In a season where Arsenal are sat at the top of the Premier League table and look on course to win a first Premier League title since 2003/04, there is a lot of reminiscing over the Invincibles going on.
They achieved something that had never been done before and never been done since almost two decades on. They went an entire Premier League season without losing a single game, part of a run that lasted for an incredible 49 games across three different seasons.
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The side coached by Arsene Wenger, who were current Premier League champions already, managed to post a points tally of 90, which may not actually seem too extreme. That is because while they did not lose a game, they did draw 12.
Despite those draws, Arsenal had the league wrapped up by late April after a draw at White Hart Lane against Tottenham, eventually finishing 11 points ahead of Chelsea and 15 ahead of Manchester United.
The Gunners were the top scorers that season with 73, 30 of which were scored by Thierry Henry. They also had the best defence as they only conceded 26 times.
A curiosity of Arsenal’s Invincible campaign is that their final points tally has been bested on numerous occasions by teams he may have suffered a defeat or two, but kept the draws to a minimum. We’re not here to start discrediting the achievement of not losing a single game, but it is clear why some people argue that other Premier League sides have been more impressive since.
Their points tally of 90 was equalled by Manchester United in 2008/09, but it has been bettered on 11 different occasions by four different teams. It could perhaps be a testament to the fact that the gap between rich and poor in the Premier League has widened significantly in recent years, meaning points tallies for league winners need to be higher than they were in the past.
It is certainly no secret that Sir Alex Ferguson used to allow his Manchester United sides to take their foot off the gas once the title had been secured.
Here is the list of highest Premier League points tallies.
Team |
Season |
Points |
---|---|---|
Manchester City |
2017/18 |
100 |
Liverpool |
2019/20 |
99 |
Manchester City |
2018/19 |
98 |
Liverpool |
2018/19 |
97 |
Chelsea |
2004/05 |
95 |
Manchester City and Chelsea |
2021/22 (City) and 2016/17 (Chelsea) |
93 |
Manchester United and Liverpool |
1993/94 (United) and 2021/22 (Liverpool) |
92 |
Manchester United and Chelsea |
1999/00 (United) and 2005/06 (Chelsea) |
91 |
Manchester United and Arsenal |
2008/09 (United) and 2003/04 (Arsenal) |
90 |
While the points tallies could lead you to believe that the achievement is cheapened, the fact that this team went as long as 49 games without losing is something that defies belief. Even with these robotic teams reaching the high 90s multiple times on points, no one, relatively speaking, has come close to beating the record.
The closest that anyone has come was Liverpool between January 2019 and February 2020 as they made it to 44 games. Contextually though, five games is a long way to go. Below you can find the longest unbeaten runs in the Premier League era.
Team |
Dates |
Matches unbeaten |
---|---|---|
Arsenal |
May 2003 – October 2004 |
49 |
Liverpool |
January 2019 – February 2020 |
44 |
Chelsea |
October 2004 – October 2005 |
40 |
Arsenal |
December 2001 – October 2002 |
30 |
Manchester City |
April 2017 – January 2018 |
30 |
Chelsea |
December 2007 – October 2008 |
29 |
Manchester United |
December 1998 – October 1999 |
29 |
Manchester United |
April 2010 – February 2011 |
29 |
Manchester United |
October 2016 – April 2017 |
25 |
Nottingham Forest |
February 1995 – November 1995 |
25 |
In terms of who could break the current record from this season’s crop of sides, the best placed is actually Newcastle United. They were beaten back in August by Liverpool but have not lost since, meaning their run stands at 15 games.
That leaves an incredibly long way to go before they can start entertaining the idea of reaching 50 and becoming the record-breakers, but they are the closest as it currently stands.
Credit: 90min.com