On Saturday, May 20, Arsenal experienced a significant defeat against Nottingham Forest, further dampening their title aspirations, however
Meanwhile, Manchester City clinched the championship without even playing a match over the weekend.
Arsenal entered the game against Forest fully aware that only a victory would have kept their hopes of securing the title alive.
Despite being overwhelming favourites, Mikel Arteta’s side went behind through Taiwo Awoniyi’s 19th minute strike as a wave of dejavu engulfed Gunners fans on social media.
Forest, who needed an unlikely win at the expense of Arsenal to ensure their safety from relegation, did brilliantly to keep out the Gunners, who exhibited some symptoms of burnout from what has been a high-stake campaign for them.
Ultimately, they failed to find an equalizer, and the full time whistle confirmed City as champions for the fifth time in the last six campaigns.
City come up against Chelsea on Sunday, and it will certainly be a game played in celebratory mood at the Etihad.
Arsenal’s collapse- How it happened
On April 7, Manchester City were a massive eight points behind Arsenal, with the season running down fast.
At that point, it was difficult to bet against the Gunners winning their first league title since 2004, but a combination of Manchester City’s experience, brilliant run of form and Arsenal’s fatigue led to the Gunners getting leapfrogged spectacularly by May.
Since the last time Arsenal had an 8-point lead, City have gone on to drop just two points out of a possible 42, winning 11 league games in a row in the process.
In contrast, the Gunners completely lost steam in recent weeks, as a run of three successive draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton allowed City back in the race.