It’s a debate between pundits and social media – are Arsenal ‘bottled’, or are ruthless City too strong?

Fast forward to May and the Gunners are looking to claim their first title since the undefeated “Invincibles” side of the 2003-04 season, after surrender in the second half Host Brighton on Sunday.

With 11 straight league wins and just two points off the back of 42 games, City are one win away from a third successive top-flight title.

Data specialists Nielsen’s Gracenote said it was not a case of Arsenal “locking in” the title, with their current 81 points exactly in line with their predictions.

Instead, City raised the bar even higher, with their calculations showing City “outperforming expectations by 7 percentage points since mid-January”.

BBC Sport reports on other Premier League title races in which leads have been overturned.

“Aguero!” – Manchester City and Manchester United, 2011-12 (8 points lead)

Location	team	played	won	dawn	lost	for	be opposed to	integral
1.	Manchester United	32	25	4	3	78	27	79
2.	manchester city	32	twenty two	5	5	75	26	71

The 2011-12 title race was a two-match contest between Manchester City and Manchester United, with the opponents swapping places at the top throughout the campaign. Following a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on April 8, City find themselves eight points behind Manchester United with six games to go.

Will manager Sir Alex Ferguson bring a 13th Premier League trophy back to Old Trafford? Or, can Roberto Mancini ensure City’s first top-flight success in 44 years?

In one of the most dramatic finales to the Premier League, City have won all of their last six games – Including a 1-0 win over Manchester United – Win the league title with a goal difference advantage. As Mancini’s side scored three points after three, Ferguson watched his side lose 1-0 at Wigan and lead Everton 4-2 with seven minutes remaining , dropped two points in a 4-4 draw with Everton.

City’s Edin Dzeko equalized in the 92nd minute after two minutes of stoppage time in their final game of the season in a 2-1 home defeat to QPR as United beat Sunderland Sergio Aguero’s famous winner In the 4th minute of stoppage time, the sky over Manchester turned blue.

Title ambitions gone – Liverpool and Manchester City, 2013-14 (9 points lead)

Location	team	played	won	painting	lost	for	be opposed to	integral
1.	Liverpool	35	25	5	5	96	44	80
2.	Chelsea	34	twenty three	6	5	66	twenty four	75
3.	manchester city	33	twenty two	5	6	88	34	71

Liverpool and winning the league used to go hand in hand, but the pursuit of top-flight trophies has been a futile endeavor for the Merseyside club since 1990.

Brendan Rodgers is now in charge and the Reds have been in stunning form as the season draws to a close, with an 11-game winning streak – including a home win over Manchester City – leading the Premier League title race in April The 2014 season is five points clear of second-placed Chelsea and nine clear of third-placed Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City.

With Liverpool playing more games than their two closest rivals, Rodgers and his side know they cannot afford to make any mistakes in their final three games.

However, when Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea arrived at Anfield on April 27, the title race was on.Demba Ba put Blues ahead at half-time after Reds captain Steven Gerrard made a mistake, ahead of Willian won 2-0 Score in stoppage time.

A week later, Liverpool’s trophy ambitions were dealt another serious blow when their three-goal lead was squandered in the final 11 minutes. Crystal Palace drew 3-3.

City have won their last five games in the Reds’ title race to secure a second Premier League title in three years by two points.

French Revolution – Arsenal and Manchester United, 1997-98 (leading by 11 points)

Location	team	played	won	painting	lost	for	be opposed to	integral
1.	Manchester United	28	18	5	5	57	19	59
2.	arsenal	26	13	9	4	45	26	48 years old
3.	blackburn	27	13	9	5	49	33	48 years old

Arsene Wenger delivered double joy for the Gunners in his first full season as Arsenal manager as they clinched their first league title and FA Cup in seven years.

Their glory-winning side were Manchester United, who dominated the table with a 7-0 win over Barnsley in October 1997, and won their third successive Premier League title until April, with 11 points clear of Arsenal. Cushion, Blackburn at the start of March – although both sides below them have games in hand.

Arsene Wenger’s revolution at Highbury picked up pace late in the season, with a run of 10 wins taking them to the top spot with two games remaining, as Ferguson’s side were beaten by defeats at Sheffield United and the Gunners Faltering, plus ties to West Ham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

“I’d be happy if we beat them” – Newcastle and Manchester United, 1995-96 (leading by 12 points)

Location	team	played	won	painting	lost	for	be opposed to	integral
1.	new castle	twenty three	17	3	3	45	19	54
2.	Liverpool	twenty three	12	6	5	46	twenty one	42
3.	Manchester United	twenty three	12	6	5	41	27	42

Before Kevin Keegan let his emotions spill in his famous ‘I’ll love it’ post-match interview, Newcastle United had started the campaign in title-winning form and were 12 points clear of Manchester United in January 1996.

However, the remaining 15 games were not planned for Magpies manager Keegan, as Newcastle lost five of their next eight games and were beaten by Ferguson’s side at St James’ Park in March , narrowing the gap at the top of the table to one point.

With losses away to Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and a 4-3 thrashing of Liverpool at Anfield, United found themselves in more trouble away from home to equalize on 64 before beating the Gunners 1-0 at Old Trafford Defeat the magpie.

The mind games started when Ferguson questioned whether some teams were as committed as his own to getting results against Newcastle.

Keegan yelled at the Sky Sports cameras after a grueling 1-0 win over Leeds United: “He [Ferguson] Gotta go to Middlesbrough and get something,” before closing with the classic line “I’ll tell you, honestly, if we beat them, I’d love it – love it. ”

Unfortunately for Keegan and Newcastle, getting something in Boro’s final game was easy for United, who won 3-0. In Newcastle’s final games, they drew 1-1 against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur as the wait for a first English title since 1927 continues.

Bottled yet? – Fan opinion

Yves: “Arsenal have to field pretty much the same team all season. Man City could field three different teams and still win the league if they had to. Seriously, what do people expect to happen?”

Tim: “Arsenal screwed up. It’s good to say second, but they’re eight points clear of a very slow start to the season with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have been poor and Spurs have imploded. This is their chance.”

Duobao: “Arsenal has nothing. It’s always the right outcome for the best team to win the league and unfortunately Manchester City are the best team.”

James: “Where are these people denying that Arsenal have ditched the league? They deny it, but the fact is that finishing second, fifth last year and expected to be in the top four again, it’s still been a fantastic season. Clearly needs some more Depth and power, but that doesn’t do great credit to the players of the season.”

definition: “I wonder if all Arsenal fans remember the grief of the ‘bottle job’ they gave Spurs after Leicester deservedly won the league title. How many more points did Spurs lead in February?”