Perfect Arsenal and the Premier League's Two Longest Season-Starting Winning Streaks

Arsenal continued their perfect start to their Premier League title defense with a thrilling 2-0 victory away at Sunderland in matchday three of the 2026/27 season. After claiming the title for the first time in 22 years last term, the Gunners have started the new campaign like they mean business.

They had already won three straight games prior to their long trip north to the Stadium of Light, beating Coventry City 3-0 on the opening night, edging Aston Villa 1-0 away from home, before most recently coming from 1-0 down to beat rivals Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates. A 1-0 win away at Napoli in the Champions League continued that perfect start, but it looked for a moment like Mikel Arteta's unbeaten side might head back to North London with nothing at all.

Ten minutes into the second half, the Black Cats were awarded a penalty after new signing Ezri Konsa wrestled Dan Ballard to the ground in the penalty area. Enzo Le Fae stepped up, but he was foiled by Gunners goalkeeper David Raya, who got down to his left-hand side to make the save with the help of his left-hand post. Then, two minutes later, Arsenal duly punished the Frenchman for missing his golden opportunity.

With the Gunners pushing for a go-ahead goal, the ball fell to new recruit Bruno Guimarães on the edge of the area, and the former Newcastle captain rifled home off the crossbar before celebrating wildly at the home of his former club's biggest rivals. Deep into injury time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty of their own when Bukayo Saka was felled in the area, and the winger duly dusted himself off and slotted home to hand the champions their fourth straight win to begin their Premier League title defense.

Online betting sites had already made Arsenal the favorites to defend their title this term, and the 2-0 victory on the road has seen odds shorten further. The popular Lucky Rebel Sportsbook now prices Arteta's men as a short-priced 8/13 frontrunner to claim a second straight title at the end of the campaign, with home draws for both Chelsea and Liverpool only strengthening their case.

Arsenal's run of four straight wins is already impressive. But just how many would they need to rack up in order to complete the best start in Premier League history? Let's take a look.

José Mourinho's Chelsea won the Premier League title for the first time in 50 years in dominant fashion in 2004/05. They lost just once all season, conceded just 15 goals — still the lowest figure ever — and finished a whopping 12 points clear of second-place Arsenal. But rather than resting on their laurels, the Blues set about creating a dynasty.

The club forked out a club record £24.4m to sign tenacious midfielder Michael Essien from Lyon, as well as a further £21m to snap up electric winger Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City. And when the campaign kicked off, it became clear that the Blues were a different beast entirely.

They began their title defense with a nervy 1-0 win away at newly promoted Wigan Athletic thanks to a 93rd-minute thunderbolt from the returning Hernan Crespo. A week later, Arsenal was beaten 1-0 at the Bridge thanks to Didier Drogba's second-half strike, before West Brom were put to the sword with a 4-0 drubbing at the Hawthorns.

The Blues would then reel off three straight 2-0 wins to take their winning streak to six straight games, six games in which they hadn't even conceded a single goal. Aston Villa ended that run on matchday six when Luke Moore gave his side a shock lead at the Bridge, but a brace from Frank Lampard sealed a 2-1 turnaround to mark seven straight. Liverpool was then thumped 4-1 at Anfield before Bolton Wanderers were hammered 5-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Everton finally brought the winning streak to an end on matchday ten when they managed to hold the Blues to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Then, a fortnight later, Manchester United would hand the champions their first defeat of the season when they won 1-0 at Old Trafford on Matchday 12. Still, it was Chelsea who romped to a second straight title, eventually finishing eight points clear of Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool did its utmost to break Chelsea's record back in 2019/20. The year before, the Reds came within one point of a first league title since 1990 but ultimately missed out to Manchester City, with their 97 points amassed the third-highest ever at the time but still not enough to secure the trophy. However, the Merseysiders wouldn't have to wait much longer for their lengthy drought to come to an end.

Liverpool reeled off eight straight wins to start the 2019/20 season, a run that began with comfortable wins against the likes of Norwich City and Southampton. Arsenal was then dispatched 3-1 at Anfield, before further handy victories against Burnley and Newcastle followed. Then, the Reds headed to Stamford Bridge and emerged with all three points after first-half strikes from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino, and it seemed as though they would stop at nothing to finally claim that elusive title.

Sheffield United was then felled at Bramall Lane, before Leicester City came within seconds of escaping Merseyside with a point, only for a 95th-minute James Milner penalty to hand Liverpool their eighth straight win. But a fortnight later, their run would come to an end when rivals Manchester United held Klopp's side to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

What happened next, however, was arguably even more impressive. After that draw, Liverpool would go on to rack up a whopping 17 straight wins to march towards the title. They were eventually beaten for the first time all season by lowly Watford on matchday 30, but they romped to the title by 18 points, and their long-running wait for an English top-flight crown had finally come to an end.