Everyone is accustomed to considering the Premier League an unpredictable league, and the current season is no exception. Arsenal are champions, while City just couldn’t make up the gap which formed early in the season. However, we have seen countless times how a seemingly solid lead crumbled to dust in just a couple of weeks, turning the title race into a real thriller. In this competition, leadership is an extremely fragile thing.
All-time record – Arsenal and 13 points (1997/98)
Today, London’s Arsenal holds a truly epic record: no one in Premier League history has ever overcome such a gigantic deficit en route to the title. I’m talking about the 1997/98 season. Back then, the Gunners pulled off something out of this world, consuming Manchester United’s 13-point lead.
Frankly, fans were not exactly laughing at first – the team managed to lose four of its first eight matches. By February, the situation looked catastrophic: 12 points behind the leaders. It seemed like the end. But right after Christmas, the team was completely transformed. Arsenal went on a wild run of 10 consecutive wins, with a defensive wall that was practically impenetrable, conceding only three goals during the entire period. In the end, the Londoners beat Ferguson’s men by one point, and Arsène Wenger took his first full title in England, silencing the critics.
The Art of the Impossible – The Miracles of Sir Alex
While Arsenal holds an all-time record, Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams possessed a habit of systematically closing huge gaps between opponents. In the first Premier League season (1992/93), Manchester United were seventh at the start of December, 12 points behind leaders Norwich City. During that historic period, a combination of three key factors helped the Mancunians turn around a struggling championship, including:
The landmark November transfer of Eric Cantona from Leeds, who transformed the team’s attacking play.
The decline of rivals Norwich, who succumbed to the pressure of being at the top, and went on a long winless streak.
Their own impeccable form in the final stretch, culminating in seven victories in a row in the…..
