Arsenal sit second in the Premier League on 15 points from six games as of 14 October 2026, three behind Manchester City, five months after lifting their first title since 2003-04. Supporters considering a wager on this autumn’s title race may want to compare odds and terms across the best UK sports betting sites before backing Arsenal to retain the trophy, as Premier League history suggests successful title defences are relatively uncommon.
Across the 25 completed seasons from 2001-02 to 2025-26, only seven reigning champions successfully defended their titles. Five finished outside the top four, while Leicester City’s 12th-place finish in 2016-17 stands out as the only occasion a defending champion ended the season in the bottom half.
Seven retentions in 25 defences, and all seven belong to three clubs
Chelsea retained the title in 2005-06 with 91 points, Manchester United did it twice in a row in 2007-08 (87 points) and 2008-09 (90 points), and Manchester City did it in 2018-19 (98), 2021-22 (93), 2022-23 (89) and 2023-24 (91). Nobody else has managed it this century. Arsenal’s own two defences in the period both ended in second place, with 78 points in 2002-03 behind United and 83 points in 2004-05 behind a Chelsea side that reached 95.
The most common fate for a champion is a runners-up finish, nine times, followed by third place, four times, including Liverpool’s 69-point 2020-21 and City’s 71-point 2024-25. The official season review of the 2003-04 campaign on the league’s own site, Arsenal’s unbeaten title season, records 90 points and an 11-point margin over Chelsea, and the following year that same squad finished 12 points short of the champions.
The three collapses: Manchester United 2013-14, Chelsea 2015-16, Leicester 2016-17
Manchester United dropped from 89 points to 64 and seventh place in 2013-14, the first season after Alex Ferguson retired, and the slide was visible early: after six league games they had seven points, with defeats at Liverpool, at Manchester City and at home to West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea went further in 2015-16. Jose Mourinho’s champions had eight points from their first six matches, lost at home to Crystal Palace and away at Everton in that run, and finished tenth on 50 points, 37 fewer than the year before.
Leicester City’s defence in 2016-17 is the worst by final position. The 2015-16 champions took seven points from their opening six games, were beaten 4-1 at Liverpool and 4-1 at Manchester United inside the first seven weeks, and ended the season twelfth on 44 points. In all three cases the opening six games showed the pattern the rest of the season confirmed.
Points after six games: the champions who kept the title all started fast
Chelsea’s successful 2005-06 defence began with six wins from six, 18 points. Manchester City’s 2023-24 defence also started with six straight wins, 18 points, before a defeat at Wolves on 30 September 2023. Chelsea’s 2017-18 defence, which ended fifth, had 13 points after six. Liverpool’s 2020-21 defence, which ended third, also had 13 after six games, including the 7-2 loss at Aston Villa on 4 October 2020.
Arsenal’s 2004-05 defence, which ended second, had 16 points after six games, with five wins and a 2-2 draw at home to Bolton. City’s 2024-25 defence, which ended third, had 14 points after six (four wins, then draws against Arsenal and Newcastle). Liverpool’s 2025-26 defence, which ended fifth on 60 points, started with five wins from five and 15 points from six after a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on 27 September 2025. That last example is the uncomfortable one, because 15 points from six games is exactly where Arsenal stand now, and Liverpool finished 25 points behind the champions.
Arsenal’s six league games so far: five wins, one defeat, three points off the top
Arsenal won the 2025-26 title with 85 points, from 26 wins, seven draws and five defeats, seven clear of Manchester City, with the trophy secured with a game to spare in May 2026. The new season began with a 3-0 Community Shield win over City in Cardiff on 16 August, then a 3-0 home win over promoted Coventry City on 21 August, 1-0 at Aston Villa on 31 August, 2-1 at home to Chelsea on 6 September and 2-0 at Sunderland on 12 September. The run ended with a 3-0 defeat at Brighton on 19 September, and the return from the international break was a 2-1 home win over Leeds on 10 October, won by a second-half goal from a substitute after the visitors had led.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have six wins from six and 18 points, after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on 11 October. The league’s own review of the 2001-02 title won at Old Trafford is a reminder that Arsenal’s previous defence began from 87 points and still ended in second place.
Checkpoints before Christmas: Liverpool away on 1 November, City at home on 29 November
The fixture list gives Arsenal two direct tests of the defence before December. The trip to Anfield on 1 November comes against a Liverpool side ninth on nine points, and the home game against Manchester City on 29 November is the first league meeting between the top two this season. City have scored 16 and conceded five across their six games, Arsenal 10 and five, so the gap at the top is in goals as well as points, and the Emirates meeting on 29 November is the first date on which Arsenal can close it by their own hand.
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