What a difference a month makes. Just a few weeks ago, Arsenal stood on the brink of greatness, with an unprecedented quadruple within reach. They were through to the League Cup final and the quarterfinals of both the Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as being nine points clear at the top of the Premier League. Fast-forward two games, and the Gunners' season is collapsing in front of their very eyes.
Is Arsenal's Season Falling Apart?
The first hammer blow was dealt by Manchester City in that recent League Cup final at Wembley. Mikel Arteta's men were huge favorites to claim the first trophy of a surely silverware-laden campaign. However, an impotent display saw them create very little, and a quickfire second-half brace from Nico O'Reilly handed Pep Guardiola's Blues a famous 2-0 win. To make matters even worse, Arsenal have now been dumped out of the FA Cup as well, losing 2-1 away at second-tier Southampton in one of the biggest giant killings of the season.
So, what's next? Well, online betting sites still see silverware in Arsenal's future. The latest odds from Ozoon sportsbook currently position the Gunners as the clear 3/25 favorites to win the Premier League this term, and with a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, it would take a monumental collapse to see them miss out on the title from here. However, Guardiola's men do have a game in hand on the table toppers, and with the two teams set to square off in a few weeks' time, that title race advantage could evaporate to just three points, ramping up the pressure on the North London club.
Should Arsenal end the season empty-handed, it would represent, without question, the biggest collapse of all time. But unfortunately for Gunners fans the world over, history is littered with teams who promised so much only to finish a campaign with absolutely nothing. Let's take a look at a few of them.
Inter Milan: 2024/25
Last season, Inter Milan had the world at their feet. Goals from Marko Arnautović, Lautaro Martinez, and Yann Bisseck secured a 3-1 win at home to Cagliari to send the Nerazzurri six points clear at the summit of Serie A with just six games remaining. Not only that, but they were also safely through to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. Then, disaster struck, and it did so in the form of old cross-city rivals Milan.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal, the Rossoneri would go on to crush Simone Inzaghi's men 3-0 in the reverse fixture to secure their spot in the final at Inter's expense. Earlier in the campaign, Milan had already delivered a bitter blow to their greatest rival when they rallied from 2-0 down to win the Italian Super Cup as well. And this time around, Inter's campaign would implode.
Back-to-back Serie A defeats to Bologna and Roma would follow, opening the door for Antonio Conte's Napoli to assume the lead in the Scudetto race. They would go on to secure the title on the final day of the campaign, beating Cagliari 2-0 at home courtesy of goals from Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku.
Inter would go on to reach the Champions League final at least, beating Barcelona in the semifinals after a stunning second-leg comeback despite being huge underdogs. However, their trip to the Munich showpiece couldn't have gone any worse. The Nerazzurri were thumped 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Allianz Arena, the biggest margin of victory in UCL final history.
Chelsea: 2007/08
Chelsea's 2007/08 season started in disastrous fashion. Iconic manager Jose Mourinho was sacked after just six games, and his replacement, unheralded Israeli Avram Grant, left a lot to be desired. Surprisingly, however, the club's former Director of Football managed to steady the ship, and as the Blues' campaign reached its climax, the club was still alive on four fronts. Then, just as is currently the case with their London rivals Arsenal, the walls came crumbling down.
First, cross-city rivals Spurs managed to shockingly win the League Cup final after an extra-time winner from much-maligned defender Jonathan Woodgate. Days later, Chelsea were stunned in the FA Cup, losing away at second-tier Barnsley after Kayode Odejayi's towering header.
The Blues would manage to compose themselves and continue their challenge for Premier League and Champions League glory. In the former, Chelsea didn't lose a single game from December onwards, including a 2-1 home win against Manchester United that kept their FA Cup title hopes alive. They would also beat old rivals Liverpool to reach the UEFA Champions League final for the first time.
In the end, though, Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils would have the last laugh. They managed to win their two remaining Premier League fixtures to claim the title ahead of Avram Grant's Blues. They would then beat Chelsea in the Champions League final as well, winning on penalties after Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's decisive spot kick.
