No side in English football has ever completed the quadruple of the league, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League. And it won’t be happening in 2025/26 either, after the only side still in with any chance, Arsenal, lost the EFL Cup final to Manchester City. Clearly, it was always a massive long shot that the Gunners would manage to lift all four of the biggest trophies in the same season.
However, after they won eight out of eight games in the UCL league phase, topped the Premier League standings with room to spare and were in the final of the League Cup, plus quarters of the FA Cup, some of their own fans were daring to dream. At the same time, fans of Tottenham, Manchester United and other rivals were starting to have nightmares about the Gunners breaking new ground and securing a clean sweep of available silverware.
Alas, it wasn’t to be, though the Gunners do still have the chance to secure the treble. They are set to face Sporting Lisbon in the UCL quarter-finals, Southampton at the same stage of the FA Cup and hold a commanding nine-point lead in the Premier League. They are favourites in all three of those competitions and are priced at odds of just 1/9 for Premier League glory. There is work to be done, but they have a chance of joining the two Manchester giants in completing the treble, a feat Manchester United achieved in 1998/99 and which Manchester City matched in 2022/23.
Time will tell how many trophies Mikel Arteta’s men end up with this term. But just how close have they come to winning the quadruple in the past?
No Straightforward Task
The quadruple only became a possibility with the inauguration of the EFL Cup in 1960. Aston Villa won the first final in 1961, beating Rotherham over two legs. Since then, Arsenal have lifted that particular competition just twice, which has limited their chances of any hypothetical quadruple over the years.
The early years after the League Cup came into being were not kind for the Gunners, but they secured their first league and cup double in 1970/71. That was a brilliant campaign, and the Gunners would win another double, of sorts, in 1992/93. That year, they won both domestic cups but finished 10th in the league.
Ultimately settling on which year they came closest to the quadruple is a tough task and in many ways subjective. Is it closer to have won two of the four but been nowhere near the other two, or “closer” to have been there or thereabouts in all four without actually winning anything?
Arsenal have never actually won the Champions League (or the European Cup as it was previously known), so should we look more positively on the season when they came closest? Alternatively, were they closest to a quadruple in seasons where their hopes of achieving one persisted deepest into the season, irrespective of what they actually ended up winning?
In the case of teams that have won three of the four trophies in question in the same year, it is easier to provide a clear-cut answer. In 1998/99, Manchester United won the three major competitions and made the fifth round of the League Cup. They were just a few games away from a quadruple, so that has to be considered the closest the Red Devils came. Equally, with City, they made the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in the season they won the treble, so 2022/23 is obviously the closest they have come.
Arsenal’s Best Seasons
With Arsenal, things are far from straightforward, so let’s take a look at the season in which they at least won “the double” (by which we mean the league and the FA Cup), and also featured in the League Cup and Champions League. We will also consider some of their other very strong campaigns.
2001/02 – A Very Strong Contender
If absolutely pushed, we may have to say that this was the campaign when Arsenal came closest to landing the quadruple, even though their hopes of doing so were extinguished in December. They were knocked out of the League Cup by Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals, losing 4-0.
However, they went on to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final and land the Premier League too. The UCL featured two group phases back then, and having qualified for the second one as runners-up in Group C of the first, they could only manage third in the second group phase when placed in Group D, with Bayer Leverkusen and Deportivo La Coruna progressing.
Still, it was a great season and just the odd goal here or there would have seen them through to the CL quarters. As such, with two big trophies won, they were only a handful of games away from the quadruple.
1997/98 – Double But No Chance of Quadruple
This was Arsenal’s first double of the PL era and first since 1970/71, when they were not in any UEFA-sanctioned European competition. Under Arsène Wenger, they were in the UEFA Cup this season. Consequently, the quadruple which we are discussing here was not even a possibility.
Arsenal made it through to the last four of the League Cup, though, so this was very possibly the closest they have come to the domestic treble. They lost to Chelsea over two legs but fared terribly in Europe, losing 2-1 over two legs to Greek side PAOK in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
2004/05 – Strong Campaign But Just the FA Cup
The Gunners beat Manchester United to land the FA Cup, but aside from the Community Shield, that was all they won. They finished second in the league behind Chelsea, though, and also made the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup and last 16 stage of the Champions League.
2005/06 – Champions League Best But Poor Overall
Over the years, Arsenal fans have had to watch on as Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and even Nottingham Forest have won multiple Champions Leagues. The Gunners are yet to taste glory in UEFA’s top-tier club competition and have only made the final once.
They led 1-0 with 14 minutes to go, despite keeper Jens Lehmann seeing red after just 18 minutes. However, Barcelona hit back and won 2-1, and the Gunners have never managed to get as close to the trophy since. The rest of 2005/06 was average at best, though. Arsenal were past their best and finished fourth in the Premier League, were knocked out in the fourth round of the FA Cup and made it to the semi-finals of the League Cup.
2025/26 – Only Time Will Tell
Whatever happens over the remainder of the 2025/26 season, one could argue that it is the closest Arsenal have come, given they remained in the quadruple hunt all the way into mid-to-late March. If they can add a couple of pieces of silverware to their cabinet, too, the argument will be far stronger, of course. Over to you, Arsenal…