Ranking the Top 5 Infamous Collapses in Premier League Title Race History
Arsenal fans, look away.
After having as high as a 12-point lead in the Premier League over Manchester City, the Gunners' advantage has been cut to just three, with City being in position to take top spot midweek.
With that in mind, it led us to consider some of the biggest title collapses in Premier League history, which featured heartbreaking moments for some of England's biggest clubs.
Let's get on with the list of failures.
5. Arsenal, 2022-23
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The word "infamous" in this article's title keeps this off top spot.
By all means, Arsenal's failure to win the Premier League title in 2023 is the worst example of blowing a title race. Mikel Arteta's Gunners were top of the table for 248 days, the most of any side to then go on and fail to win the prize. That's 93 percent of the season.
They had one defeat in 21 before losing to Everton on February 4, which was then followed with a draw against Brentford and pivotal home defeat to Man City. Seven straight wins followed, the wobble seemingly resolved.
Nope. Arsenal drew against Liverpool, West Ham, and Southampton before being walloped by Man City again, this time down the home stretch. Two further losses saw City claim the title, leading Arteta down the route of being a man who desperately needs to one day make amends.
4. Arsenal, 2007-08
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Arsenal again, although in very different circumstances.
The Gunners' 2-2 draw with Birmingham in February 2008 is remembered for the awful Eduardo broken leg, an injury the Croatian striker never truly recovered from. They were five points clear heading into the game and striding through a 10-game unbeaten run. Then it all changed.
Birmingham went down to 10 men on three minutes, an advantage in most cases. But the emotional impact of the Eduardo situation led to one of the most infamous meltdowns in Premier League history.
James McFadden's 95th minute penalty somehow stole a point at St Andrews. Arsenal captain William Gallas completely lost it at full-time, kicking an advertising board and sitting on the pitch in a kind of protest against what he'd seen. Arsene Wenger came back for his man, who then launched into a tirade as the pair walked off.
Arsenal drew their next four, then lost to Chelsea, before finishing four points behind champions Man United in third.
3. Manchester United, 2011-12
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A title race defined by one player and the most famous Premier League commentary moment of all time.
Martin Tyler's "Aguerooooo" cry lives on so vividly in English football lore that it's almost forgotten how unlikely Manchester City's maiden title win seemed in the run-up to the changing of the guard.
Sergio Aguero's last-second strike against Queens Park Rangers was the culmination of multiple Manchester United failures. The Red Devils were eight points clear before defeat to Wigan Athletic in April. They had a 4-2 lead before drawing 4-4 with Everton just two games later.
The title was eventually decided by City's plus-64 goal difference against United's plus-56. This included City winning 6-1 at Old Trafford in the "Why Always Me?" match headlined by Mario Balotelli. Each goal in that destruction was a two-goal swing.
Subsequent eras for both sides have defined the modern Premier League. The investigation into City's 115 charges of alleged financial breaches between 2009 and 2018 could well change the feeling around this one if the club is found guilty, potentially making it even more infamous…
2. Newcastle United, 1995-96
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It's been 30 years since an absolutely classic Premier League moment.
Kevin Keegan's "I will love it if we beat them" rant is a generational headloss, brought on by Sir Alex Ferguson's mind games.
Keegan's Newcastle United blew the club's best chance at a Premier League title so far: The Magpies were 12 points clear and playing brilliant football with Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and other iconic names tearing through the league.
Ferguson was a master of getting under other manager's skin, though. He suggested Newcastle's two remaining opponents, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur, wouldn't put as much effort into trying to beat them as they did United.
This sent Keegan into meltdown during a Sky Sports interview, in which he not only spouted those famous words but also noted Fergie had gone down in his estimation.
Newcastle would go on to draw both games. United finished four points ahead and took the glory. Keegan would go on to sign Alan Shearer for a world-record fee, before resigning after suggesting he had taken the club as far as he could.
1. Liverpool, 2013-14
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It's still unbelievable that Steven Gerrard told his Liverpool teammates "This does not f--king slip now" before literally slipping to fatally dent their title run in 2014.
The captain delivered his heroic statement after the Reds beat Manchester City and went two points clear of Chelsea on April 13. Two weeks later, he hit the deck as Demba Ba stole in to help Jose Mourinho's Blues to a 2-0 victory at Anfield.
Liverpool's season got even worse in their next match. It looked as if the Chelsea loss had been shrugged off, as Brendan Rodgers' side eased to a 3-0 lead at Crystal Palace.
However, an incredible turnaround saw the Selhurst Park side score three in the final 11 minutes. The Reds went on to lose the title by two points, so it wasn't just the slip that led to the heartbreak.
That's the thing about drama. Liverpool's title collapse was nowhere near the worst when looking at the numbers. But the drama of the imagery: The iconic midfielder felled by his own battle cry. The fact that he never won the title…and then Liverpool did without him.
It's still sung about to this day. It will take something special to beat it.
Over to Arsenal?
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