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Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan praised a collective effort after Pep Guardiola’s side were crowned Premier League champions once again following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. The Gunners needed to win to delay City’s title celebrations ahead of their home match against Chelsea on Sunday. However, Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half goal proved enough to give Forest victory in front of a raucous home crowd, which secured their own top-flight status once again. Guardiola’s side will lift the Premier League trophy on Sunday for a third successive campaign, and a fifth time in six seasons, sealed with three matches to spare. City had overhauled Arsenal’s eight-point lead as Mikel Arteta’s men faltered, winning 11 Premier League games in a row including a 4-1 victory over their rivals at the end of April. Unbeaten in their last 23 games through all competitions, City have also reached the finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League as they remain on course for the treble. “To have helped the club win a third straight Premier League title is something very special,” Gundogan said on the Manchester City website. “The Premier League is without doubt the most demanding and competitive league in the world so that tells you everything about what an achievement this is. “This squad is so talented and so special and to have been captain this season has been an enormous privilege.” German midfielder Gundogan added: “I would also like to thank Pep, all the backroom staff and everyone who works across this football club. “Every single day they help provide us as players with everything we need in order to try to be successful. There is no way we could have won this title without all their support. “To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stand for and ensures the club will continue to strive for success going forward. “It has been a season I will never forget. Our amazing fans have been with us every single step of the way. “Without their amazing backing I don’t think there is any way we would have been able to achieve what we have done these past six seasons. “Their passion and support have been so important and inspirational for us all. Hopefully winning the Premier League title again is a fitting way for us to say thank you to our fans.” Erling Haaland’s goals helped fire City to the title, as the Norway forward set a new Premier League record with 36 so far. He wrote on Twitter: “Always give your best. Always believe. It pays off. C’MON CITY!” City defender Aymeric Laporte posted: “What a season tho. Credit to absolutely everyone involved from top to bottom. “Every one of use fought for this. More to come soon hopefully but we can already be proud of this one.” Arsenal had been insatiable for most of the campaign, spending 248 days on top of the table before their late collapse handed City an opportunity to ruthlessly hunt them down. City defender Kyle Walker said: “Arsenal pushed us right to the limit they’ve been fantastic, so all credit to them. “We just went on an incredible run, they had a few hiccups and we capitalised on it and we’ve managed to end up where we have now. “It’s the players we’ve got. We’re a bunch of lads who have achieved so much over the last number of years and we understand the standards we’ve set. “We achieved so much over the past five or six years, but we knew the bar wasn’t high enough at the start of the season. “When we came back after the World Cup, we had to kick on and fair play to the lads. You've got to be ready at the business end of the season because that's what this club is all about Kyle Walker “We wanted to prove anyone doubting us wrong – it wasn’t good enough. “With the lads we have in the dressing room we always believe we can do something. “The standards of the Premier League have gone up, but this is what this club is built for, certainly that’s how it’s been for the six years I’ve been here, so fair play to everyone involved. “You’ve got to be ready at the business end of the season because that’s what this club is all about and what we are built for.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Really sad day – Mikel Arteta rues tame end to Arsenal’s title challenge Erling Haaland’s record-breaking season leads Manchester City to title Haaland signing a master stroke as Man City secure another Premier League title

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Mikel Arteta was apologetic as he reflected on a “really sad day” after Arsenal’s faint Premier League title hopes were ended by a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. Manchester City were confirmed as champions after Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half goal saw Forest earn the three points that secured their top-flight status. The Gunners, who were insatiable for most of the campaign, had spent 248 days on top of the table and held an eight-point lead over City in March, but an alarming slide saw them overtaken by Pep Guardiola’s relentless juggernaut who claim a fifth title in six seasons. No team has spent more time on top of the table and not won the league, which left Arteta crestfallen. “Really sad day, a lot of difficult emotions, we lost the game, we lost the championship after 10 and a half months fighting for it and nine and a half months almost on top of it,” he said. “We built a lot of illusion and belief that we could go all the way and win it and in the end we fell short. Congratulations to Man City, they are the champions, they deserve to be the champions, they have done it for 38 games, we haven’t been able to do that. “That is it and from my side I apologise because we have built that belief that we could do it and in the end the team wasn’t able to do it and that is my responsibility. “Today is just a lot of sadness. You see a lot of people, they put everything, they put so much work, so much belief and so much hours and I am sad, I am sad for them because we wanted to find a way and squeeze everything we had in that group. “We fell short and this is my job and my responsibility, I have to analyse that and think. “Today we should have played much better, we gave them a goal and gave them another chance to score another goal if they wanted and we fell short to break them down. “You need, when you come to April and May, 24 players there and available, fit and playing at their best, full of confidence and ready to go and for many reasons we haven’t had that. “There are key moments in the league that define, the momentum goes there, the result goes there and we didn’t have those margins going on our side.” For Forest it was a real red letter day as they secured their survival against the odds. For large parts of the season, which began with more than 20 new signings, they looked destined to return straight back to the Championship, not least when they were on an 11-game winless run going into the end of April. But Awoniyi’s hot streak, with five goals in three games, helped Steve Cooper’s side lift themselves out of the bottom three and they can no longer be caught by Southampton, Leicester or Everton. It completes an impressive job by Cooper, who repaid Forest for the faith they showed when backing him amid their poor run, and his stock continues to rise. Asked how he felt, the Welshman said: “Just pride, a great sense of belonging at being part of something really special and important for me. “A brilliant day for the players and an equally great day for the supporters and one we deserved. It is difficult to use the word achievement at this football club because you have to be careful but it is just amazing to be able to allow the club to move forward, that’s what we all want to do. “Now is the time to talk about the players, the supporters and the game. It is a real sense of belonging and being part of something greater than any one person. “This was always going to be my toughest coaching challenge, but an enjoyable one, not a negative one. We have had everything this year, both positive and negative. “It feels great, but I am more thinking about it just allows us to progress.”

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Manchester City sowed the seeds for their latest title success before they had even completed their 2022 triumph. In May last year, as the team fought hard on the field to hold off the challenge of Liverpool, off it the top brass agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Erling Haaland. It was a bold statement by a club used to making bold statements. The prolific Norwegian striker joined them in the summer and, almost instantly, an already formidable team became a seemingly unstoppable force. Obviously it was not quite so straightforward, but after City’s powerful spring charge – when they reeled in and then flew past Arsenal without even a hint of feeling pressure – few could argue they are now one of the greatest teams to have graced the Premier League. Haaland has been at the heart of it, scoring a barely believable and record-breaking 36 league goals so far in the process. He not only surpassed the greats of the past, but left them trailing in his wake. He overtook the previous record mark of 34 – set by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer in 42-game seasons in the mid-1990s – with five matches to spare. He helped himself to four hat-tricks and formed a potent combination with the team’s chief playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne. Rarely has a player made as big an impact as Haaland has and, given how City have adapted and improved around him as the season has gone on, there would seem to be plenty more to come. Yet while Haaland may have been a hugely significant factor in City’s fifth title in six seasons, it would be unfair to give him all the credit. De Bruyne has enjoyed another highly influential campaign, laying on 16 assists and scoring seven goals himself. Jack Grealish, now looking far more comfortable with his £100million tag, has also been a driving force while Rodri has developed into one of the strongest midfielders in the game and John Stones has excelled in a hybrid defence-midfield role. Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Nathan Ake have also made big contributions at different times. The key once again, however, has been the man in charge, Pep Guardiola. The inspirational Catalan has produced another masterclass of management, underlining his pre-eminence in the game and strengthening his position among the greats. After two successive title wins with false nines or makeshift centre-forwards, Haaland’s arrival signalled a change of approach from the former Barcelona boss. Initially there were doubts, with fears Haaland’s presence might disrupt City’s natural flow. Indeed, early on, it did seem his goals were masking some disjointed and indifferent performances. Form either side of the World Cup break was patchy and underwhelming and allowed Arsenal to take early control of the race. Yet Guardiola worked through the inconsistencies and ironed out the problems, with excellent man-management, tactical nous and his ferocious winning mentality. There were some well-timed criticisms, surprise selection calls and eyebrow-raising departures – Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo – all of which have been vindicated as City came good when it really mattered. Arsenal obviously let a strong position slip but, in a disrupted season, when City had more players at the World Cup than any other club, Guardiola paced the challenge perfectly. To have maintained intensity while also competing in two other competitions makes it all the more remarkable. City still have to win two more finals to complete a glorious treble, but their Premier League success alone is a phenomenal achievement. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live County Championship leaders Surrey race to emphatic win over Kent Leinster devastated by Champions Cup final loss – Leo Cullen A look at Pep Guardiola’s 10 major trophies as Manchester City manager

Nobody thought Arsenal would be here at this stage of the season, but that doesn’t make missing out on a first Premier League crown in 19 years, having exceeded all manner of expectations, any easier to take. Brighton had played their part in finishing Arsenal’s title aspirations off last weekend, but it is Manchester City who ultimately ensured the Gunners finally raised the white flag at the City Ground on Saturday, by doing what they do best – crushing the dreams of teams who dare to even attempt to go toe-to-toe with a force never seen before on our shores. Knowing even victory at Nottingham Forest would surely only delay the inevitable, Arsenal slumped to another defeat with a whimper, gifting City a third title in a row, a fifth in six years, without needing to kick a ball. The fact Arsenal got so close should be a real badge of honour. It just won’t feel like that right now. There were contrasting emotions among home supporters, however, as the win secured Forest’s Premier League survival with one game to spare, proving that holding your nerve and sticking with a manager you believe in, even when results are not going your way, can pay dividends in the end. The walk to the City Ground pre-match was more akin to a red-themed royal regatta than a football match, with supporters lining the River Trent as if waiting for their favourite crew to come rowing past. But a city expected. One more win would do. Home form has been crucial to giving Forest any hope of survival this season and supporters were going to make sure they did all they could to inspire an eighth home league victory – two more than Chelsea – on the waterfront. There were tifos that would have made the Yellow Wall blush and a rendition of Mull of Kintyre from deep within their souls to rouse the troops – the fans were ready. And, crucially, so were the players. It helped that Arsenal were a shadow of the high-octane force that threatened to end City’s stranglehold of the English top flight. Other than a Keylor Navas save at the feet of Gabriel Jesus and efforts from distance, the visitors did not really threaten to drag the title race out for another day in the first half, with motivation ostensibly in short supply. Win, the Labrador, had not worked his magic yet it seemed. The goal that eventually settled the contest, one that nearly lifted the roof of the rickety old stadium, was created by a familiar source, as the ever-excellent Morgan Gibbs-White slid the ball into the path of Taiwo Awoniyi, who benefitted from a poor slide-tackle attempt from Gabriel to divert the ball past Aaron Ramsdale and into the net. The Forest hitman has now scored five goals in his last three Premier League appearances, one more than he had in his first 23 games in the competition combined. There was still hope for the travelling Gunners faithful going into the second half, given their side had previously won three league matches this season when trailing at the break – a division high – but they remained shorn of ideas and belief. A smart save from Navas to deny Bukayo Saka after the interval threatened to raise hopes of another rousing recovery, but although the home nerves were jangling, Forest could see out the win that secured another top-flight campaign in relative comfort. Any other era and Liverpool would have three titles in the last five seasons, and Arsenal’s 19-year wait for another Premier League crown could well have been sealed at the City Ground in the Saturday sun. Instead, despite holding an eight-point lead over City as recently as the morning of April 8, with the Gunners having been top of the Premier League table for 248 days this season – the most days at the summit of the English top flight without having won it – Arsenal have nothing to show for a season of incredible progress. The fact of the matter is, City in beast mode with their inhumane hunger for glory simply cannot be tamed. The foundations have been well set by Mikel Arteta. But even given all they have done this term, Arsenal now have a summer to somehow take their game to another level, and some. The master, Pep Guardiola, will be waiting for his apprentice. Read More Nottingham Forest upset Arsenal to clinch safety and hand Manchester City title Manchester City win fifth Premier League in six seasons after Arsenal falter No celebrations planned if Man City win title without playing, Guardiola says Nottingham Forest upset Arsenal to clinch safety and hand Manchester City title Manchester City win Premier League after Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest Roy Hodgson humbled by response of Fulham and Crystal Palace supporters

Manchester City are celebrating their third successive Premier League title and a fifth in six seasons. Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key games in their successful campaign. October 2, Man City 6 Man Utd 3 City did not really hit their stride or find consistency until the spring but there were still some awesome demonstrations of their firepower – and particularly that of Erling Haaland – in the opening months. Their thrashing of arch-rivals United was especially sweet. Haaland helped himself to a hat-trick, his third treble in successive home games and one of six he notched in a record-breaking campaign, while Phil Foden also hit three in an emphatic display. January 19, Man City 4 Tottenham 2 Pep Guardiola let his anger at his side be known after they rallied from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Spurs with goals from Julian Alvarez, Haaland and Riyad Mahrez (two). After defeats in the previous two games, the City boss felt the first-half showing was another indicator his players – who he labelled ‘happy flowers’ – were not fully focused. It did not mark a turning point in terms of results, as City were beaten at Spurs a few weeks later, but perhaps in attitude. February 15, Arsenal 1 Man City 3 Fixture disruption in the autumn meant the two leading title contenders were kept apart until February and it was City who landed the first blow when they eventually met. Kevin De Bruyne’s opener was cancelled out by a Bukayo Saka penalty but City upped the tempo in the second half to win comfortably with goals from Jack Grealish and Haaland. The win took City above the Gunners to the top, albeit only on goal difference and having played a game more at that stage, but it was psychologically important and key in the final reckoning. April 1, Man City 4 Liverpool 1 Despite the win over Arsenal, City had still not hit their fluid best and there remained doubts about their consistency. They started to show they really meant business when they put Liverpool, their chief title rivals in recent years, to the sword at the Etihad Stadium. Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead with a thumping finish but City’s response, without injured top-scorer Haaland, was determined and impressive. Alvarez, De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Grealish all scored in a convincing win. April 26, Man City 4 Arsenal 1 City outclassed the Gunners to take firm command of the title race. Just weeks earlier, Arsenal had been in control of their destiny but their advantage was eroded by three successive draws prior to their trip to the Etihad. It was clear the momentum was with City and they emphasised that with a dominant display in which Haaland and De Bruyne ran riot. De Bruyne scored two, both from Haaland passes, and the Norwegian inevitably got on the scoresheet himself. John Stones scored their other goal in an unexpectedly one-sided clash. Arsenal remained two points clear but, with two games in hand, City held the upper hand and did not relinquish it. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live A look at Pep Guardiola’s 10 major trophies as Manchester City manager Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne lead key men in Manchester City title triumph Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have not been good enough for top-four finish

Manchester City have won the Premier League for a third successive year and a fifth time in six seasons. Here, the PA news agency looks at the key players in their latest triumph. Erling Haaland The Norwegian has been an absolute sensation, scoring a record – and scarcely believable – 36 goals in City’s successful campaign. People doubted whether he would be able to maintain the phenomenal scoring rate of his early career once he arrived in the Premier League following his £51million move from Borussia Dortmund but he quickly dispelled their reservations. He formed a potent partnership with Kevin De Bruyne and bagged four hat-tricks along the way. City had to adjust their playing style to accommodate him, and this was seen as a factor in their early to mid-season inconsistency, but things had truly clicked by the run-in as City reeled in, then stormed past, Arsenal. Kevin De Bruyne It may not have been a vintage De Bruyne season, and some of Guardiola’s comments about him at times suggested the manager was not entirely satisfied with the Belgian, but he still produced another highly effective campaign. He truly got going and delivered when it really mattered as City entered the run-in, with his statistics again impressive. He contributed 16 assists, and while that figure is also testament to the brilliance of Haaland’s finishing, it is five more than anyone else in the competition. He also weighed in with seven goals. Jack Grealish It has taken time for Grealish to live up to his £100million billing but his second season at the club has been a considerable improvement on his first. There were some impressive performances in the early part of the campaign and since the World Cup he has reached that level on a consistent basis. He now seems more confident on the ball and has been harder for defenders to knock off it, while also showing a greater ability to pick out his team-mates. His progress has been good and City will hope there is more to come. John Stones The second half of the season saw Stones successfully combine all facets of his game. The England centre-back’s defending has improved considerably in recent years and, now comfortable in that role, he is confident enough to step into midfield when City are in possession. With his ball-playing ability, this defence-midfield hybrid role has added an extra dimension to the team’s play. Rodri The Spaniard’s influence in the City midfield has grown steadily since his arrival in 2019 and this season has seen him come of age. Physically strong and highly energetic, Rodri has been City’s driving force. He reads the game superbly, breaks up opposition attacks and powers forward. His passing ability and vision have been excellent with the likes of Haaland, De Bruyne and Grealish all benefiting enormously. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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