Where Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal rank in the best runners-up in Premier League history
On average, it takes 87 points to win the Premier League title, but several teams have accumulated more than that tally and still ended up losing out.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side gave it their best shot this season, but still came up short despite accumulating an impressive 89 points throughout the season.
We’ve taken a closer look at the five Premier League sides who have accumulated the most points without winning the league to see where Arsenal ranks.
Note: when teams are level on points, we have separated them by goal difference.
5. Manchester United – 1994-95 (88 points)
It’s worth noting that the 1994-95 season was contested over 42 games, but the Red Devils were still desperately unlucky to miss out on the title that year.
Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn Rovers just pipped them to the league by a single point after United failed to beat West Ham on the final day of the season.
In 2011, when Sir Alex Ferguson was asked which game he could change in his career, he told reporters: “The West Ham game, away, in 1995 when we drew 1-1.
“The referee missed a blatant penalty kick when their defender Tim Breacker punched the ball away. It was unbelievable.
“That was the one game I would change because we really deserved to win that day. It was agony, the mayhem around that goalmouth. It just wasn’t for us. Fate goes different ways sometimes.”
4. Manchester United – 2011-12 (89 points)
The most dramatic final day in Premier League history. United thought they’d got the job done after beating Sunderland, only for Sergio Aguero to snatch the title away from them in stoppage time.
Despite winning 14 of their final 18 matches that season, Ferguson’s side were pipped to the league title on goal difference by their city rivals.
“When we lost the title on the last day in 2012, players were crying,” Patrice Evra told reporters in 2021.
“Ferguson told us to feel it, to hurt.
“I did an interview and said we would win it back by 10 points the next season. We won it by 13.”
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3. Arsenal – 2023-24 (89 points)
Arteta’s side pushed Man City all the way this season but still came up short in the end. Despite only losing one game in the calendar year of 2024, they still finished two points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Gunners broke several records throughout the 2023-24 campaign too. They accumulated the most points, goals and wins in the club’s Premier League history and played some fantastic football along the way.
Despite the agony of missing out on the title, Arsenal fans can sense the progress they’ve made and they’ll no doubt be in contention for the league next year.
2. Liverpool – 2021-22 (92 points)
The Reds were almost flawless this season, but Guardiola still managed to beat them to the punch. Jurgen Klopp’s side were on the cusp of a quadruple in the backend of the season, but they just fell short in the Premier League and Champions League.
Liverpool didn’t lose a single league match from January onwards, but they weren’t able to catch the juggernaut that was Man City, who finished one point above them in the end.
It’s not the only time they’ve lost the league by a single point either…
1. Liverpool – 2018-19 (97 points)
After one of the most enthralling title races of all time, which saw both Man City and Liverpool win their final eight matches of the season, Guardiola had the last laugh by finishing on 98 points.
Liverpool couldn’t have really given anything more in 2018-19, their side was pushed to the absolute brink but still ended up falling short.
Klopp’s side only lost one game throughout the entire campaign and having picked up 97 points, they are by far English football’s greatest-ever runners-up. In fact, their 97-point haul that year is the fourth-highest tally in Premier League history, enough to have won the title in all but three seasons.