Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the game to help Nottingham Forest produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Before the game began, Arsenal trailed City by four points and needed to win to stay in the championship race. However, after Taiwo Awoniyi scored his fifth goal in three games in the nineteenth minute, Arsenal was unable to recover. From that point on, Forest played outstanding defense, restricting the sluggish Arsenal to a few half-chances and securing a well-earned victory that puts them at 37 points and puts them beyond the grasp of Southampton, Everton, and Leicester in addition to the already-relegated team. With three games remaining, City is now in the lead, while Arsenal’s championship challenge has run out of steam after another bad performance. The loss for Arsenal was a continuation of their 3-0 setback against Brighton last weekend.
The home crowd created a frenzied atmosphere prior to kickoff knowing what was at stake after Everton could only draw with Wolves. The hosts then subjected Arsenal to an initial barrage of long throws and deliveries into the area. After weathering the first storm, Arsenal produced the game’s first scoring chances when Gabriel Jesus had an attempt blocked by Keylor Navas and then headed over the bar after a corner. However, Arsenal struggled early on due to their odd structure, which had Thomas Partey in a hybrid right-back position and Jakub Kiwior at left-back. Soon, they fell behind.
Martin Odegaard’s errant ball gave Morgan Gibbs-White the opportunity to burst forward and find Awoniyi for the game’s first score. The ball ricocheted back off the striker after Gabriel Magalhaes’ sliding tackle, beating Aaron Ramsdale and setting off raucous celebrations. The hosts were content to sit back and take the pressure after that, and despite Arsenal controlling possession and having the majority of first-half opportunities, Leandro Trossard was only able to miss wide after being set up by Bukayo Saka from a corner.
Following a Gibbs-White delivery, defender Felipe reminded the crowd of Forest’s danger from set pieces with a low, deflected shot that went just wide. Up the other end, the listless visitors continued to struggle. Although there were sporadic flashes of attacking threat—Saka once forced Navas to parry, and Jorginho sent a couple of speculative shots wide—Forest was mainly at ease and, despite having only 18 percent of the possession, looked threatening in attack.
The impressive Gibbs-White, who sent a shot into the side netting and forced Ramsdale to make a last-second save with another stinging effort, was responsible for most of their finest moments. As Forest celebrated another season of Premier League play following their promotion last season, Arteta threw on Kieran Tierney, Eddie Nketiah, and Fabio Vieira in an effort to elicit some sort of response. However, it did not materialize, confirming the inevitable for Manchester City following their 11-game winning streak.
“It’s a day for both the players and the crowd. A distinctive season for the way we approached our job. Nobody has given up, and we ultimately succeeded in crossing the finish line,” Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper said. “I’m quite happy and proud. But, if I’m being completely honest, it just offers us an opportunity to keep developing. I am aware of how much more work has to be done at the football team before it can operate as it should. Since we were promoted, there are a lot of things we need to catch up on. Everyone is aware of the events surrounding the formation of our squad and the subsequent injuries.”
“Let me start by congratulating City on their championship victory. After everything we have accomplished this season, it is obviously a very sad day for us, but we must now accept reality. We conceded a goal today because we lacked the ability to dismantle them. Here, we could have spent three hours playing. Therefore, I must accept responsibility for it because it is mine,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said. “The discomfort is severe. It’s a really sad day because after working hard for 11 months with one goal in mind, winning so many games, and developing the passion, confidence, and skills required to compete with Manchester City, we ultimately fell short due to a variety of issues.”
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