This wasn't the type of record-breaking season that Arsenal's players and Mikel Arteta had in mind eight games ago.
Their stumbling finish to the season was compounded by Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which confirmed Manchester City as 2022/23 Premier League champions despite Pep Guardiola's men still having three games to play. It also meant Arsenal have now picked up just nine points out of possible 24, having previously been in command in the title race.
An emotional Arteta admitted afterwards his side had fallen short when it mattered, saying: “I apologise. We believed we could do it but we haven’t and that is my responsibility. I am so sad because we wanted to find a way to do it. We fell short and I apologise because it’s my job and it’s my responsibility and I have to analyse this.”
But despite the Gunners exceeding all previously-held expectations with a second place finish, the statistics around their failure to land a first title in 19 years are harrowing. They have led for 93 per cent of the season, a new top-flight record for the longest amount of time a team has been on top and NOT won the title.
And it's their own previous marker they've broken. Back in the 2002/03 season under Arsene Wenger, they led for 71 per cent of season before eventually being hunted down by Manchester United.
Of course, Wenger's men famously responded to that collapse with their historic 'invincible' campaign in 2003/04, winning the Premier League title without losing a single game. It's a feat that now even Man City have been able to match amid three straight title wins.
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It's questionable whether Arteta's current crop will be able to respond in that fashion, but the Spanish boss will undoubtedly have to address their collapse. At the beginning of April, they restored an eight point lead at the top of the table with a 4-1 home win over Leeds United.
But things unravelled after being 2-0 up in their next fixture at Anfield, with Liverpool fighting back to claim a thrilling draw. The scenario repeated itself a week later as Arsenal drew at West Ham, before dropping further points at home to rock-bottom Southampton.
The pendulum then truly swung when they were thumped 4-1 at Man City, but wins over Chelsea and then at Newcastle at least seemed to momentarily steady the ship. However, the 0-3 debacle last Sunday against Brighton, coupled with the Forest loss, have meant a despondent finish to a season which promised to much.
