Premier League – 37th day: Manchester City crowned champion after the loss of Arsenal at Nottingham Forest (1-0)

Arsenal no longer responds. In line with a dying April and the sinking experienced last weekend at the Emirates Stadium against Brighton, the Gunners delivered a bland match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon, sanctioned by another defeat (1-0). Direct consequences of this setback: the Reds have validated their maintenance in the Premier League and Manchester City is crowned champion of England without playing.

Win, the Labrador adopted by Mikel Arteta to improve the morale of his players, will have a job. The Gunners still lacked imagination and character on the lawn of Nottingham Forest during the 37th day. By losing, they offered the title on a plate to Manchester City, which they nevertheless dominated for a large part of the season. Hello nightmares!

A failure with multiple causes

The causes of this sixth defeat of the season are multiple. The Spanish coach misled himself by lining up an experimental XI, notably placing Ben White in the center while the latter and Bukayo Saka have a wonderful relationship in the right lane. We had to wait for the hour of play to see changes, and as much time to witness (finally) a coherent movement. Arsenal’s best attack was the result of a combination of defender and winger, with Saka heating up the gloves of Keylor Navas (61st).

Deprived of several players including Gabriel Martinelli and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Arsenal suffered from a stereotypical game, leaning too much to the right and quickly identified by Nottingham Forest. Gabriel Jesus was generous in the effort, except that his oriented checks no longer surprised anyone from the first minutes. Granit Xhaka’s teammates chained the passes (717 against 161) and confiscated the ball – up to 82% possession – without managing to hurt the opponent.

City can thank Awoniyi

The attacking elements of the London club remained silent and the defense continued to disintegrate. Orphaned by William Saliba for eleven matches, she hasn’t managed a single clean sheet since her rock was on the sidelines. Saturday afternoon, she was taken from behind by Martin Ødegaard. The Arsenal captain missed a pass in the opposing half and Morgan Gibbs-White, happy to receive the ball at his feet, launched a scathing counterattack. The two-against-two initiated by the English gave rise to the opener, Taiwo Awoniyi deceiving Aaron Ramsdale (1-0, 19th) and blowing up the City Ground.

The Nigerian is the main architect of the maintenance of the Reds in the Premier League, he who has scored five goals in the last three matches, and therefore that of the victory against the second in the championship. Nottingham Forest supporters can thank him, those of the Citizens, guaranteed to be champions for the fifth time in six years, too. The Gunners will therefore have to wait another year to lift a trophy that has eluded them since 2004. And they can only blame themselves.