Arsenal’s recent blip in form has led to growing fears of an elite-level bottle job. Arteta’s tenure at the club has been characterized by plenty of last-gasp agony and it remains to be seen whether they can pick themselves up and finally nab that elusive title.
But it got me to thinking; what are the worst bottle jobs in Premier League history? I have decided to give a ranking of my personal picks, hunting down the ones that felt like they were cooked up in some Hollywood writer’s studio.
Dishonourable Mention
Spurs 2015/2016- The most Spursy season ever
With the North London derby approaching and Arteta catching plenty of heat, I thought I better balance the books and mention Spurs’ 2015/2016 campaign. This one doesn’t really fit the mold of your typical bottle job (hence why I decided to make it an honourable mention). But isn’t it the most Spursy thing ever that their best chance of winning a title would ultimately end in Leicester City claiming the crown! None of the usual suspects could get their act together, leaving Pochettino’s young squad with a glorious chance to silence some of their harshest critics. But they still couldn’t manage to get the job done, losing to Norwich on the final day to ensure that Arsenal leapfrogged them into 2nd place. This is the type of unconventional bottle job that only Spurs could really pull off. It’s almost a badge of honour (almost).
5. Liverpool 2013/2014- Gerrard slips up in title race
This was the season where Stevie G’s Premier League title aspirations literally slipped from his grasp. I think this one was even more painful than Benitez’s fateful ‘facts’ capitulation. Brendan Rodgers’ side were one of the most flamboyant in Premier League history, with Luiz Suarez leading with 31 out of 101 league goals (the highest number of goals scored by a Premier League runner-up). An 11-match winning streak put the Reds in an incredible position, and victory at home to a faltering Chelsea would have all but sealed the title. And Mourinho appeared to make the job that much easier, heavily rotating his squad with a Champions League semifinal in mind. But Steven Gerrard had an absolute mare, slipping in first-half stoppage time to allow Demba Ba to put Chelsea into the lead. Despite their best efforts, the Reds couldn’t claw back the deficit. The Reds then travelled to Crystal Palace in their penultimate match, knowing that nothing less than a victory was good enough. And they did the unthinkable, squandering a three-goal lead in the final eleven minutes in what has become sarcastically known as ‘Crystanbul’ (a playful nod to their famous 2025 comeback win over Milan). The full-time scenes painted their own picture, with the usually implacable Gerrard looking shattered as he tried (in vain) to console Luiz Suarez. Pure heartbreak.
4. Manchester United 1997/1998- Wenger rocks British football
It’s funny that everybody always makes a big deal out of Fergie Time (even though that phenomenon is wildly overexaggerated). They tend to forget that United endured some of the most dramatic bottle jobs in Premier League history. And Wenger’s first season in charge of Arsenal precipitated one of those major collapses. United led by eleven points after beating Chelsea in February- a Mancunian bookie paid out on them after that win. But they blew the chance to go 14 clear with a shock loss at Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal then turned the season on its head, beating United 1-0 at Old Trafford courtesy of a Marc Overmars goal. Suddenly, Arsenal were six points behind United with three games in hand. And Arsenal never looked back, going on to win both the Premier League and FA Cup for just the 2nd domestic double in the club’s history. And United finished the season without any silverware (which was sacrilegious at this point in their history).
3. Arsenal 2022/2023- Arteta’s Gunners just weren’t ready yet
I had to sneak Arteta into this list somewhere. This collapse must go down as their biggest missed opportunity thus far (depending on how this current season plays out, of course). Arteta’s side were a breath of fresh air, ripping through the Premier League with some of the most swashbuckling football you could hope to see. The trio of Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli were as viscerally exciting as Mane, Salah and Firmino. Their 4-1 rout of Leeds in April was their 7th successive league win, giving them a lovely eight-point buffer in the league. Then the trip to Anfield. The Gunners stormed out of the blocks in that game, racing to a 2-0 lead in front of a stunned Anfield crowd. Then Granit Xhaka put unnecessary sting into the game, getting into a moronic tussle with Trent that instigated a potent Liverpool response. They shared the points, starting a sequence of three successive draws (including one against bottom-of-the-league Southampton). Doesn’t that sound familiar? They were then decimated by City at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland having the time to shoot a Loreal commercial in the dying moments of the match (if you know, you know). They spent 248 days on top of the league that season, the most of any club that never went on to claim the title.
2. Manchester United 2011/2012- Aguerooooooo!
For me, this United collapse eclipses their 1997/1998 capitulation. Despite City’s emergence as a genuine threat, United appeared to be sauntering to the title, leading by eight points before a cataclysmic 1-0 defeat to Wigan in April. That result set the cat amongst the pigeons, setting in motion their demise. They choked in spectacular fashion in their home match against Everton, somehow squandering a 4-2 lead to draw 4-4 and hand the title initiative to City (even Fergie was left bewildered by that implosion). They belly-flopped in the Manchester derby, going down 1-0 in a lifeless showing that bordered on surrender. They kept the pressure up in the last few games but were undone in iconic fashion, with Sergio Aguero scoring deep into injury time to complete City’s comeback win over QPR. United lost on goal difference, prompting Ferguson to go all out on acquiring Van Persie for what turned out to be his final season.
1. Newcastle United 1995/1996- I’d love it if we beat them
Oh no, just thinking about this season is enough to give you 2nd hand cringe. Kevin Keegan’s 1995/1996 Newcastle United played with the same brazen confidence as their manager did in his pomp, earning their ‘Entertainers’ nickname with a brand of high-octane, attacking football. At one stage, they led the league by a massive 12 points! But Fergie’s United slowly started to close the gap, somehow winning 1-0 at St James Park despite being played off the pitch. Newcastle then lost 4-3 to Liverpool in one of the most iconic games in Premier League history (the sight of him slumped over those advertising boardings will give any Geordie a Nam-style flashback). Keegan then had his famous post-match implosion after a 1-0 victory over Leeds, tearing into Fergie for suggesting that teams wouldn’t go as hard against Newcastle as against Utd. You didn’t need a body language expert to tell you that the self-belief was draining from Keegan. Man Utd ultimately won the title quite easily, as Newcastle could only draw their final two fixtures. Fergie’s mind games came up trumps in a bottle job for the ages.
