Arsenal will be top of the Premier League table on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years after Brentford supplied a special favour with victory over Manchester City.
The Gunners have enjoyed life in the Premier League under Mikel Arteta this campaign and could end the weekend five points clear of Pep Guardiola's side should they overcome Wolves tonight. Arsenal have won 11 of their 13 league games so far, losing only once, and have emerged as surprise title challengers for the first time since 2016.
With the Qatar World Cup set to kick off next weekend, the Gunners' season will be put on hold for the next month ahead of a Boxing Day return against London rivals West Ham. But with such hope and optimism around the club at the moment, what does being top at Christmas actually mean? football.london takes you down memory lane at the last time Arsenal sat top of the league on December 25.
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Following a fourth-placed finish the season before, Arsene Wenger's men took the Premier League by storm at the start of the 2007/08 season with 13 wins in their opening 18 games. Like this season, it came as a bit of a surprise for the rest of the league following Thierry Henry's £16 million sale to FC Barcelona. But the Gunners recruited well.
Bacary Sagna, Lukaz Fabianski and Eduardo were all purchased, helping Wenger's side to one of their best starts in history. A 1-0 victory over Manchester City early on was followed by a 3-1 win at White Hart Lane over Tottenham, a dramatic 1-0 win over Chelsea and a second victory over Spurs in December.
They also progressed through their Champions League group with little trouble, finishing second behind Spanish side Sevilla. Arsenal's success did not stop after the turn of the year, with a 10-game unbeaten run ending in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea. Up until the final few games, they were deeply involved in a three-way battle for the title.
Surprisingly, the Gunners fell to only three league defeats all season - the joint-fewest - but managed to only finish third with 83 points after Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United lifted the title on the final day with 87 points.
Fast forward 15 years and the quality throughout the Premier League has drastically improved, with any side capable of beating anyone. Brentford proved that at City. And whilst the Gunners did face a tough challenge from one of the greatest Premier League side's in United, they now face one of the greatest squads that Guardiola is lucky to possess.
The January transfer window is one of the most important windows in recent years in north London with the right acquisitions potentially holding the key to Arsenal's first title triumph since 2004.
Nevertheless, right now, Arsenal are very well in dreamland and rightly so. But can they maintain it? Their previous attempt in 2004 proves otherwise. But Arsenal has shown that they are different.
For any Arsenal fans seeking any optimistic statistics, the previous eight teams to start as good or better than the Gunners after 12 games have gone on to be champions in May.
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