When teams have let Premier League title leads slip: Arsenal & Man City

The argument raging on social media and among pundits is: Did Arsenal "bottle it," or is unrelenting Manchester City simply too strong?

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With a 4-1 home victory over Leeds United at the start of April, Arsenal maintained its eight-point advantage over Premier League rival Manchester City.

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After a second-half collapse against Brighton at home on Sunday, the Gunners' prospects of winning their first championship since the undefeated 'Invincibles' team of 2003-04 appear to be overcome in May.

City has won 11 straight league games and has dropped only two points from a possible 42, putting them one win away from a third straight top-flight title.

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experts in data Given that Arsenal's current total of 81 points precisely matches their expectations, Nielsen's Gracenote suggests there was no case of the team "bottling" the title.

Instead, Manchester City is setting an even higher standard; according to their estimations, the team has "outperformed expectations by seven points since mid-January".

 Sport examines the other Premier League championship contests when sizable leads were blown.

'Agueroooooo!' -Man City and Manchester United, 2011–12 (eight-point lead)

Premier League table - 8 April 2012
Position	Team	Played	Won	Dawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
1.	Man United	32	25	4	3	78	27	79
2.	Man City	32	22	5	5	75	26	71

Manchester City and Manchester United were the two front-runners in the 2011–12 season, alternately holding the top two spots in the standings. With six games left, City was eight points behind United after a 1-0 loss to Arsenal on April 8 at Emirates Stadium.

Would coach Sir Alex Ferguson return to Old Trafford with his 13th Premier League championship? Or could Roberto Mancini bring City its first triumph in the top division in 44 years?

City won all six of their remaining games, including a 1-0 victory over United, to win the Premier League on goal differential in one of the league's most dramatic finishes. Ferguson watched his team lose 1-0 to Wigan and lost two points in a 4-4 tie with Everton while leading 4-2 with seven minutes remaining as Mancini's team continued to rack up victories.

In their final game of the season, which they lost 2-1 at home to QPR while United defeated Sunderland, City's Edin Dzeko equalized the score in the 92nd minute, and Sergio Aguero's memorable victory in the fourth minute of extra time turned Manchester blue.

Liverpool and Man City's 2013–14 title hopes were dashed despite holding a nine-point lead.

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Premier League table - 20 April 2014
Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
1.	Liverpool	35	25	5	5	96	44	80
2.	Chelsea	34	23	6	5	66	24	75
3.	Man City	33	22	5	6	88	34	71

League championships and Liverpool used to go hand in hand, but the Merseyside club has failed to win a top-flight trophy since 1990.

With Brendan Rodgers in charge, the Reds went on a scorching run of 11 straight victories, including a victory over Manchester City at home, as the season neared its conclusion. As a result, the Reds led the Premier League title race in April 2014 by five points over Chelsea in second place and by nine points over Manuel Pellegrini's City in third.

Rodgers and his team understood they could not afford any errors in their final three games because Liverpool had played more games than their two closest competitors combined.

However, when Jose Mourinho's Chelsea arrived at Anfield on April 27, the title battle was completely opened up. Following Reds captain Steven Gerrard's error to close the first half, Demba Ba gave the Blues the lead, and Willian's breakaway strike in stoppage time made it 2-0.

One week later, a three-goal lead was blown in the closing 11 minutes of a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace, seriously denting Liverpool's trophy hopes once more.

While the Reds were struggling for the title, City won their last five games and won the Premier League by two points, capturing their second title in three years.

Arsenal and Manchester United, 1997–98 (11–point lead), French Revolution

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Premier League table - 2 March 1998
Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
1.	Man Utd	28	18	5	5	57	19	59
2.	Arsenal	26	13	9	4	45	26	48
3.	Blackburn	27	13	9	5	49	33	48

In his first season as Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger brought the Gunners double happiness by winning the FA Cup and the league title for the first time in seven years.

The team they beat to the title was Manchester United, who took charge of the standings in October 1997 with a 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley. They remained in contention for a third straight Premier League title until April, and by the beginning of March, they had an 11-point lead over Arsenal and Blackburn, despite the fact that the teams below them had games in hand.

With two games left, Wenger's Highbury revolution gained momentum, and 10 straight victories allowed them to win the title as Ferguson's team crumbled after losses to Sheffield United and the Gunners and draws to West Ham, Liverpool, and Newcastle.

Newcastle & Manchester United, 1995–1996 (12–point advantage) "I will love it if we beat them"

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Premier League table - 20 January 1996
Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
1.	Newcastle	23	17	3	3	45	19	54
2.	Liverpool	23	12	6	5	46	21	42
3.	Man United	23	12	6	5	41	27	42

Prior to his famous "I will love it" post-game interview, Kevin Keegan had started the season in title-winning form for Newcastle United and had a 12-point lead over Manchester United by January 1996.

However, Newcastle lost five of their following eight games and were upset by Ferguson's team at St. James' Park in March, narrowing the margin at the top to one point. The remaining 15 games did not go as manager Keegan had hoped.

More road failures ensued, including defeats to Arsenal, Blackburn, and Liverpool in a thrilling 4-3 game at Anfield, allowing Manchester United to catch up to the Magpies on points with 64 before passing them with a 1-0 triumph against the Gunners at Old Trafford.

When Ferguson questioned whether certain clubs were as dedicated to defeating Newcastle as his own team was, the mind games began.

After a spirited 1-0 victory over Leeds United, Keegan went off on the Sky Sports cameras, saying: "He [Ferguson] has got to go to Middlesbrough and get something," before concluding with the catchphrase. I'll be honest with you: I would adore it if we defeated them.

Unfortunately for Keegan and Newcastle, Manchester United had no trouble winning the final game at Boro, 3-0. In their final two games, Newcastle drew 1-1 with both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, prolonging their wait to win the English championship for the first time since 1927.

Bottled it? - Opinions of the fans

Arsenal had to play the entire season with essentially the same team, according to Yves. If necessary, Man City can field three different squads and still win the league. Seriously, what did folks anticipate would occur?

Arsenal blew it, Tim. It's OK to argue that coming in second place is fantastic, but they did it with an eight-point advantage during a season in which Spurs collapsed, Liverpool and Chelsea had terrible seasons, and City started slowly. Their opportunity was now.

Arsenal hasn't bottled anything, said Dobbo. The appropriate result is always the best team winning the league, and Man City is the greatest team, regrettably.

Where exactly are these people claiming that Arsenal threw the league away, asks James? They have, but the reality remains that finishing second after placing fifth the year prior and anticipating finishing below the top four once more, is still an amazing season. Although there is obviously a need for additional strength and depth, the players this season nonetheless deserve some respect.

I wonder if all the Arsenal supporters remember the criticism they leveled at Spurs for being 'bottle jobs' after Leicester won the league rightfully. How many points were Spurs ahead in February once more?