Another Premier League trophy is surely now heading to Manchester United's neighbours, with Arsenal's hopes as good as over after defeat to Brighton on Sunday. In past Premier League eras it may well have been enough from the Gunners, but Pep Guardiola is still around - managing a side who continue to raise the bar higher and higher.
It will be Manchester City's fifth title in six seasons once the deal is sealed; it took a 99-point season in 2019/20 to deny them of it. And that is the level everyone else at the table must strive to reach. Guardiola will not be patrolling the touchline forever and, in a way, the English top flight feels as though it is perhaps waiting for that day to arrive.
Will the competition be thrown wide open? Was it just him all along? For now, though, City are as red hot as ever; a seemingly unstoppable force, in their groove once again. Arsenal took it closer than anyone could've imagined and at various stages the prize must've felt within touching distance for Mikel Arteta's side - the late goals against United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth.
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It is known as the business end for a reason and the denouement has proven to be one step too far for the Gunners. City's frightening quality and conviction at the crunch stage will get them over the line, while Arsenal will be left pondering what could've been all summer long.
The one big question surrounding this year's title race always seemed to be around squad depth. If Arteta could've picked his strongest XI for all 38 games - metaphorically charging his players up to run the hard yards again and again - the ending may have been different.
But the English footballing schedule is one which tests the best in the business. And with injuries hitting Arsenal hard in defence right at the death, the challenge was always going to get tougher. Erik ten Hag and United can take plenty of learning themselves from Arsenal's spirited but ultimately unsuccessful hunt.
A trusted starting XI will be the first checkpoint for Ten Hag - who is keen to add a first-choice striker to his ranks this summer. But the Premier League will always be a squad game and so United must ensure - as the Ten Hag era progresses - that the depth at the Dutchman's disposal is kept topped up. It could well define just how far United go under his watch.
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