factors above second-placed Newcastle, and the champions didn’t require the near-perfect type of earlier seasons.
The truth is, of their final 18 matches from New 12 months’s Day till the top of the season, United drew 5 and misplaced two.
10 factors – Man Utd, 2002/03
A gradual begin to the season – with two wins from their opening six – created one other 10-point deficit for Alex Ferguson’s facet in November 2002.
Arsenal led by eight factors as late as March 2003 too, however a drop in kind meant that they gained simply 10 of their final matches. Contrastingly, United didn’t lose a single considered one of their final 18 after a defeat to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day, and the Crimson Devils claimed the title with a five-point margin after Arsenal didn’t win at Leeds in early Might.
10 factors – Man Utd, 2008/09
This ‘comeback’ arguably shouldn’t be on the checklist, with United primarily dealing with a 10-point deficit as a result of they didn’t play within the league for nearly a fortnight. Attributable to collaborating within the Membership World Cup, the hole between United and Liverpool opened as much as 10 factors in December, although Ferguson’s facet ended up having three video games in hand.
Nonetheless, the title race was one of many extra dramatic lately, with Ferguson prompting one other rant from a rival with Rafa Benitez’s now-famous press convention referencing “info” associated to Ferguson’s conduct and a few refereeing selections in United matches.
The Reds’ 4-1 win at Previous Trafford in March saved the title race alive, however Liverpool’s drop in kind between January and April – the Reds gained simply seven of 13 video games – helped United acquire the benefit, with Federico Macheda offering maybe the second of the season in United’s 3-2 house win over Villa in April.
The Crimson Devils solely dropped two extra factors from then on, and went on to say the title with a four-point hole.
10 factors – Man Metropolis, 2018/19
The newest comeback on the checklist got here amid a brand new title rivalry, as landed the primary blow on Jurgen Klopp.
In December 2018, have been 10 factors off the highest – once more with a recreation in hand – after a dominant Liverpool had gained 18 and drawn two of their opening 20 matches.
Nevertheless, a exceptional run of kind from Guardiola’s facet after Boxing Day noticed them win 18 of their final 19 matches. A 2-1 win over Liverpool in early January proved to be Liverpool’s solely lack of the season, and it got here at an enormous price as Metropolis landed the title by a single level – 98 to Liverpool’s 97.
