Arsenal fans have been asking: does any club have more Premier League runner-up finishes than the Gunners? The answer is a definitive no. With nine second-place finishes, Arsenal holds the record for the most near-misses in the competition's history, a tally that includes finishing second in each of the last three consecutive seasons.

However, the story of being "so close" has more nuance. In five of those nine campaigns, Arsenal finished a distant 10 or more points behind the champions, making it difficult to label those seasons as true title near-misses.

A more revealing metric is how often a club has finished within striking distance—specifically, within six points of the trophy. On that count, Arsenal shares the unenviable title of the Premier League's ultimate "nearly men" with Liverpool and Manchester United. All three giants have been pipped at the post by a narrow margin on four separate occasions.

The most recent heartbreak for the Gunners came just two seasons ago, when they finished a mere two points behind a relentless Manchester City. Yet, Liverpool fans might have the strongest claim to the "nearly men" crown. While the Reds have five runner-up finishes to Arsenal's nine, their average points gap to the champion is a razor-thin three points, compared to Arsenal's eight.

Liverpool's pain is exemplified by the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons, where they amassed a staggering 97 and 92 points respectively, only to finish a single, agonizing point behind Manchester City on both occasions. This relentless pursuit of perfection, only to be denied at the final hurdle, defines the fine margins at the very top of the world's most competitive league.