The Premier League season will reach its climax on Sunday, with all 10 games kicking off simultaneously in a peril-filled final act in a tangled permutation of Europe’s race to the bottom and near the top of the table.
The title has already been decided, with league winners Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa securing the four Champions League spots.
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All eyes therefore shifted to the final European spot, and few would have predicted a relegation scrap at the start of the season.
There have also been many farewells of famous people. Al Jazeera Sports will cover the five biggest stories of the final day.
When will Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy?
Arsenal have won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years and will lift the trophy after Sunday’s game at Crystal Palace.
The Gunners’ victory was confirmed on Tuesday, when Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth. This result would have put the title in jeopardy on the final day.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted ahead of his visit to Palace that he did not even watch the City match, instead choosing to have a barbecue in his garden for his family.
His son Gabriel, a member of Arsenal’s youth team, broke the news of the team’s first title since 2004.
“I was supposed to be at Colney (training ground) and watch the game with the players and some of the staff, because that’s what they wanted, but it wasn’t possible,” Arteta said.
“I think I had to leave 20 minutes before the game. I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted. And ultimately it was also a moment for them to watch the game together and be themselves and see what the outcome would be.”
“When my oldest son opened the garden door, he started running towards me, started crying, hugged me and said, ‘We’re champions, Daddy.'”
Arteta added that winning the trophy after six-and-a-half years in charge was “one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt”.
That feeling will be amplified when the trophy is finally lifted at Selhurst Park, and will be even stronger if the team beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30.
Manager Arteta said, “We will prepare for the match with the intention of winning and writing a new story in the history of the club.”
Who could be relegated on the final day of the Premier League?
The essence of drama is extremely simple. Of the two London clubs, either Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham will go under.
Spurs are in 17th place with 38 points, two places ahead of 18th-placed West Ham, who are third in the relegation zone. There is only one combination of outcomes that will eliminate the Spurs. Everton’s defeat at home and West Ham’s victory as they host Leeds.
Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi said: “When you’re fighting for relegation, you have to stay in the league until the last moment of the final game of the season.” “We must continue to live. Today is an important day for us.
“The most important thing is to maintain your dignity, to maintain your pride, to spend your holidays this way (with your head held high) and not like this (head down).”
A win is essential for West Ham, but they are trailing on goal difference and will be relying on support from north London side Everton, but even that may not be enough.
Which Premier League clubs qualify for Europe?
Another major storyline is the battle for the last one or two spots in the Champions League.
Liverpool are in pole position with Brentford at home and know they can secure fifth place with just one point. Bournemouth, who somehow clinched a European qualification spot after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Man City, are three points behind, but far behind Liverpool on goal difference.
Bournemouth’s rapid rise has been one of the talking points this season. They arrive at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground unbeaten in 17 games, and their consistency has seen them rise to sixth place and firmly in the European spots.
The stakes could extend beyond just the Champions League. Aston Villa’s Europa League win on Wednesday opened the door for a sixth English player to feature in next season’s competition, but only if Villa finish fifth in the league. To do so, Liverpool will need to win what will be talisman Mohamed Salah’s final appearance as a red at Anfield and lose at City at Villa, but it is expected to be an emotional farewell for manager Josep Guardiola after a trophy-winning decade with the club.
If Villa finish fourth, the extension route will end and sixth place will qualify for the Europa League, the continent’s second most prestigious club competition. Brighton & Hove Albion, who host Manchester United, remain the team most likely to crack into sixth place, three points behind seventh-placed Bournemouth, while a wider group including Chelsea, Brentford and Sunderland are chasing Europa League and Conference League spots in a crowded mid-table race.
Will Salah bid farewell to Liverpool in the Premier League?
Mohamed Salah will bid farewell to Liverpool on Sunday, but it remains unclear how manager Arne Slott will do so after the Egyptian star will not commit to face Brentford at Anfield.
Salah, one of the club’s all-time leading goalscorers, publicly criticized and questioned Liverpool’s style of play following last Friday’s 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa. He called for a return to “heavy metal attacks” that instill fear in opponents.
The outburst – the second public rift between Salah and Slott this season – adds further drama as the team looks to qualify for the Champions League.
Slott was asked on Friday whether Salah was certain to feature against Brentford.
“I have no say in team selection,” Slott replied. “I think you would be surprised if I did this now.”
In March, 33-year-old Salah announced he would leave the club at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club to end his contract one year early.
Salah’s form, now in his ninth season at Anfield, has declined to such an extent that he was dropped in consecutive games at the end of last year, with the winger telling reporters the club had “thrown me under the bus”.
Why is Josep Guardiola leaving Manchester City?
Guardiola acknowledged City fans’ concerns, saying in a statement: “Don’t ask me why I left. There is no reason, but deep down I know that my time has come.”
The club’s most successful manager has stepped down, bringing to an end a trophy-laden decade that established City as one of Europe’s major powers and changed the face of English football.
Guardiola, who had one year left on his contract with City, will take charge in Sunday’s final Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Guardiola added: “Nothing is forever. If it were, I would be here. Forever is my feelings for Manchester City, the people, the memories, the love.”
“We worked, we suffered, we fought. And we did things our way. Our way.”
City announced that Guardiola will take on the role of global ambassador.
Enzo Maresca, a former Chelsea manager and Guardiola’s former assistant at City, is the front-runner to take on the difficult task of succeeding Guardiola after a decade of unprecedented domination.
Since joining City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola has led the Abu Dhabi-backed side to six Premier League titles, with the club set to win the Champions League for the first time in 2023.
They have won a total of 17 major trophies, including the English League Cup and FA Cup double this season. He won 35 major titles during his coaching career, including times at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
