Relentless City keep pressure on Arsenal
LONDON: Manchester City kept the heat on Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, seeing off a feisty challenge from Nottingham Forest after Mikel Arteta’s men held their nerve to beat Tottenham.
A captivating three-way title race has become a duel between Pep Guardiola’s City and Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who are determined to make amends for last season’s late collapse.
Arsenal are on 80 points with just three matches to go, one point clear of City, but the champions crucially have a game in hand and remain firm favourites.
The Gunners raced into a 3-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the early kick-off on Sunday, surviving a late fright to win 3-2 and temporarily move four points clear at the top of the table.
City, though not at their dominating best, battled past profligate Forest, who are fighting for their lives, with goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland.
Croatia defender Gvardiol opened the scoring, heading in Kevin De Bruyne’s corner shortly after the halfhour mark, and Haaland coolly slotted home after another assist from the impressive De Bruyne in the 71st minute to make it 2-0.
But Forest, who remain just one point clear of the drop zone with three games to play, will rue a number of squandered opportunities, including two glaring misses from forward Chris Wood.
Guardiola was relieved that his team had come out on top but warned against complacency in the final weeks of the season as they hunt a domestic trophy double.
He does not believe his team can afford to drop any points as they chase an unprecedented fourth straight English top-flight title.
“We prefer they [Arsenal] lose, we cannot control what they do, they make a good result,” said the City boss, whose team are now unbeaten in 31 matches in all competitions. “Four games left, I don’t think we can lose any points and we know exactly what we have to do.”
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest, staring at the trap door, will desperately hope to recover at least one point from their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaking Premier League financial rules.
Arsenal know if City win their remaining games, they cannot be caught but they show no signs of wilting under intense pressure.
Arteta’s men silenced the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a three-goal blast before half-time. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s own goal put Arsenal ahead before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz netted to leave Arsenal in control.
Cristian Romero and Son HeungMin struck for Tottenham after the interval to set up a nervous finish, but the visitors clung on by their fingertips.
Arteta believes his team are better equipped to win the title than last season, when they stumbled badly in the run-in, having been eight points clear at one stage. The Spaniard revealed he was hoping for divine intervention in the nervy closing stages against Spurs.
“I was praying,” he said. “There were so many Spurs players in the box. It was a really emotional game. We had to dig in and suffer and react. I’m very pleased with the way the team has done it.”
He added: “The margins are so small. Don’t get carried away with yourself. We want to be better. There are margins for improvement. Go again against Bournemouth because it’s going to be really tough.”
Defeat for fifth-placed Tottenham dealt a huge blow to their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. They remain seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, though they have two games in hand.
Arsenal Man City Liverpool Aston Villa
RESULTS
Bournemouth 3 (Senesi 13, Unal 52, Kluivert 87) Brighton 0, Tottenham 2 (Romero 64, Son 87-pen) Arsenal 3 (Hojbjerg 15-og, Saka 27, Havertz 38), Nottingham Forest 0 Manchester City 2 (Gvardiol 32, Haaland 71)
STANDINGS
P W D 35 25 5 34 24 7 35 22 9 35 20 7
L GF GA Pts 5 85 28 80 3 82 32 79 4 77 36 75 8 73 52 67
Tottenham Man Utd Newcastle West Ham Chelsea Bournemouth Wolves Brighton Fulham Crystal Palace Everton Brentford Nottm Forest Luton Burnley R-Sheff Utd 33 18 6 9 34 16 6 12 34 16 5 13 35 13 10 12 33 13 9 11 35 13 9 13 35 13 7 15 34 11 11 12 35 12 7 16 35 10 10 15 35 12 8 15 35 9 8 18 35 7 9 19 35 6 7 22 35 5 9 21 35 3 7 25 67 52 60 52 51 54 74 55 53 56 65 49 63 59 48 52 60 48 48 55 46 52 57 44 51 55 43 45 57 40 37 48 36 52 60 35 42 62 26 48 77 25 38 70 24 34 97 16
Notes: *Everton deducted eight points for breaching profit and sustainability rules (PSR) **Nottingham Forest deducted four points for breaching PSR
R — relegated