THE Premier League title race is hotting up and Arsenal have put down a marker by guaranteeing their spot on top of the tree for Christmas Day.
Each team will have played at least 17 matches by the time fans tuck into their turkeys – a near half-way point in the season.
It is of course all about being top of the table in May – but leading the way at the festive time of year is often a good omen.
In 30 Premier League seasons, the team top at Christmas has ended up lifting the title 16 times.
That means 51.6 per-cent of the time the side maintain their spot in the new year.
No team has been top on December 25 more than Manchester United, who have done so seven times but not since 2013.
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Eleven teams in total have been first at Christmas, including four who have never won the league such as, Norwich, Leeds, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
And only Villa have not managed to finish in the top four when top, coming sixth in 1998/99.
The biggest advantage ever at Christmas was Man City in 2017/18, who sat 13 points clear at the top while Pep Guardiola opened his presents.
They did win the league that season with 100 points.
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Top of the Premier League at Christmas
1992: Norwich City – finished 3rd
1993: Manchester United – finished 1st
1994: Blackburn Rovers – finished 1st
1995: Newcastle United – finished 2nd
1996: Liverpool – finished 4th
1997: Manchester United – finished 2nd
1998: Aston Villa – finished 6th
1999: Leeds United – finished 3rd
2000: Manchester United – finished 1st
2001: Newcastle United – finished 4th
2002: Arsenal – finished 2nd
2003: Manchester United – finished 3rd
2004: Chelsea – finished 1st
2005: Chelsea – finished 1st
2006: Manchester United – finished 1st
2007: Arsenal – finished 3rd
2008: Liverpool – finished 2nd
2009: Chelsea – finished 1st
2010: Manchester United – finished 1st
2011: Manchester City – finished 1st
2012: Manchester United – finished 1st
2013: Liverpool – finished 2nd
2014: Chelsea – finished 1st
2015: Leicester City – finished 1st
2016: Chelsea – finished 1st
2017: Manchester City – finished 1st
2018: Liverpool – finished 2nd
2019: Liverpool – finished 1st
2020: Liverpool – finished 3rd
2021: Manchester City – finished 1st
2022: Arsenal – finished 2nd
And the biggest lead to not end in glory was Newcastle in 1995/96, who eventually failed to end their wait for a title and were pipped by Man Utd.
Arsenal topped the table by two points last season but ended up throwing it away to City as they clinched glory by four points.
And they’ll be hoping that something similar doesn’t happen this term with Mikel Arteta’s men sitting pretty in first place.
The Gunners are just one point above Liverpool this year after the two heavyweights played out an enthralling 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday night.
But Arsenal fans might not be too pleased to see their team in first place with history suggesting that it is in fact bad luck for the North London outfit to be top at Christmas.
All of the last five times they have been in first on the 25th, they’ve ended up not winning it in a horrid run that stretches back to 1986/87.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
