Arsenal have been top of the Premier League table seven times since Invincibles: what happened next?

You may have noticed that Arsenal are top of the league. And they're even more top of the league now thanks to Liverpool beating Manchester City while the Gunners survived blackouts, VAR calls and blackouts and all sorts of other excitement at Leeds.

Could Mikel Arteta's team really do this? It's been 18 years since Arsenal won the title and they've had a few good cracks since. Ignoring a few seasons where they were top after just a game or two and then never again (because anyone can do it; even Spurs can do it), there have been seven seasons in the barren years when Arsenal have to a vaguely significant moment of the season was a bit top. Sometimes a bit long. So what happened during these seasons? That's what's happened in those seasons - consider it a dizziness check for Arsenal fans and a good old dose of copium for Spurs fans…

2004/05 - The Invincibles' Last StandHight wins and a draw in the first nine games took the Invincibles' unbeaten streak to 49 games, with just a nice easy trip to Old Trafford to negotiate and bring back 50 unbeaten matches. We all know what happened there, but it was the two ensuing draws against Southampton and Palace that cost Arsenal their place at the top, a place they would never regain against the eventual runaway winners. from Chelsea.

How it all started…

1. Arsenal P11 W8 D2 L1 GF31 GA12 Pts 262. Chelsea P11 W8 D2 L1 GF16 GA3 Pts 263. Everton P11 W7 D2 L2 GF14 GA10 Pts 234. Bolton P11 W6 D4 L2 GF18 GA13 Pts 21

How it ended…

1. Chelsea P38 W29 D8 L1 GF72 GA15 Pts 952. Arsenal P38 W25 D8 L5 GF87 GA36 Pts 833. Man United P38 W22 D11 L5 GF58 GA26 Pts 774. Everton P38 W18 D7 L13 GF45 GA46 Pts 61

2007/08 - Third in a three-horse race Reached the top in September and stayed there until March, when a damaging run of four straight draws against Birmingham, Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough put a damper on their title run and beaten against the two rivals for the crown - Chelsea and Manchester United - during the break-in left them third.

How it all started…

1. Arsenal P29 W19 D9 L1 GF57 GA21 Pts 662. Man United P28 W20 D4 L4 GF58 GA15 Pts 643. Chelsea P27 W17 D7 L3 GF42 GA17 Pts 584. Liverpool P29 W15 D11 L3 GF53 GA20 Pts 56

How it ended…

1. Man United P38 W27 D6 L5 GF80 GA22 Pts 872. Chelsea P38 W25 D10 L3 GF65 GA26 Pts 853. Arsenal P38 W24 D11 L3 GF74 GA31 Pts 834. Liverpool P38 W21 D13 L4 GF67 GA28 Pts 76

2008/09 - The Fourth Place Trophy took first place with four top-five wins. Lost top spot instantly with a 2-1 home loss to Hull, and three defeats in four in November ended meaningful title hopes. The rest of the season was played out in Wenger's familiar late fourth-place style, which was eventually secured quite comfortably thanks to an eight-game winning streak in the last 11 games

How it all started…

1. Arsenal P5 W4 D0 L1 GF11 GA2 Pts 122. Chelsea P5 W3 D2 L0 GF10 GA3 Pts 113. Liverpool P5 W3 D2 L0 GF5 GA2 Pts 114. Aston Villa P5 W3 D1 L1 GF10 GA7 Pts 10

How it ended…

1. Man United P38 W28 D6 L4 GF68 GA24 Pts 902. Liverpool P38 W25 D11 L2 GF77 GA27 Pts 863. Chelsea P38 W25 D8 L5 GF68 GA24 Pts 834. Arsenal P38 W20 D12 L6 GF68 GA37 Pts 72

2010/11 – Fourth is the new second A 2-1 win over Fulham put Arsenal one point ahead of Manchester United, who had one game less. Arsenal quickly lost to United in their very next game and never regained the top spot. Were second for most of the season before three losses in the last five years meant another fourth place finish.

How it all started…

1. Arsenal P16 W10 D2 L4 GF34 GA18 Pts 322. Man United P15 W8 D7 L0 GF35 GA16 Pts 313. Chelsea P16 W9 D3 L4 GF30 GA11 Pts 304. Man City P16 W8 D5 L3 GF21 GA12 Pts 29

How it ended…

1. Man United P38 W23 D11 L4 GF78 GA37 Pts 802. Chelsea P38 W21 D8 L9 GF69 GA33 Pts 713. Man City P38 W21 D8 L9 GF60 GA33 Pts 714. Arsenal P38 W19 D11 L8 GF72 GA43 Pts 68

2013/14 – The Other SlipLost at Villa on opening day but came out on top in a five-game winning streak that followed. Briefly slipped to second place with a 0-0 draw against Chelsea in December, but was rather...