Title race decided

Man City slips up! Arsenal clinches the “couch championship”

Superstar Erling Haaland can’t believe it: Manchester City squandered all chances of winning the league title on the penultimate matchday …(Bild: AP/John Walton)

After a 22-year drought, Arsenal is celebrating another Premier League title! "From the couch," the Gunners clinched their 14th championship in club history on Tuesday night, as Manchester City could only manage a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth and, trailing by four points with one match remaining, can no longer catch Arsenal. While Mikel Arteta celebrates his first championship title as a coach, Pep Guardiola’s ten-year era at City is coming to a lackluster end.

City’s performance on Tuesday was disappointing, at times almost lifeless. Eli Junior Kroupi put Bournemouth ahead in the 39th minute, and star striker Erling Haaland’s equalizer (95th) came too late. Arsenal, which last won the title in 2004 under manager Arsène Wenger, had taken the lead on Monday night with a 1-0 home win against Burnley and was now rewarded. The team had been at the top of the table almost continuously since the 7th round. Despite a comfortable lead at times, nerves were still frayed in the season finale after three consecutive runner-up finishes.

  The 44-year-old Arteta is finally stepping out of the shadow of his Spanish compatriot Guardiola, who is eleven years his senior and whom he once served as an assistant at City. On May 30, Arteta could even add another feather to his cap in the final against Paris Saint-Germain and win the Champions League with Arsenal. Guardiola, on the other hand, remains denied another major triumph. After 20 titles, including six league championships and this year’s League Cup and FA Cup victories, his departure is imminent. According to media reports, he has already informed his players that he will step down at the end of the season.

According to a report in “The Sun,” Guardiola informed the players of his decision during a hastily convened conference call on Monday evening. Several reports about his impending departure had appeared earlier. Guardiola is said to have been furious about the timing of the reports and to have apologized to his players for the fact that they learned of his resignation from the media. The reports reportedly took him by surprise.

Maresca in the running to succeed Guardiola
As recently as Saturday, after winning the FA Cup, the players had apparently been told that Guardiola would fulfill his contract, which runs through 2027. Now, everything points to the departure of the coach who came from FC Bayern Munich. The players are said to have reacted with surprise. Speculation about a successor is already underway. The most likely candidate is reportedly former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca, who previously served as Guardiola’s assistant coach.