Could Arsenal be Premier League Runners-Up for a Fourth Season in a Row?

In 2023/24 Man City made history by becoming the first side to claim the top-flight title in English football four years in a row. It was an amazing achievement and in some ways more impressive than the treble (Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup) they secured in the third of those title-winning campaigns. In 136 years of English league football they were the first to land four successive championships and it may well be many, many years before we see anyone match that.

That is the sort of history any club in the world would love to make. After their recent 2-2 draw with Wolves, Arsenal look set to make a far less welcome bit of history. They could well complete their own four in a row, but four in a row of what hard-edged competitors would call “first loser”, which is to say, finishing second in the PL table in four consecutive campaigns.

Gunners Let Two-Goal Lead Slip

When top meets bottom in the Premier League, or any league for that matter, there should only be one winner. When the bottom club have lost 19 of their previous 26 contests the conviction that they will lose a 20th only grows. With less than half an hour to go of the Gunners’ clash with Wolves, everything was going according to the script.

Having just made Bukayo Saka their highest-paid player, the Arsenal hierarchy would have been delighted to see the England attacker give the Gunners the lead after just five minutes, ending a lengthy personal goal drought in the process. Piero Hincapie made it 2-0 after 56 minutes and Mikel Arteta’s men were sailing. Wolves, at home, posted an xG of just 0.06 in the first half and looked little better for the first half hour of the second.

But then, somehow, they got back in the game. In the second half they had just three shots, two from outside the area, but scored twice and pinched a 2-2 draw that will have been roundly cheered in Manchester. Arsenal fans will now be desperately worried about how the final 10 games of the season will go for them and many will be convinced that they will once again finish second in the Premier League. To matters worse for them on a night when they conceded an equaliser in the 94th minute via an own goal, they also saw Saka go off injured.

Whether the Gunners have bottled it in seasons gone by is open to debate. Last season Liverpool were streets ahead, while City have been formidable opponents when at their best, as they more or less were for the four seasons (and more) before that. But the “b word” is most certainly being brought out now and few would be confident that Arteta’s players have what it takes to find the right reaction.

Since the 8th of January Arsenal have drawn four PL games and lost, at home, against Man United. They have let a commanding position slip and if Man City win their game in hand, Pep Guardiola’s men will trail the Gunners by just two points. The north London outfit remain title favourites at odds of 8/13, compared to 13/8 for City, but things can change quickly. Arsenal bounced back with a 4-1 win against a struggling Spurs side in the North London Derby, however, their next two games are Chelsea at home before a trip to Brighton.

Has Any Side Been Runner-up Four Years Running?

The last side to finish second in the top tier of English football three years running before Arsenal was … Arsenal. The Gunners had to watch on as Man United claimed a hat-trick of titles between 1999 and 2001. However, Arsene Wenger’s side went on to win the league and cup double in 2002 to stop the rot.

Arteta, his players and everyone associated with the club will be desperate for history to repeat itself. Just a few weeks ago such an outcome seemed highly likely but now Arsenal look in real trouble. Leeds United also finished second three years running, doing so right at the start of the 1970s. However, they won the title in 1968/69 and then again in 1973/74. That said, they ended third in 1973, so came very close to making it four runner-up finishes in succession.

Man United are another team with an unwanted hat-trick of second-place finishes, the Red Devils being pipped in 1946/47, 1947/48 and 1948/49. Before that we have to go right back to the earliest years of the Football League and Preston, who came second in three straight campaigns from 1890/91 onwards.

So to answer the key question, no side has ever had to settle for silver four years running in the top tier of English football. Over to you Arsenal.