Arsenal’s ‘Nothing’ Nine-Point Advantage—And the Significance it Holds

The Gunners’ advantage is unlike any other they’ve had in recent years.

Arsenal’s title charge is looking good at this stage. | Glyn KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

“Nothing” is what Mikel Arteta said the significance of Arsenal’s nine-point advantage at the top of the Premier League is—but the last time the north Londoners held such a lead, they not only became champions but made history by becoming ‘Invincible.’

That, of course, was during the 2003–04 season. Arsène Wenger’s side didn’t lose a single one of their 38 league games, winning 26 and drawing 12 to end the campaign with 90 points, and finished 11 clear of Chelsea in second and 15 ahead of defending champions Manchester United in third.

Arsenal haven’t been crowned Premier League champions since—they have finished runners-up five times, including in the last three seasons—but expectations are growing after Saturday’s 3–0 win over Sunderland reinforced their status as the current best on show.

---

Arsenal Regaining Momentum After Recent Blip

Mikel Arteta is enjoying what he’s seeing from his team. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Successive goalless draws with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest were followed by a shock defeat against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Jan. 25. Yet interspersed with those dropped points was progress in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League, so it wasn’t as if there was an overwhelming sense of dread hanging over north London.

There was, however, noise on social media. “Same old Arsenal” the cries of opposition fans gloating at the prospect of the Gunners throwing away another lead, giddy that Mikel Arteta could continue leading the way in terms of meme generation (even if Liam Rosenior is trying his best to take away that particular crown). It may have made even the most optimistic Arsenal fan start to wonder where the next positive Premier League result was coming from.

Luckily, relegation-threatened Leeds United, who have been pretty bright of late, failed to turn up at Elland Road and were instead thumped 4–0 on their own patch. Sunderland also failed to land a glove on Arsenal, even allowing substitute Viktor Gyökeres a brace of goals—that will do wonders for the confidence of a player who has now netted the joint-highest goals this calendar year (six).

---

How Arsenal’s Premier League Record Compares to 2003–04 at This Stage

Metric	2025–26	2003–04
Played	25	25
Won	17	18
Drawn	5	7
Lost	3	0
Goal Difference	+32	+33
Points	56	61

---

“I’m very, very happy with the win, with big parts of the performance,” Arteta reflected. “...because it’s a really tough opponent. They’re really good at what they do, really good at breaking play, playing to the last man, breaking your press, holding the ball and very difficult to get sequences with threat and momentum consecutively.”

Arteta certainly wasn’t exaggerating when describing Sunderland’s strengths. The Black Cats have surprised everybody with their performance levels since achieving promotion, and they are not even in the conversation for relegation. That in itself is a testament to the job done by Régis Le Bris and his coaching staff.

But Arsenal had a measure of control throughout, influenced greatly by the return of Kai Havertz in a deeper midfield role.

---

Arsenal Have Been Here Before—But This Lead Is Bigger

The sight of Viktor Gyokeres scoring is becoming more regular. | Vince Mignott/DeFodi Images/DeFodiGetty Images

“We still have to win so many games to achieve what we want, so let’s not focus on that,” Arteta insisted when pressed on Arsenal’s nine-point advantage. “We’ve done our job now, we’ve had what we have to do, assess that, try to improve it and get ready for Brentford.”

The Spaniard’s always demonstrated a one-track mind when asked about the future. He only ever talks about the next game, playing down the importance of a good or bad sequence of results, or how a brilliant display can be transmitted from one match to the next. It’s always a reset of sorts for Arteta, who undoubtedly is striving to reach the perfection levels Pep Guardiola impressed upon him during his time as Manchester City assistant.

Perfection, in its purest form, is exactly what Arsenal achieved 22 years ago. They didn’t win every game, no, but they weren’t beaten over the course of a league season. They held a nine-point advantage at one stage and eventually that gap grew to 11 by the season’s end. Arsenal have never had that kind of lead in the seasons that have followed.

City and Aston Villa, the two nearest challengers to Arsenal, have also dropped points in recent weeks. There’s no menacing challenge being formed yet, nor is there any real feeling that Arsenal are in trouble. They have a stronger squad than they’ve perhaps ever had and were able to call upon an improving Gyökeres from the bench after opting to start Gabriel Jesus up front.

“Obviously, when you put that shirt on, it comes with a lot of responsibility and huge expectations. And you need to live with that,” Arteta remarked of the Swede. “I love his character, the way he approaches every single day and the fact that he's so focused on the present, what he has to do and he has a genuine will to help the team in whatever role he has.”

Gyökeres’s willingness to help could ultimately lead to a title coronation on the final day of the season—but Arteta won’t be getting carried away even if the statistics suggest he could.

---