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Arsenal’s Premier League finishes under Mikel Arteta: 8th, 8th, 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st. How’s that for a journey?
Arsenal’s title is the biggest story, but it’s far from the only one: Bournemouth have qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. They are now unbeaten in 17 Premier League games, an outrageous achievement, and will play in either the Europa League or the Champions League.
Bournemouth were fabulous tonight, particularly Adrien Truffert, Eli Junior Kroupi and Marcus Tavernier. If anything, the draw flattered City.
Pep Guardiola goes straight to the fourth official, presumably to query the amount of added time. City’s players are on their haunches, processing the fact it’s all over.
Full time: Bournemouth 1-1 Man City
Arsenal are champions of England for the first time in 22 years!
90+7 min Rodri’s shot is desperately blocked. Or was it Cherki’s? I DON’T KNOW.
90+6 min Truffert is booked for a hack at Marmoush. This is City’s last, last, last, last chance. Maybe even the last one.
City have 90 seconds to get another. After a penalty area scramble, Rodri’s shot hit the post and Haaland smoked the rebound into the top corner. Cracking finish.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-1 Man City (Haaland 90+5)
Yep.
90+4 min Marmoush’s free-kick hits the wall, then Foden misses his kick on the rebound.
90+3 min Now Kluivert fouls Rodri on the edge of the area. No second yellow card, but a chance for City to give Bournemouth and Arsenal a scare…
90+3 min Kluivert and Rodri have a row, then Khusanov and Scott do likewise. It settles down pretty quickly, after which Kluivert and Rodri are booked.
90+2 min This result, lest we forget, clinches a European place for Bournemouth, and they are still in with a serious chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
90+1 min Six minutes of added time.
90 min: Brooks hits the post!
David Brooks gallops through on goal after a perfectly timed pass from Unal. Donnarumma comes to meet him and Brooks curls a shot from 20 yards that thumps the right-hand post!
90 min: Double substitution Enes Unal and Lewis Cook replace Evanilson, who had run himself into the ground, and Adam Smith.
88 min: Great chance for Brooks! That could have been it. Brooks, who had loads of time at the far post, screwed a shot too close to Donnarumma from 15 yards after great play from Tavernier on the left. Evanilson then curled not far wide from distance.
87 min “I started following Arsenal in the 2010-11 season, and I’ve never had any expectations of them winning trophies, outside of an FA Cup at least 2-3 times every decade, so I’m largely removed from the rancour that Arsenal’s recent title challenges have elicited,” writes Russell Eberts. “If this result holds, will the narrative be that Arsenal didn’t earn their Premier League trophy, but that City ‘bottled it’ in the end?”
No, no chance. Arsenal are worthy champions; anyone who says otherwise needs a banter transplant. They’ll be called boring champions by some, and I’m sure that will take the gloss off the celebrations that are about to begin in the Gunners pub and elsewhere.
84 min: Bournemouth substitution David Brooks comes on for Rayan.
82 min I think City are cooked. They’ve looked leggy all night, and if he had his time again Pep Guardiola might make more than just one outfield change from the FA Cup final team. Then again, the fresher players have made little impact from the bench.
79 min When the mini-title race began a month ago, we all thought that three away games would be crucial: Arsenal at West Ham, Manchester City at Everton and Bournemouth. How right we were.
78 min A moment of fortune for Petrovic, who spills a dropping ball and grabs it at the second attempt. That could easily have fallen for O’Reilly in front of goal.
76 min: Man City substitution Omar Marmoush comes on for Jeremy Doku.
76 min: Bournemouth substitution Justin Kluivert replaces Arsenal legend Eli Junior Kroupi.
74 min Cherki wins a corner for City, who appear to have found a second wind. They need a second goal, but they have to score the first first.
The corner pinballs around before Tavernier calmly clears.
73 min If it stays like this, Pep Guardiola will have failed to win the league in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. Failure gets us all in the end, if you can call a two-trophy season a failure.
71 min Doku tries to run Rayan, who ushers the ball behind for a goalkick and celebrates in front of the home fans. This Bournemouth team really are wonderful.
69 min Donnarumma reacts well to punch Rayan’s deflected cross round the post. Bournemouth aren’t just keeping City at bay, they’ve been on top in the last 10 minutes.
68 min After 22 years, Arsenal are now 22 minutes* away from their 14th league title.
* Plus added time, I know.
67 min Truffert busts his lungs yet again to win a corner for Bournemouth. He’s been magnificent tonight.
Scott’s corner is poor and headed away by Nunes.
66 min “So, next season,” begins Zach Neeley, “the managers of the supposed big six a will be an (either way) even more Arteta’d Arteta, Maresca not only in Pep’s shadow but fired by Chelsea this season in weird circumstances, Chelsea with the also recently fired Alonso who Liverpool always wanted, Liverpool w/ a shouldn’t have been fired but still itching to fire him Slot, and Carrick trying to avoid the “Manchester United manager entropy field” and being the next Ole. So the one with the most chill managerial situation would be, Tottenham? What a world.”
The words ‘chill’ and ‘Tottenham’ have just appeared in the same sentence, and life may never be the same again.
65 min Bournemouth weathered the storm at the start of the second half. Long way to go, obviously, but right now they are pretty comfortable.
