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Arsenal achieved the earliest ‘St. Totteringham’s Day’ in history on Sunday, but the Gunners still have one more record to try and break in the final nine games.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
As covered early last week, Arsenal had the opportunity to confirm their earliest-ever finish over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, excluding seasons where the two clubs didn’t play in the same division.
The Gunners needed either a win over Chelsea, or for Spurs to fail to beat Fulham. In the end, Arsenal didn’t need to wait until their 16:30 kick-off, with Spurs themselves losing to confirm their failure to finish above the Gunners.
That result made March 1st the new record earliest date of ‘St. Totteringham’s Day’, the day invented by Arsenal fans for when they confirm a finish above their north London rivals.
But it also meant the Gunners achieved the feat with 10 games to play, a joint record shared with the 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ side. Sky Sports rounded up the previous earliest dates in the graphic below:
Arsenal still have one more north London rivalry record in their sights, with the Gunners having the chance to achieve their greatest-ever points difference over Spurs at the conclusion of the season.
The current record stands at 45 points, again achieved by the 2003/04 team playing under Arsene Wenger.
Mikel Arteta’s side sit 35 points clear of Spurs, having played a game more. So it’s still possible for Arsenal to finish 46+ points ahead of Igor Tudor’s side, but both teams will need to keep picking up the same kinds of results they have been for the remainder of the campaign.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Arsenal’s primary focus is obviously on winning trophies, and they’ll value a Premier League title far more than a record-breaking finish above Spurs.
But given the way to achieve those two ends is just to keep winning matches, there’s no harm in hoping for both.