Man City clinch 5th EPL title in 6 seasons after Arsenal's latest loss
For one last time, Arsenal's folly is Manchester City's fortune.
The Gunners' 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday handed City their third consecutive Premier League title and fifth in six seasons, bringing to an end a race the north London side led for eight months before falling horribly off course.
Given Arsenal have just one match left to play, City's four-point lead is now insurmountable.
Arsenal had to win Saturday to keep the trophy on the shelf for at least one more day. Even if Arsenal had won, City could've clinched with a victory over Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored in the 19th minute in Nottingham to send the title back to Eastlands. The goal also secured Forest's Premier League survival.
| # | MP | W-D-L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 35 | 27-4-4 | +61 | 85 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 37 | 25-6-6 | +40 | 81 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 36 | 19-12-5 | +35 | 69 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 36 | 21-6-9 | +11 | 69 |
"First of all, congratulations to Manchester City for winning the championship, but it is a sad day for us," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said afterward. "Now we have to face the reality. Today we gave a goal away and we were not good enough to break them down. We could play for three hours and we would not have done it.
"It is my responsibility and I take it. When it is beautiful, great. When it isn't, that is sport."
City can now become the first English club since Manchester United in 1999 to complete the treble. They'll face United in the FA Cup final on June 3 and battle Inter Milan for Champions League glory on June 10.
Facing an eight-point deficit at the start of April, City rattled off 11 straight wins to leapfrog Arsenal in the standings. Meanwhile, Arteta's men buckled under the pressure, blowing 2-0 leads against Liverpool and West Ham United before dropping further points at home to recently relegated Southampton.
Arsenal's loss to Forest left them with just two wins in their last eight Premier League matches.
City struggled for consistency earlier in the season, winning no more than three consecutive Premier League games. But something changed in February. Following a frustrating 1-1 draw with Forest, Pep Guardiola's side went on to outclass every one of its opponents, outscoring the competition 32-7 over its next 11 matches.
Erling Haaland also smashed the Premier League's single-season scoring record during City's brilliant run. His record-setting 35th goal came in a 3-0 win over West Ham on May 4, and he added to it against Everton less than two weeks later. Haaland still has three more games to reach the 40-goal mark, starting with Sunday's tilt against Chelsea.
City's reign of terror began during the 2017-18 season - Guardiola's second in charge - when they became the first team in Premier League history to record 100 points in one campaign. City won again before ceding their throne to Liverpool during the pandemic-hit 2019-20 season.
But the Reds couldn't keep the Citizens on the sidelines for long. City reclaimed the title in 2021 and piped Liverpool by a single point in 2022 following a dramatic comeback victory over Aston Villa on the final day.
No such heroics were required this time around.