Arsenal stumble to help Manchester City win 3rd consecutive EPL title

re was Kevin Keegan-style rant.

re was William Gallas-like post-match tantrum.

re wasn’t anything that comes close to drama of Steven Gerrard’s Anfield slip.

Still, that won’t prevent Arsenal’s late-season stumble from going down in annals of English Premier League’s most memorable collapses, quite simply because of level its players were performing at to get mselves in position to win title in first place.

Only six top-flight teams in history of English soccer have amassed more points by halfway mark of season than Arsenal’s haul of 50, based on three points for a win.

And Gunners didn’t stop re; y powered into an eight-point lead with nine games remaining thanks to a 4-1 thrashing of Leeds on April 1 that continued team's attractive and attacking style of play. Manchester City, n in second place, had a game in hand but even Pep Guardiola accepted re was thing his team could do to stop Arsenal in this kind of form.

All City could do, Guardiola urged his team, was to stick around and hope for an unlikely slip-up from long time leaders.

Well, that’s exactly what happened.

Yet City’s trademark strong end to season — 11 straight wins and counting — is only half story, with Arsenal t escaping scrutiny for tightening up when pressure built.

key period was a run of three games in April when Arsenal threw away two-goal leads at Liverpool and West Ham to draw 2-2, n dropped more points after a chaotic 3-3 draw at home to last-placed Southampton.

n came a 4-1 dismantling by City at Etihad Stadium that marked a reality check for Arsenal and its young players, whose belief might have started to fade.

That City would win league on Saturday, with three matches to spare, seemed improbable considering how Arsenal was playing just six weeks ago.

This might be most stunning stat: Arsenal led league for 248 days this season and t gone on to win it.

Placed in a historical context, way Arsenal has fallen away doesn’t come close to most famous title-race meltdown in England — by Newcastle in 1995-96 season.

team mand by Keegan was 12 points clear of Manchester United after 23 games, before losing five of its next eight games — including at home to United — leading to that memorable rant by an emotionally charged Keegan into a television camera.

“I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat m, love it,” Keegan said about United, which won league by four points.

United led Man City by eight points with six games remaining in 2011-12 season and lost title to its neighbor on goal difference after Sergio Aguero’s stopp-time goal. United also led by 11 points with 10 games left in 1997-98 season but was reeled in by Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.

Or collapses stand out, too, because of certain incidents that are part of league lore.

Arsenal’s title meltdown in 2007-08 — from being five points ahead with 12 games left — featured its captain, Gallas, staging a sit-down protest in middle of field after a 2-2 draw at 10-man Birmingham, which equalized with a stopp-time penalty.

In 2013-14, Liverpool — seeking a first league trophy since 1990 — led by nine points from Man City but floundered late in title race, especially in losing 2-0 at home to Chelsea when Gerrard famously slipped in lead-up to first goal.

re were key moments this season that Arsenal’s players would wish to have back again, like Bukayo Saka’s penalty miss that would have made it 3-0 against West Ham.

But re are or reasons why team stuttered in what transpired to be a slow death.

SALIBA INJURY

Arsenal avoided important injuries to key players in first half of season, but that didn't last. While team survived three-month injury absence of first-choice striker Gabriel Jesus after World Cup, it was affected more by William Saliba's back problem that has ruled him out since middle of March. Rob Holding and Jakub Kiwior, who have filled in as replacements, have proved to be big downgrades.

SQUAD DEPTH

Saliba's injury feeds into a general me of Arsenal's squad depth t being quite good eugh to maintain a title challenge. January signings of midfielders Jorginho and Leandro Trossard gave Mikel Arteta more options but center midfield and center back remained concerns if first-choice players were injured. And Arsenal might need a more ruthless backup for Gabriel Jesus than Eddie Nketiah. need for greater squad depth and quality will become more prounced next season when Arsenal juggles domestic competitions with playing in Champions League.

YOUTH

freshness and youthful exuberance of Arteta's squad was a positive in a first half of season when team blew opponents away. It might have been a negative when pressure built in final weeks. Arsenal has youngest squad in league, with an aver of 24.4 that was even lower before arrival of Jorginho — at 30, oldest member in group. Too few of team had experience of a title race, or even of winning big trophies, explaining why Arteta signed Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jesus from City last year. It told in end.

Im: AP