Arsenal's Quadruple Chase: Can the Gunners Eclipse Liverpool's Epic 2022 Marathon?

Picture this: Arsenal sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, eyeing the Champions League quarters, FA Cup quarters, and a League Cup final showdown. It's late in the season, and the Quadruple – that mythical beast – is still on the table. But hold your horses, Gooners; history says you've got a mountain to climb to top Liverpool's bonkers 2022 effort.

This is the sixth-latest any Premier League side has kept all four plates spinning. Man City, Man Utd, and Chelsea have been here before, only to drop the lot. Let's rank the elite five who've pushed it furthest, and see where Mikel Arteta's lads stack up.

The Nearly-Men: City, Utd, and Blues' Heartbreak

Starting at No.5 and 4: Manchester City in 2018/19 and 2020/21, both hitting April 17. Pep Guardiola, ever the realist, called the Quad a 'fantasy' back in 2016. By '19, they were PL leaders, League Cup winners, FA Cup finalists, and CL quarters – but Spurs' Fernando Llorente hip-checked them out via away goals (pre-VAR chaos).

Fast-forward to '21: City dominated the PL, reached the League Cup final, FA Cup semis, and CL semis. Pep shut down squad hype, quipping he was 'older and wiser' than Oleks Zinchenko. Chelsea wrecked both domestic dreams, then the Euros.

No.3: Man Utd 2008/09, April 19. Sir Alex Ferguson scoffed at Quintuple talk after the Club World Cup. They led the PL, won the League Cup, hit CL semis (vs Arsenal), and breezed past Fulham in FA Cup quarters. But Everton stunned them on pens in semis – with Ronaldo and Carrick rested, Rooney crocked. Barca finished the job in Rome, though Utd nabbed the PL for a sneaky Quad (Community Shield included?).

No.2: Chelsea 2006/07, an outrageous May 1. Jose Mourinho bucked the trend, declaring the Quad 'possible'. Six points off Utd with eight PL games left, CL quarters vs Valencia, FA Cup semis vs Blackburn, and League Cup already in the bag thanks to Didier Drogba vs Arsenal. Drogs bossed the FA Cup final too, but Liverpool nicked the CL semis on pens. Utd held firm in the league.

Liverpool's Insane Benchmark – And Arsenal's Task

Top spot goes to Liverpool 2021/22, dragging it to May 22. Klopp's Reds maxed every fixture: pens wins over Chelsea in both domestic finals, PL title to the wire vs City, CL final vs Real Madrid.

Final day madness: City 0-2 down to Villa at half-time, Liverpool pegged at home to Wolves but pushing. Both won, City nicked it on 93 points. Courtois then blanked them in Paris. Still, a 'unique Quad' with cups and near-misses.

Arsenal? Top of the PL, but City lurk. Porto in CL quarters, Man City in League Cup final (what a tie!), Everton? No, quarters await in FA Cup. It's the sixth-latest date for Quad hopes, but those five ahead all crumbled eventually.

Guardiola's City twice, Ferguson's Utd, Mourinho's Blues, Klopp's nearly-perfect Reds – all fell short. Arteta needs ungodly luck and steel. The Gunners have work to do, mate. Fancy it? Me neither, but stranger things...

(Inspired by Football365's deep dive into Quad history.)