Arsenal will be at risk of setting a new club unwanted record in the Premier League when they take on Liverpool in Sunday’s tantalising top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
The Gunners’ trip to Merseyside could have potentially proven pivotal in the title race earlier this season, but Mikel Arteta‘s men have been condemned to another trophyless campaign.
Second place is now the best that Arsenal can hope for in the Premier League table, while their Champions League campaign ended with a gut-wrenching defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
Either side of their two losses to PSG, the Gunners’ familiar defensive frailties came to the fore yet again in last weekend’s Premier League battle with Bournemouth, who came from behind at the Emirates to prevail 2-1.
That defeat was the 10th separate Premier League game this season where Arsenal have led but failed to triumph – more than in any other season – and another unwanted club record along the same lines could now be broken.
Arsenal at risk of dropped points record in Liverpool game
Should Arteta’s men take the lead on Sunday but fail to prevail, they will set a new club record for their most amount of points dropped from winning positions in a single Premier League campaign.
Last weekend’s loss to the Cherries means that Arsenal have let 21 points slip in such circumstances this season, their joint-most for one Premier League campaign alongside the 2019-20 term.
If Arsenal were 21 points better off right now, they would be six points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League rankings and therefore capable of winning the league against Arne Slot‘s men.
However, the Gunners are instead yet to even confirm a top-five finish and Champions League football for next season, only sitting three points above Manchester City, four clear of Chelsea and Newcastle United and six better off than Nottingham Forest.
Arteta’s men host fellow Champions League hopefuls Newcastle at the Emirates in their penultimate game of the season, before a trip to rock-bottom Southampton, where victory should suffice for a top-five place regardless of what transpires in their two preceding games.
Liverpool could equal unwanted Arsenal, Chelsea feat vs. Gunners
While Arsenal could write a new page of unwanted club history, Liverpool are at risk of joining an exclusive club of Premier League title winners after last weekend’s 3-1 loss at the hands of Chelsea.
If the champions suffer a shock defeat on Sunday as well, they would become just the third side to lose their first two matches since being crowned Premier League champions after Arsenal and the Blues.
The 1997-98 Gunners crop were beaten by Liverpool and Aston Villa in their last two matches of that season, while the 2005-06 Chelsea side lost to Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United after winning the league.
However, even a second straight loss in the division should not dampen the party atmosphere at Anfield, even if some of the home crowd react negatively to the presence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who will be on the bench after confirming his decision to leave.
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