Arsenal taunted by Forest’s Gibbs-White with Premier League title joke

Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White joked that he hopes Arsenal slip up in the title race in the coming weeks to help the club in their fight for survival. The Gunners kept apace with Manchester City at the top of the table by beating Newcastle on Sunday but their fate is out of their hands, and Gibbs-White has revealed he is rooting against the Gunners taking the title down to the wire.

At the top of the table, Arsenal are a point adrift of City but have played a game more than their title rivals with only three games left to turn it around, having led by eight points at one stage.

Mikel Arteta’s men are due to visit the City Ground in the penultimate game of the season, which could prove decisive in their respective seasons depending on how results go next weekend, with Forest still yet to guarantee their safety and Arsenal still able to catch the reigning champions.

When asked about their upcoming clash, Gibbs-White suggested Arsenal may be less motivated to win when the two teams meet on May 20 if the title is mathematically out of their reach and is hoping the north London side will slip up before their encounter.

“Hopefully, Arsenal’s title chances have gone by the time we play them,” he quipped in an interview with Sky Sports Monday Night Football presenter David Jones.

The attacker scored a penalty in the crucial 4-3 win over Southampton on Monday night as Steve Cooper’s side secured a vital win in their mission to avoid relegation, while their opponents now look doomed with an eight-point gap to safety and only three games left to play.

Even if it was meant in jest, Gibbs-White may be left embarrassed in a fortnight’s time – particularly if Arsenal are still in the hunt for the title – as it gives Arteta’s side more motivation to inflict defeat on their relegation-threatened opponent.

Forest are now 16th with 33 points from 35 games following their seven-goal thriller victory but Everton also won, crushing Brighton 5-1 at the Amex Stadium, and are still only a point behind.