Forest loss shows how far Arsenal have to go to match City

WEST BRIDGFORD, England — There is something poetic about Manchester City being handed the Premier League title by a result at the ground where they last dropped points. It is testament to the remorseless efficiency with which Pep Guardiola’s side have hunted down Arsenal that Feb. 18 feels like a lifetime ago.

That was the day when the Gunners scored twice in stoppage time to snatch a 4-2 win at Aston Villa a few hours before City missed the chance to go back to the summit after a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest. Those two results combined sent newfound belief surging through Arsenal as they sought to maintain the momentum of their stunning first half of the season into the business end.

It was not to be.

City’s response to that unexpected result against Forest has been perfect: 11 consecutive victories, relentlessly capitalising on Arsenal’s stuttering form to end up winning the league on Saturday with three games left to play after the Gunners lost 1-0 to Forest here in the Midlands.

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It was three games into City’s run when Guardiola found the magic formula, switching John Stones into a midfield hybrid role that did so much to give his team the balance and control they have subsequently shown.

Joao Cancelo had played there, but he was abruptly sent out on loan to Bayern Munich in January after reportedly falling out with Guardiola. It was a huge call, one the manager mitigated by using teenager Rico Lewis in that position for a while before settling on Stones.

Arsenal did something similar for much of this season with Oleksandr Zinchenko, acquired from City last summer, performing a similar function from left-back. He has been excellent for the majority of the campaign.

In the absence of the injured Zinchenko, manager Mikel Arteta opted to use Thomas Partey at right-back, with the hope he could step into midfield and overload Forest in the same style. It didn’t work. Arsenal monopolised…