It was undoubtedly a meeting that Mikel Arteta and his players followed with particular attention. Twenty-four hours after their success against Burnley (1-0), Arsenal could officially be crowned champion of England this Tuesday evening in the event of a misstep by Manchester City (2nd) on the pitch at Bournemouth (6th). A poor performance forbidden for Pep Guardiola’s men, at the center of all attention since the imminent announcement of his departure, but who were finally caught by the Cherries (1-1). A draw with big consequences, which officially offers Arsenal their 14th English championship title, the first since 2004.
Without Cherki at the kick-off, the Cityzens quickly tried to take control of the match despite a dynamic start from the premises. After an overflow on the right side, Antoine Semenyo served Jérémy Doku at the entrance to the area, whose shot was repelled by Petrović (8th). A few minutes later, Semenyo even thought he had opened the score against his former club, before his goal was disallowed for offside (12th). More enterprising and dominant in the game, the Skyblues were nevertheless surprised just before the break. Launched deep, Adrien Truffert found Eli Junior Kroupi behind in the area. The French U21 international followed up with a superb curling shot to deceive Gianluigi Donnarumma and give Bournemouth the advantage (39th, 1-0).
Arsenal on the roof of England
After returning from the locker room, the Cityzens tried to quickly get back into the game. Well launched in depth by Erling Haaland, O’Reilly presented himself against Petrović, but the Serbian goalkeeper won his duel thanks to a superb save at the near post (46th). A few minutes later, Gianluigi Donnarumma also kept City alive. Found on the left side, Truffert sent a dangerous cross towards Evanilson, whose shot at the near post was deflected by the Italian goalkeeper (52nd). A new alert which confirmed the Mancunian difficulties faced with the rapid transitions of the Cherries.
As the minutes passed, Bournemouth even seemed closer to the break than City to the equalizer. On a corner hit by Tavernier, Hill saw his header blocked before the ball returned to Rayan, whose powerful shot from the left hit the outside of Donnarumma’s post (62nd). Pep Guardiola’s men finally found the solution in the final moments of added time, when Haaland took advantage of a mix-up in the area to equalize (90th + 7, 1-1). Insufficient for Manchester City, who officially let the title of English champion slip away and who are preparing to say goodbye to Pep Guardiola, while Arsenal – future opponent of PSG in the C1 final – finally returns to the top of the Premier League, two decades after their last coronation.
