Without having to kick a ball on the penultimate Saturday, Manchester City have been crowned Champions of the 2022/23 Premier League season as Arsenal, their closest rivals to the trophy fell 1-0 to a resolute Nottingham Forest side at the City Ground in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.
Needing a win to secure their status in the Premier League for next season, hosts Forest, looked solid and organised from the first whistle as Arsenal huffed and puffed without a cutting edge in the final third where it mattered most. A wayward Martin Odegaard pass in midfield fell kindly to the outstanding Morgan Gibbs-White who slalomed down the middle of the pitch in the Arsenal half before releasing Taiwo Awoniyi to rifle past a hapless Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.
Forest held on for a deserved win which not only ensured that at 37 points they were now out of reach of Everton and Leicester but also handed the Premier League title on a plate to Manchester City who already looked certain to retain their fifth title in six seasons under Pep Guardiola irrespective of Arsenal’s result should they win against Chelsea on Sunday the 21st of May.
It’s a remarkable feat for this Manchester City side who for the most part of the season trailed a high-flying Gunners, reined them in and finally overtook them to the summit of the Premier League while also navigating crippling fixtures in the FA Cup where they are now in the finals to face neighbours Manchester United and in the Champions League where they are scheduled to take on Inter Milan in the finals.
Winning the treble and equalling Manchester United’s treble-winning achievement of the 1998/99 season is now firmly in the sights of the Cityzens and it will take a brave man to bet against this juggernaut that now seems to have come of age under the guidance of the indefatigable Pep Guardiola.
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