Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal : Forest fought for safety and comfortably handed the title to Man City

Manchester City became Premier League champions after Arsenal lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, who secured top-flight status in style.
The Gunners, insatiable for most of the season, had spent 248 days at the top of the table and were eight points ahead of City in March, but an alarming shift saw them overtaken by Pep Guardiola’s ruthless juggernaut.
And Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half strike for Forest on a tough City Ground saw Guardiola’s side claim the title for the fifth time in six seasons with three games remaining.

City’s champagne has been on ice for some weeks now as the Gunners, who also wilted badly at the end of last season, have won just two of their last eight Premier League games. However, they have been confirmed as runners-up and will play their last game of the season next week. It was a real highlight for Forest as they managed to survive against all odds.
For much of the season, which started with over 20 signings, it looked like they would go straight back to the Championship, especially as they went 11 games without a win at the end of April.

But Awoniyi’s five-game winning streak of five goals from three games has helped Steve Cooper’s side rocket out of the bottom three and they can no longer be overtaken by Southampton, Leicester or Everton.
It concludes an impressive job from Cooper, who has rewarded Forest for the trust they have shown in supporting him despite their poor performances, and his stock continues to rise.

Everton’s draw with Wolves earlier in the day meant Forest entered the game knowing victory would ensure their safety. And buoyed by a boisterous home crowd, eager to see their side survive where they have won so many points this season, they got off to a flying start as the Arsenal defense survived some early pressure.
The Gunners began to exert some control and Gabriel Jesus was denied by Forest goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who came out quickly to choke the ball down, while the Brazilian nodded at the far post.

But the City Ground exploded in the 19th minute when Forest punished the visitors with a quick counter-attack.
Martin Odegaard went vaguely straight to Morgan Gibbs-White, who stormed forward in rapid succession before feeding Awoniyi, who enjoyed some luck when Gabriel’s challenge bumped his leg and brushed against Aaron Ramsdale.

Arsenal had plenty of possession but lacked the creativity and deception to bring Forest down in the first half, with Leandro Trossard and Jesus meekly handling attempts off goal. Forest vitally ensured they took the lead at half-time and could have doubled it shortly after the restart.
After reusing a free kick, Renan Lodi’s ball found Felipe and his close-range shot was blocked.

It was much the same for the Gunners, who had a lot of possession but made little of it. Bukayo Saka had a moment of promise when it was played, but shot straight at Navas.
Instead it was Forest who pushed for a second and Gibbs-White missed a good chance when he found the side net after taking advantage of Ben White’s slide before Lodi punched wide. As the game entered the final 15 minutes with the holy grail of survival at hand, Forest began to sit deep and put the pressure on himself.

Unsurprisingly, nerves were on edge as no team conceded more goals than Forest’s 17 in the final 15 minutes of play and every tackle, block and eviction was met with cheers as loud as a goal.
Gibbs-White shot Ramsdale straight while Forest wanted it to be a less thrilling end to them, but Arsenal’s poor attacking display meant they were able to hang on to scenes of mass celebration.