Manchester City have won the Premier League title for a fifth time in six seasons after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, reports Sky Sports.
The result leaves Manchester City with an insurmountable four-point lead at the top of the table over the Gunners, who have just one game remaining this season.
A sensational run of 11 consecutive wins in the final weeks of the season has seen City dismantle Arsenal’s charge for a first Premier League title since 2003/04.
At one stage in January, City trailed Arsenal by eight points but the reigning champions have remained unbeaten since a 1-0 loss at Tottenham on February 5, during which time Mikel Arteta’s side stuttered.
Pep Guardiola’s team face Chelsea on Super Sunday in their final home game of the season, where they will once again lift the trophy they have retained for the third season in succession.
City are now two victories away from completing a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, a feat only achieved once in English football by Manchester United in 1998/99.
City face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3, before playing Inter Milan in the Champions League final on June 10 as they look to lift the European Cup for the first time.
Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher has described Pep Guardiola as one of the greatest managers of all time and that other top sides in the Premier League might begin next season with ‘no hope’.
“I think they will win the treble. They’re going to be big favourites in that game against Inter Milan and the same in the FA Cup final against Manchester United. It feels like every season they’re in with a shout when we get towards April and May.
“The worrying thing for the rest of the Premier League is that the one season they didn’t win it, Liverpool did but they had to win 26 and draw one of their first 27 games. The standards have been raised so high by Pep Guardiola.
“I know they’ve got a great squad and great resources, but if they had a different manager they wouldn’t be reaching these heights. They’ve got one of the greatest managers of all time. He makes the biggest difference right now.
“Has he changed the Premier League? I think he has. We’ve said that before with other managers. When Sir Alex Ferguson got Manchester United going and Jose Mourinho came in at Chelsea, you thought those sides looked unbeatable.
“There are spells where it knocks the confidence and the stuffing out of the rest of the division. You don’t believe you can challenge them, never mind win it.
“Next season that’s going to be a big problem for the other four or five top clubs. Will they have any belief at all that they can win the title? At this moment they’re on a completely different level.”
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan said: “To have helped the Club win a third straight Premier League title is something very special.
“The Premier League is without doubt the most demanding and competitive league in the world so that tells you everything about what an achievement this is. This squad is so talented and so special and to have been captain this season has been an enormous privilege.
“I would also like to thank Pep, all the backroom staff and everyone who works across this football club. Every single day they help provide us as players with everything we need in order to try to be successful. There is no way we could have won this title without all their support.
“To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stand for and ensures the Club will continue to strive for success going forward.
“It has been a season I will never forget. Our amazing fans have been with us every single step of the way. Without their amazing backing I don’t think there is any way we would have been able to achieve what we have done these past six seasons.
“Their passion and support have been so important and inspirational for us all. Hopefully winning the Premier League title again is a fitting way for us to say thank you to our fans.”
From the moment Erling Haaland announced himself with a brace against West Ham on his Premier League debut, he has proved a relentless threat to opposing defences.
He scored a record nine in his first five games, with hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, and equalled Micky Quinn’s six-game record to reach double figures.
Further trebles against Manchester United and Wolves made it four for the season, one off Shearer’s record of five in 1995/96, with Haaland adding five doubles for good measure. In all, he has scored in 23 of his 33 league appearances and against 16 different opponents.
He failed to score in his one league appearance against Liverpool, or in their Community Shield clash, but did score in the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie. Brentford and Chelsea are the other names missing from the list, with return fixtures against those two clubs still to come.
Manchester City feat winning their seventh Premier League title is rivalled only by Manchester United (13) winning more titles in the Premier League era.
In the history of the English top-flight since 1888, only three teams have won more titles than Manchester City’s nine. Their two pre-Premier League titles came in 1936-37 and 1967-68.
Manchester City have now won the Premier League title in seven of the last 12 seasons and won it in five of the last six campaigns. They are the third team to win a top-flight title in five out of six seasons, along with Liverpool (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984) and Man Utd (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001).
Pep Guardiola is only the sixth man to win as many as five English top-flight titles, while only Alex Ferguson (13) has ever won more Premier League titles than the Spaniard.
Guardiola has won the title in 11 of his 14 seasons as a top-flight manager across spells in charge of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. He has won three consecutive league titles with each of those clubs.
