Arsenal will spend Christmas Day on top of the Premier League tree this year, while Wolves, Burnley and West Ham are hanging precariously on the bottom branches.
As we approach the halfway point of the season, what do the ghosts of Christmas past tell us about the title race and relegation battle?
The title race
The team that is top of the Premier League on Christmas Day has gone on to win the title in 17 of the previous 33 seasons – basically a flip of a chocolate coin.
However, Arsenal themselves have a much bleaker record as they’ve been top at Christmas four times before but have never gone on to lift the trophy.
The Gunners had only been top at this stage twice before Mikel Arteta took charge, but this is the third time in four seasons that they sit top of the tree at Christmas.
Their fans will hope that the wisdom Arteta’s men have received in seasons past will see them finally hold off Manchester City and deliver the gift they’ve been wishing for since 2004.
“You’d like to think that through all the experiences that Arsenal have had being top at Christmas, they can understand the mistakes made in the back half of some seasons that stopped them from winning the title,” former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told Football Focus.
There isn’t a lot of room for error, though, as Arsenal have a slender lead of just two points, while the average lead by the team top on Christmas Day is four points.
In fact, the only table-toppers at Christmas to have a smaller lead than Arsenal in the last 12 seasons were the Gunners themselves two years ago.
But while a two-point lead isn’t much, history suggests it might be enough.
Arsenal are the eighth side in Premier League history to have a two-point lead at Christmas and five of the previous seven went on to win the title, including the last four.