ARSENAL'S MAX DOWMAN MAKES PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

 

Arsenal go 🔟 points clear at the top, and Max Dowman becomes the Premier League’s youngest-ever scorer in the process!

MILNER MAKES PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

 

JENS LEHMANN'S 'INVINCIBLES' GLOVES | ARSENAL FC

 Jens Lehmann's gloves from Arsenal's Invincibles run in 2003/04 🧤😮

The former Gunners goalkeeper that season said he wouldn’t change the gloves until Arsenal lost...

He ended up wearing them for 48 consecutive matches 👏

ALL-TIME TOP GOAL SCORERS IN PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

 

SOUTHAMPTON MAKE PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

Southampton are the first team in Premier League HISTORY to be relegated with seven games to play 😨📉

PREMIER LEAGUE VAR HISTORY MADE IN CHELSEA'S DRAW WITH BOURNEMOUTH

• Chelsea held to a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday

• David Brooks escaped a red card after clashing with Marc Cucurella

• The referee's decision was historic but not popular with Blues boss Enzo Maresca

David Brooks was not sent off against Chelsea despite a VAR review / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Bournemouth forward David Brooks became the first player in Premier League history not to be sent off after a red-card review at the pitch-side monitor - much to the disbelief of Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

Brooks had been embroiled in a bubbling battle with the Blues left-back Marc Cucurella throughout Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. There was no doubt that the Welsh forward tugged back his Spanish counterpart within ten minutes of the restart, halting a quick breakaway for the hosts, but video replays failed to show clearly where the contact between the two players was made.

On-pitch referee Rob Jones blew for a foul but was ushered towards the touchline screen by VAR Graham Scott before he issued a card of any colour. After reviewing the footage, Jones booked Brooks - who seemed more preoccupied with Cucurella rather than the historic nature of his escape.

As pointed out by ESPN's VAR expert Dale Johnson, Jones became the first Premier League referee since the introduction of VAR in 2019 not to follow a red-card recommendation. The official from Merseyside was also the first since May 2024 to stick with his original decision after being directed to the monitor.

Shortly after the incident, the Premier League's official match centre X account explained why Jones stuck to his guns: "Upon review, the referee deemed that the challenge on Cucurella was a reckless action and not violent conduct."

Law 12 in the FA's Official Handbook defines a "reckless action" as "when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent". By comparison, "violent conduct" is when "a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent".

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was not impressed with the landmark moment. "When there is no intention to take the ball, it's red," the Italian seethed post-game. "They have to explain. So if they give yellow, that means something happened. How can they judge it was not dangerous? You cannot. It's red."

Maresca's Bournemouth counterpart, Andoni Iraola, predictably disagreed: "There's no violence, it stops a counter, it's a clear yellow card."

- Grey Whitebloom

MAN CITY MAKE HISTORY WITH FOURTH STRAIGHT PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE

 MANCHESTER, England -- There was no drama at the Etihad Stadium. There was no repeat of Queens Park Rangers in 2012 or Aston Villa in 2022. Instead, in keeping with a run-in which has seen Manchester City showcase just why relentless consistency remains their most impressive characteristic, West Ham United were dispatched 3-1 with minimal fuss on the final day as Pep Guardiola's team lifted a record fourth successive Premier League title.

It didn't matter that, 200 miles away in north London, Arsenal beat Everton 2-1. In truth, it hasn't mattered much what Arsenal have done since the turn of the year. Mikel Arteta's side have dropped just five points in 2024 and it still wasn't good enough. City last lost a league game in December and their record over the final stretch reads: played six, won six, 20 goals scored and two conceded. No wonder Arsenal found it so hard to keep up.

"In terms of numbers, nobody has been better than us: the records, the goals, the points and four in a row," said Guardiola after the match. "If I land here tomorrow and you say I will win six Premier Leagues in seven years, I would say 'are you crazy?' It's impossible. We have done something unbelievable.

While 115 Premier League charges for alleged breaches of financial rules hang over City, there will always be questions about how all of this has come together. But what's not in doubt is the genius of Guardiola and the ruthless efficiency of his players

Other clubs have spent similar amounts of money on transfers and wages, but no one else has come close to winning six titles in seven years. It's domination that not even Liverpool of the 1970s and 1980s and Manchester United of the 1990s and 2000s can match, and with Guardiola insisting he's intent of seeing out the final year of his contract, you wouldn't bet against City making it five in a row next season. Taking in spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola has now won the league title in 12 of his 15 top-flight seasons as a manager.

One of his hallmarks is a constant drive to do more and after Phil Foden had put City 2-0 up inside the first 20 minutes, he dragged Rodri over for a chat. As a party atmosphere erupted around the Etihad, Guardiola grabbed the midfielder's arm to vigorously pass on more instructions. Rodri argued back and was eventually ushered away by Bernardo Silva. It was a moment which encapsulated Guardiola's drive to succeed. Even standing on the brink of history and the title party warming up, he still wasn't satisfied.

It was fitting that Foden and Rodri scored the goals to get City over the line, undoubtedly Guardiola's two best players this season. If the treble campaign was all about Erling Haaland, this one was about Foden. The 23-year-old scored his 18th and 19th league goals -- the first after just 78 seconds -- and if it hadn't been for some committed West Ham defending, he would have walked off with another hat-trick. The Premier League player of the year is a champion for the sixth time.

"I never get bored of it, you want this feeling every time," said Foden. "When you win something there is no better feeling. I want to keep winning as much as I can.

"It's so hard to put into words what we've done today. No team has ever done it and we've put ourselves into the history books.

"To win the Premier League four times, no team has ever done it before, so to do it means we're up there with the best teams of all time.

Guardiola said he knew from the first preseason training session in Japan that there would be no treble hangover and he's been proved right. When Arsenal and Liverpool both dropped points on the same day in April, he told his players they couldn't pass up the opportunity to capitalise and from that point on, they were perfect.

"[To win] six Premier Leagues in seven years, in this country with the modern football and the teams and everything," Guardiola reflected post-match. "The team and the organisation surprises me: it is an incredible club."

No other team in the history of English football has won four top-flight titles in a row and City could yet become the first team to win back-to-back league and cup doubles if they beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley next Saturday (stream LIVE at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+).

The inevitable question, after the trophy presentation table has been dismantled and the streamers cleared from the pitch, is how much more can they win? Arsenal's form -- winning 28 games and amassing 89 points -- has presented the illusion of a title race, but City have been so consistent that even in the crucial moments there has been remarkably little jeopardy.

While Arsenal were pushed to their limits, City's fourth title in a row was achieved without Kevin De Bruyne for five months and Haaland for two. Guardiola will strengthen his squad again over the summer and the challenge laid down to the rest of the Premier League will grow again.

On three occasions, City have had to come from behind to win a game on the final day to lift the title. There was none of the same drama against West Ham but the ending was familiar; Guardiola and his players on the pitch with the trophy.