Manchester City confirmed their status as Premier League champions for a third successive season following Arsenal's 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Taiwo Awoniyi broke the deadlock inside the opening half an hour to give the home side the lead and the Gunners struggled to muster clear opportunities to equalise.
Mikel Arteta's side put up a good fight this season, and even established an eight-point lead over the reigning champions. But, just as the north Londoners hit a road bump, City opened their stride and bulldozed towards another English top-flight title.
With just one game left in the calendar for Arsenal, their season is largely redundant now. So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how the national media reacted to the Gunners' defeat which sealed their fate as runners-up.
READ MORE: Arsenal step closer to wrapping up Bukayo Saka contract agreement as timeline revealed
The Mirror
"Mikel Arteta launched a never-seen-before Arsenal experiment in their defeat to Nottingham Forest - but it's not one that he will likely want to repeat," wrote Daniel Orme. "Aiming to keep his side's fleeting title chances alive in the East Midlands, the Spaniard deployed orthodox midfielder Thomas Partey in defence.
"Essentially, the system saw the Ghanaian move into a central position when the Gunners were in possession of the ball. Without it, he appeared to slot into the backline on the right-flank. It is a role that he had never served for Arsenal before but that does not mean that he was a complete novice.
"Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone had deployed the Ghanaian at right-back on 11 occasions both as a starter and a substitute. It's something that appeared to work, with Partey on the winning side in all of those matches during his time in Spain. However, Arsenal did not quite enjoy as much success."
The Telegraph
"The demise of Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge of 2022-23 has been so steep that it did not even make it to the final day, where they will reconvene one last time in north London next Sunday to reflect on all that was lost," wrote The Telegraph.
"Manchester City are champions again, for the fifth time in six years, and the rest will hope that this is the peak of their dominance, although in the midst of these periods of pre-eminence it is always hard to divine the end.
"For Arsenal, the end of the season cannot come soon enough. What was for some time one of the most unexpected and exciting title challenges has crumbled in the spring sunshine. The question now, is what Arsenal emerges for 2023-24.
"On the last day of October, Mikel Arteta’s team put five goals past Nottingham Forest at the Emirates to go back to the top of the league after 12 games. They would win at Stamford Bridge the following weekend and then at Molineux and would not lose in the league until the start of February.
"With the prize within their grasp in April and May they have won just two of their last eight games. The title was realistically long gone before they arrived in Nottingham."
BBC
"It would be grossly unfair to say Arsenal did not deserve something from this game," wrote Simon Stone. "They dominated possession for long periods and only some diligent Forest defending kept them at arm's length.
"But the clinical edge of their early season performances has deserted them just as City have hit top gear. In contrast to the first half of the campaign, when they only dropped seven points, Arsenal have collected just nine points from their past eight games.
"Following on from the home defeat by Brighton, Arteta's men have now lost consecutive league games for the first time this season. Gabriel Jesus had a couple of early chances, Bukayo Saka brought a decent second-half save out of Navas and from the corner that followed, Jorginho's shot was deflected over.
"But a cutting edge was missing and there was a resignation about the outcome long before the final whistle blew on the Gunners' title challenge."
READ NEXT:
Tierney's reaction to sub, Saka anger with Partey - Arsenal moments missed vs Nottingham Forest
Arsenal player ratings vs Nottingham Forest as Partey and Kiwor experiment fails, Trossard poor
Every word Mikel Arteta said on title race disappointment, Partey at right back and Man City gap
Joao Cancelo to Arsenal takes shape as Mikel Arteta agent relations give Gunners priority
Arsenal news and transfer LIVE: All the latest updates from the Emirates Stadium
