How Arsenal beat Manchester City to the Premier League title | OneFootball

Manchester City’s draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday night confirmed Arsenal as Premier League champions for the first time since 2004.

It brought to an end an enthralling Premier League title race, and while it has not always been straightforward for the Gunners, they have finally managed to get over the line.

Here’s how they did it…

AUGUST

Arsenal kicked off with a narrow win at Manchester United before thrashing Leeds United 5-0 only to lose for the first time this season to a Dominik Szoboszlai wonder free-kick at Anfield at the end of the opening month of the season.

City, meanwhile, followed a thumping 4-0 opening day win at Wolves with a surprise home defeat by Tottenham and an away loss at Brighton.

League position: Arsenal 3rd Man City 13th

SEPTEMBER

Mikel Arteta’s team started off September with a stormer of a game against Nottingham Forest, thrashing the away team with Martin Zubimendi putting not one but two goals in the back of the net. They then took on Manchester City at home, only to deliver a snoozefest of a draw. Arsenal rounded the month off with a win away at St James’ Park.

City, on the other hand, made it through the month without a single defeat. Starting off with an impressive 3-0 win against United, followed by the draw with Arsenal, finishing off by slaughtering Burnley 5-0 at home.

League position: Arsenal 2nd Man City 7th

OCTOBER

Arsenal impressively made it through October without conceding. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both put the ball past Mads Hermansen to give the Gunners a 2-0 win against West Ham. A narrow win away at Craven Cottage paired with a another win by a small margin at home against Crystal Palace rounded out their month.

Pep Guardiola’s side kicked off with an 1-0 win against Brentford thanks to an early goal from Erling Haaland. Followed by a 2-0 win at home where Haaland once again stole the spotlight much to the Everton fans’ dismay. They then completed the month off with a 1-0 loss away at Villa Park.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 5th

NOVEMBER

Starting off with a smooth 2-0 win away at Burnely, the Gunners continued their winning streak. Although, this was quickly disrupted by Brian Brobbey’s last minute equaliser away to Sunderland, leaving Arsenal coming away with a disappointing draw.

Although, they made up for it by battering their north London rivals 4-1 at home at the Emirates . After a plethora of goals against Spurs, the excitement was not carried through to Stamford Bridge, with Arsenal and Chelsea drawing 1-1.

City started the month off right with a convincing 3-1 win against Bournemouth at home, with Haaland bagging two of the goals and Nico O’Reilly with the other. City continued to score goals for fun, putting three past Alisson Becker, coming away with a 3-0 win at home.

They then went on to lose 2-1 to Newcastle, with Harvey Barnes running rings around Guardiola’s defence. A 3-2 win home at the Etihad Stadium gifted City a desparate three points as they moved within touching distance of Arsenal.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 2nd

DECEMBER

Arsenal began with a solid 2-0 win against Brentford, followed by an upsetting loss away to Villa with Emiliano Buendia stealing the win in the fifth minute of added time. Across their next three games, Arteta’s team bounced back, winning three games in a row to hang on to their spot at the top of the table.

City, meanwhile, had an extremely impressive month taking away five wins from five games. They kicked off the month with a goal crazy game away at Fulham, and when the final whistle was blown City came away with a 5-4 win. Guardiola’s team then won their next three games, all with a scoreline of 3-0. In their final game of the month at The City Ground, City left Nottingham Forest defeated with a 2-1 win.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 2nd

JANUARY

A thrilling 3-2 win at the Vitality Stadium kicked off Arsenal’s new year on the right foot. Yet, the excitement soon fizzled out with Arsenal’s next two games not including a single goal, drawing 0-0 with both Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. The disappointment continued with a big loss to Manchester United at home. Arteta’s side finally shook off frustrations with a huge 4-0 win against Brighton.

City’s new year started off with utter embarrassment, drawing their first three games of the month, failing to take advantage of Arsenal dropping points. An uninspired 0-0 draw against Sunderland, followed by dull 1-1 draws against both Chelsea and Brighton at home did not impress the City fans. To make matters worse, Guardiola’s side then suffered a embarrassing 2-0 loss to Manchester United away at Old Trafford. Finally, things started to look up for City with a 2-0 win at home against Wolves.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 2nd

FEBRUARY

A big 3-0 win at home against Sunderland with Viktor Gyokeres scoring two of the goals started Arsenal’s month off right. The North London side were then held to two away draws, leaving fans not too happy. Although, the Gunners quickly made up for it by thrashing Spurs away in the north London derby with a huge win of 4-1. After rumours of Eberechi Eze going to Tottenham but diverting to Arsenal, the hat-trick he scored in the derby really fuelled Arsenal’s fire for the rest of the season.

City, meanwhile, could not quite put as many goals past Tottenham, leaving the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with only one point. Although, the rest of the month the team came away from every game with three points. Two easy wins at home against Fulham and Newcastle, paired with a 1-0 win away at Leeds added an impressive nine points to City’s tally.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 2nd

MARCH

Arteta’s side took on Chelsea at the Emirates, coming away with a 2-1 win, followed by another decent win away at Brighton with Saka putting the Gunners on the scoreboard. Arsenal then went on to beat Everton in dramatic fashion as 16-year-old Max Dowman scored the final goal.

No wins for City in March left Guardiola’s side still chasing the Arsenal for the title. They drew 2-2 at home against Nottingham Forest and then another draw at West Ham with both teams only scoring a single goal, left City with a mere 3 points for the month.

League Position: Arsenal 1st Man City 2nd

APRIL

Arsenal came away with a narrow 2-1 loss at home against Bournemouth, followed by a disastrous loss away against Manchester City. Arteta’s side to made up for the points they lost to rivals City with a 1-0 win against Newcastle at home.

City dominated throughout April by taking home all of the nine points up for grabs. A massive 3-0 win away at Stamford Bridge put City in position to take the 2-1 win against top of the table Arsenal. Guardiola’s side finished off their month with a 1-0 win against Burnley, allowing them to finally overtake Arsenal at the top of the table.

League Position: Arsenal 2nd Man City 1st

MAY

With only goal difference separating the top of the table this month, Arsenal were desparate to get the top spot back. The Gunners came out with three massive wins; 3-0 against Fulham, 1-0 against West Ham, and 1-0 against Burnley to kick City off the top spot.

City failed to respond with a win in the first week of the month, only bringing in a singular point from their draw away against Everton. Although they won their next two games 3-0 against both Brentford and Crystal Palace, it was not enough to get back to the top of the table, and their draw with Bournemouth handed Arsenal the title.