Arsenal lost fewer Premier League matches than any other side across the 2025 calendar year, but missed out on top spot on goal difference.
The Gunners finished level on 77 points with Manchester City, but ended the year in second place once again, this time on goal difference with Pep Guardiola‘s men recording +47 and Arsenal +37.
However, City recorded seven league defeats across the year (the same number as Aston Villa), compared with Arsenal’s four, the lowest total in the division.
What ultimately separated the two sides was Arsenal’s number of draws, with only Bournemouth recording more.
Mikel Arteta’s team drew 11 of their 37 league matches in 2025, six more than City, who converted a greater proportion of tight games into wins.
Turning even one of those draws into a victory would have been enough for Arsenal to finish the year outright leaders, not that you win any prizes for that.
Across the calendar year, Arsenal won 22 matches and conceded just 28 goals, the best defensive record ahead of City, who conceded 34.
The data points to a side that was extremely difficult to beat, but, as we know, not always ruthless enough in front of goal to fully capitalise on their control.
City, by contrast, won 24 of their 36 matches. Pep Guardiola’s side were beaten more often, but carried greater attacking punch over the course of the year, thanks, in no small part, to Erling Haaland, who found the net in the Premier League 27 times. Arsenal scored 65 to City’s 81.
Behind the top two, Aston Villa finished third on 73 points, while Liverpool ended the year fourth on 68. Chelsea finished fifth with 63 points, with Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion completing the top seven.
Lower down the table, Tottenham Hotspur endured a difficult year, losing 20 of their 36 matches, while Manchester United finished 13th after 14 defeats.
Promoted and relegated sides Sunderland, Leeds United, Burnley, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton occupied the lower reaches based on their partial-season records.
For Arsenal, the numbers are impressive. Losing only four league matches across a full calendar year reflects a side operating at a consistently high level.
The challenge moving forward is clear, converting more of those narrow margins into wins to ensure that such consistency is rewarded with first place rather than second when it comes to the only table that actually matters – the Premier League table at the end of May.
In 2024, Arsenal finished top with 85 points, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, from 36 games to their 37.
They lost only three games that year.