Arsenal’s hopes of chasing down Manchester City for the club’s first English Premier League title since 2003 have been crushed after a 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton.
Second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan consigned Mikel Arteta’s once long-time league leaders to a punishing defeat at Emirates Stadium.
The loss means Manchester City, who beat Everton 3-0 earlier in the day, can be crowned champions with a win against Chelsea next Monday NZT.
City has 85 points — four more than Arsenal — and also has a game in hand.
A win against Chelsea next Monday NZT will be enough for City to win a ninth title and a seventh since the dramatic day in 2012 when they edged rivals Manchester United on the final day to begin a dynasty-type run.
It looks unlikely to be final day drama this season as City eye the English football treble. City host Real Madrid midweek in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals before also hosting Chelsea.
Arsenal close out the season at Nottingham Forest and then host Wolves.
Two goals from Ilkay Gundogan and another from Erling Haaland — his 52nd of the season — secured the points at Goodison Park and stretched City’s unbeaten run to 21 games in all competitions.
It was an 11th straight win in the league, which has seen the defending champions overhaul long-time leader Arsenal at the top of the table and put Pep Guardiola on the brink of a third successive title and his fifth in six seasons.
Defeat for Everton, meanwhile, leaves the Merseyside club just one point above the relegation zone and in a desperate fight for survival after 69 years in the top flight.
If Leicester beat Liverpool on Monday, Everton would drop into the bottom three with two games to play.
Few expected Sean Dyche’s team to cause an upset against City, even after its shock 5-1 win against Brighton on Monday.
And despite holding the visitors for a long period of the first half, the game was effectively settled inside two minutes before the break.
Gundogan fired City ahead with a moment of improvisation that seemed to come from nothing in the 37th minute.
With his back to goal, the Germany international controlled Riyad Mahrez’ cross from the right with one touch before flicking a shot over his shoulder and past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Two minutes later City’s lead was doubled, with Gundogan the provider this time when crossing for Haaland to head in a second goal.
It was only the Norway striker’s third touch of the match to that point.
Gundogan struck his second after the break with a curling free kick from the edge of the area to continue his outstanding campaign.
While Haaland’s goal-scoring feats has earned him the majority of the praise this season, and saw him named Footballer of the Year on Friday, Gundogan has been a key part of City’s three-pronged trophy pursuit of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Gundogan’s two goals at Goodison came after his double against Leeds last week and took his total for the season to nine in all competitions.
He is widely expected to leave in the summer when his contract expires and has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona.
That would leave Guardiola with a hole to fill in his midfield, with one potential replacement, Jude Bellingham, reportedly closing in on a transfer to Real Madrid.
City’s attentions will now turn to Madrid, with the teams playing each other in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday.
With that game finely poised at 1-1 after the first game in Madrid, Guardiola was concerned about the impact the Eurovision Song Contest would have on his preparations for that match.
He would have preferred the Everton game to be played a day earlier to give his players more rest time, but said the staging of Eurovision in Liverpool on Saturday had meant that was impossible.
It mattered little to the outcome of this game, with City a comfortable winner in the end, but it remains to be seen what effect it will have on the performance against Madrid.
