How did the last 20 second-place Premier League clubs do the next season?

The Gunners couldn’t feel too bad about finishing second. After all, the season prior they had been the Invincibles. Arsenal was comfortably the second-best team in the league in 2004-05, as Roman Abramovich’s money helped get Chelsea not just to the top of the table, but to a then-record 95 points. Chelsea won again the next season, but even with Thierry Henry leading the league with 27 goals, Arsenal fell back. It dropped down to a distant fourth and barely qualified for the Champions League.

Man United, still managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, replaced Arsenal as finishing second to Chelsea in the table. Would Fergie’s crew have better luck in taking down the Blues? Indeed! In the lowest-scoring season in Premier League history, Man United was the only team to top 70 goals, much less 80. That paced the team to winning it all, with Chelsea finishing second.

Winning three titles in a row is hard, and Chelsea fell to second during the 2006-07 season. The Blues were clearly the second-best team, though, and actually lost fewer games than Man U. Alas, all Chelsea could do is get slightly closer to United the next season. Once again, Chelsea finished second, but this time a mere two points behind the league winner.

Two seasons atop the table were followed by two seasons in second. What would the 2008-09 season offer up to Chelsea? Well, Chelsea would move slightly in the wrong direction, but not for lack of trying. It finished on 83 points with a plus-44 point differential, entirely in line with the prior season. However, the Blues fell to third, as Liverpool jumped them to finish in second on 85 points. Meanwhile, Manchester United won the league on 90.

Liverpool and United are the two most-successful English clubs, but famously all of Liverpool’s titles to that point had come before the Premier League era. After finishing second to United, who added yet-another title, could Steve Gerrard and company make the jump and finally win a title? Umm…decidedly not. The title race was exciting, with Chelsea pipping Man United by a single point. Liverpool, though, took a tumble. It fell to seventh in the table and Rafa Benitez’s time as manager was over.

As has clearly been the case, Chelsea and Man United were exchanging title campaigns in the 2000s. United had barely been beaten by Chelsea in the 2009-10 season, so getting back atop the table didn’t seem imposing, especially for a team led by Ferguson. Sure enough, the two teams swapped places once again. Manchester United won the league with ease, though with an unremarkable 80 points. Chelsea finished on 71 points, but was second owing to goal differential. The team it tied with on 71 points? A rising club by the name of Manchester City.

Mentioning City was done with intent, as Chelsea had been replaced as the newly-monied club on the rise. Manchester’s blue-hued club won its first Premier League title in the 2011-12 season. Chelsea’s campaign was more complicated. On the one hand, it fell to sixth in the table. On the other hand, under caretaker manager Robert Di Matteo, the club had a remarkable run to winning the Champions League.

The 2011-12 season must have been frustrating for United, who finished second. Not only did it end up finishing behind the other Manchester club, now a viable rival for titles, but the two clubs had finished with the exact same record. City took the title over United on goal differential. Perhaps spurred on by that, Manchester’s red-clad club flipped the script. United finished first, and comfortably, with City finishing second. However, this was also the end of an era. Ferguson retired, and things have never been the same for Manchester United.

Indeed, with Man United Fergie-less, the club fell all the way to seventh. City instead found itself in a close race with Liverpool and Chelsea for the title. In the end, and thanks in part to one slip by Steven Gerrard, City returned to the top of the table. It finished two points ahead of Liverpool.

In the 2013-14 season, Liverpool finished second thanks to a high-powered offense led by Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, who were the top-two goal scorers in the league. Unfortunately for Liverpool, Suarez moved on to Barcelona before the 2014-15 season, and that was just one reason why Liverpool fell off. The Reds ended up sixth, and Brendan Rodgers got axed. There was a silver lining, though. Liverpool replaced Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp, who revitalized the club.

Because Liverpool fell so far off the pace in the 2014-15 season, we didn’t even mention what happened at the top of the table. Chelsea climbed back to the top of the league, with City dropping to a comfortable second. The 2015-16 season, though, was what one might call “crazy.” Chelsea fell from first to 10th. Southampton finished sixth. City fell from second to fourth. And, of course, Leicester City won it all. Leicester is, of course, now a Championship side.

Amid all the chaos, Arsenal finished second, its best finish in a decade. Obviously, and we aren’t just saying this with hindsight, Leicester wasn’t going to repeat as champs. Would Arsenal step up? Nope! Instead, the Gunners fell to fifth and missed out on the Champions League. Adding insult to injury for Arsenal? The team that finished second was Tottenham Hotspur, its biggest rival.

Spurs were sandwiched between Chelsea and Man City in the 2015-16 campaign, and either of those teams was a better shot to win it all in 2017-18. Even if you didn’t expect Spurs to win the league, could the club at least tread water? We’ll say “kind of.” Manchester City obliterated the league and finished on 100 points, a new record. Spurs, though, only fell from second to third. However, the club did also fall from 86 points to 77. United, meanwhile, finished a distant second to its local rival.

Would Man United win a title without Ferguson at the helm? Not even close. It was Liverpool, now operating under Klopp’s vision and featuring Mohamed Salah, climbed to second. The Reds finished on 97 points, but Man City eked past them with 98 points. Those two were clearly the best sides in the league. United, meanwhile, fell to sixth.

Klopp’s vision came to fruition. The climb had been steady, and Liverpool took the leap. After finishing a close second to Man City, Liverpool won the league in a walk in the 2019-20 campaign. Liverpool won its first Premier League title on 99 points, with City finishing second on 81 points. Of course, the celebration was muted. After all, this was the COVID-19 season, so Liverpool didn’t get to enjoy winning the title with its fans.

Everything clicked for Liverpool in 2019-20, but Manchester City was not going to stand for that. This had become a club not accustomed to being bested so soundly. Not only did City win the league the next season, it won by 12 points. Liverpool fell to third, with Manchester United climbing up to second.

This time, it was Liverpool’s opportunity to shake things off and right the ship. The hangover from winning the title passed, and the Premier League went back to being a battle between City and Liverpool. City won, but what about United? It fell way off. The club finished sixth, but on 58 points with a goal differential of zero.

Other than City winning the league again in the 2022-23 season, things were a bit chaotic. Manchester United bounced back and climbed up to third. Liverpool, meanwhile, fell to fifth. It was a tough season for the Reds on the injury front, and also the newly-rich Newcastle United finished fourth. Liverpool would bounce back, but City were reigning champs once again, and it was Arsenal under Mikel Arteta that climbed into second.

Could Arsenal do what Liverpool did previously and overtake Manchester City for the title? Not quite, though it would get closer. Arsenal would finish second again, but this time only two points behind Man City. The Gunners were getting closer. Maybe the next season would be their turn?

In the 2024-25 season, Manchester City had its first pear-shaped campaign in years. Did that mean Arsenal finally did it? Alas, no. Instead, it solidified itself as the bridesmaid of the Premier League. Liverpool won the league, and Arsenal, once again, finished second. Yes, Arsenal has been the runner-up three seasons in a row now. So, this time, will the club finally take that final step?

As noted, the Gunners have been runners-up three campaigns in a row. They started the 2025-26 season with aplomb, shooting to the top of the table. Now, as the season continues on, they are left to battle Manchester City for the title. Will Arsenal finally do it? Or, perish the thought Arsenal fans, will the club finish second a whopping fourth time in a row?