Arsenal have ended their agonizing 22-year wait to be crowned English Premier League champions after Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Bournemouth on Tuesday.
City needed a victory to take the title race down to the final day of the season, but they were frustrated by a resilient Cherries side that extended their remarkable unbeaten streak to 17 league games.
The historic result not only handed the trophy to North London side, Arsenal, but also guaranteed European football for Bournemouth for the first time in their club’s history.
After finishing as runners-up for the past three seasons, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners finally crossed the finish line to end a six-year silverware drought.
Arsenal had edged to the brink of glory on Monday with a narrow 1-0 victory over already-relegated Burnley, moving them five points clear at the summit.
The Gunners, who have set the pace for most of the campaign, bounced back impressively from a costly defeat to City last month by churning out four consecutive league victories without conceding a single goal.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s failed title defense comes amid a week of immense turbulence for the club. Just 48 hours after securing a domestic cup double with an FA Cup final victory over Chelsea—marking the 20th trophy of Pep Guardiola’s glorious reign—widespread reports emerged that the manager will depart at the end of the season.
Guardiola had warned that fatigue could cost his side against a highly motivated Bournemouth, and his predictions rang true as Eli Junior Kroupi’s record-breaking first-half strike for the hosts left City chasing the game.
Though Erling Haaland bundled in an equalizer deep into stoppage time, it was too little, too late to salvage City’s title ambitions, ensuring Guardiola will miss out on a seventh English title before his expected departure.
The late drama at the Vitality Stadium also carried massive implications for the top-four race; while Bournemouth missed chances to win it late through Rayan and David Brooks, Haaland’s equalizer handed a significant boost to Liverpool, who now hold a three-point cushion over the Cherries in the battle for UEFA Champions League qualification ahead of Sunday’s final games.
