Manchester City and Aké champions of England after new slip-up Arsenal
NOS Football–
City players watch Arsenal together and celebrate after winning title
Manchester City have become Premier League champions without taking action themselves. A defeat by rival Arsenal at Nottingham Forest (1-0) has already decided the title race.
It is the ninth national title for Manchester City, seven of which were won in the last 11 years with the hundreds of millions poured into the club from the United Arab Emirates.
This season, striker Erling Haaland was the big buy for the star-studded ensemble of sheikh Mansour. With three games to go, the Norwegian stands at 36 goals in the Premier League, already a record.
Still, although City are now on course for the treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League wins), things certainly did not go smoothly in the English league. Arsenal, with Gabriel Jesus acquired from City, kept winning and led for a long time.
Title in the lap
That City are now champions because of a slip by Arsenal actually fits seamlessly into this season’s scenario. Precisely because of all those sudden slips by the Londoners, as many as six in the last eight games, City got the title in their lap.
For defender Nathan Aké, it is the third title in three seasons at City. The Oranje international is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
On behalf of Nottingham Forest, who still desperately needed the points in the fight against relegation, Taiwo Awoniyi opened the score early on after weak defending by Arsenal from a quick breakaway. And that damage could not be repaired despite more than eighty percent ball possession for Arsenal. Forest is safe as a result of the win.
On Sunday, City plays itself still at home against Chelsea and Pep Guardiola can receive congratulations for his eleventh championship in fourteen seasons as manager at the highest level.
