And with that it was done. A title race that had promised so much came to its formal and premature end in bright spring sunshine as Arsenal’s defeat by Nottingham Forest ensured that, for the fifth time in six seasons, the Premier League was won by Manchester City, who have three games still to play.
But if that side of the equation was ultimately anticlimactic, for Forest there was ecstasy: they will be playing Premier League football again next season.
Having apparently dragged themselves to safety once this season, Forest had to do it again. For them, this has been a season in four distinct phases: four points from the first eight games, 20 from the next 13, three from the next 11, followed by 10 from five. There were nine minutes of injury-time, which could have been agony, particularly for a side that had gone 15 games since its last clean sheet, but the truth is that Arsenal rarely threatened.
From midway through the second half, the City Ground anticipated its triumph. By the end, every challenge, every misplaced pass from an Arsenal player, every ball that drifted out of play, was greeted with a great roar. Everton’s draw against Wolves earlier in the day had given Forest the chance to seal survival here, without having to worry about their dismal away form – just seven points all season – letting them down at Crystal Palace next weekend. Given the sense of chaos induced by the fleets of summer signings, and then again by the seven January arrivals, Steve Cooper, who used 33 players this season, can be said to have done a remarkable job.
But while this was certainly about Forest’s aggression and organisation, about the attacking thrusts led by Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo, about Keylor Navas’s command of his box, it was also about the fading of Arsenal. Whether you define what has happened as a choke or the inevitable consequence of chasing an almost indestructible opponent with a squad clearly lacking depth in certain key areas, or some combination of the two, Arsenal’s season has dwindled miserably. Since throwing away that 2-0 lead at Anfield, they have won just two of eight games.
Their pursuit of the implacable excellence of City no more than perfunctory, their place in next season’s Champions League already secure, they played without any great sense of purpose. They weren’t at half-pace or indifferent to the result, as such, but there was a lack of intensity. Everybody knew the title race was done, the mood of resignation so pervasive that Forest fans’ taunts that Arsenal were “top of the league and fucked it up” seemed oddly out of place, almost distasteful, and were soon discontinued.
Certainly there was a casualness about the Martin Ødegaard pass that gifted Forest an opener. Gibbs-White, the outstanding success of the past year’s transfer dealings, gladly seized possession, advanced and then released Taiwo Awoniyi with a perfectly weighted ball. After a middling start to life at Forest following his move from Union Berlin, Awoniyi has ignited this month with doubles against both Southampton and Chelsea. However sharp he may be, though, his finish here was fortunate, Gabriel’s sliding challenge hooking the ball into his lower shin, from where it scooted over the sliding Aaron Ramsdale – a goal made by the precision of the pass.
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Injuries had forced changes for Arsenal – Jakub Kiwior to left-back, Ben White into the centre and Thomas Partey at right-back – and whether because of that or despondency at the fizzling out of the title challenge, Arsenal struggled for rhythm. This was reminiscent of the defeat at Everton earlier in the season as they toiled in front of a noisy home support against combative and deep-lying opponents. Nothing quite came off. There was a lot of shrugging. Bukayo Saka looked sad. Ødegaard seemed constantly to be making compensatory runs, as though by overt effort he could find redemption for his error. Gabriel Jesus has a face that always seems to be mid-complaint about something, but here that was accompanied by waving arms until he was eventually booked after appealing for one penalty too many shortly after half-time.
There were a few corners, a few snap-shots from distance, but the clearer chances were Forest’s. Felipe and Gibbs-White both had opportunities to seal the win in the second half, but they were never clinging on. This has been a fine season for Arsenal, but it has ended tepidly. Forest, meanwhile, for all those long weeks of frustration, brought their home season to an end with a triumphant march to the final whistle and survival.
