Thomas Muller has been a part of a record 11 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and he cannot see their dominance slowing down in the foreseeable future.
Bayern cruised to a 10th straight Bundesliga title with ease, finishing eight points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Manuel Neuer and Muller are the only Bayern stars to be involved in each of the last 10 championship successes, with the 2010 World Cup Golden Boot winner developing further in the twilight of his career.
The Germany forward registered 26 goal involvements in the Bundesliga this season (eight goals, 18 assists), only bettering that tally in 2019-20 and 2020-12 (both 29).
Competition within the German top flight has been questioned after the prolonged period of Bayern dominance, with RB Leipzig and Dortmund the only likely contenders to challenge for the title.
But Muller cannot predict a season in which Bayern do not win the league, at least while he is still involved with Julian Nagelsmann's side.
"I'm not alone behind the wheel, but the answer is of course: no way!," he told Bayern magazine '51' when asked if the Bavarian giants' Bundesliga reign would soon end.
"As competitive athletes, we are always driven to a large extent – and we at FC Bayern are punished in public if we win 'only' 3-0.
"The expectations here are so high that they spur you on all the time. I don't see any natural mechanism that should slow us down.
"For the coming years, I assume that FC Bayern will always score between 75 and 85 points each season. That means if another team wants to become champions, they have to be able to beat that score.
"It will not happen that we go down from that. We have work to drive the division – and among other things, we have me as the lane-keeping assistant."
Muller extended his stay with Bayern until at least 2024, by which point he will be 34.
Nevertheless, the versatile attacker remains committed to the cause with Nagelsmann's side, even if his output in front of goal drops towards the end of his illustrious career.
"When I realise that it's getting too exhausting for me, that I can no longer face the daily competition at this level, then I have the courage to react to it," he added.
"Then the question arises as to how else I can contribute to my team. Then it is no longer the main task to be directly involved in x goals every year, but to support others in scoring these goals. But there's still a while to go.
"Especially when it comes to football, I don't get nervous easily because I know from experience that I can basically deal with any challenge.
"Setbacks are also part of life – the decisive factor is what you make of them. The prospect of the positive drives you, not the fear of the negative."
Arteta lauds Saka hunger after Arsenal put pressure on Man City
Mikel Arteta lauded the consistency of Bukayo Saka and his increased hunger to win after Saturday's routine 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium.
The Gunners swept aside Bournemouth as Saka's penalty opened the scoring before late second-half finishes from Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice sealed another much-needed victory.
With two games to spare, Arsenal have equalled their Premier League win tally from last season (26), only in 1930-31 (28) and 1970-71 (29) have the Gunners won more games in a single top-flight campaign.
That is in large part thanks to Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season (all competitions) since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).
He is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) and Arteta was quick to praise star winger Saka.
"The level of consistency compared to last year is very similar," the Arsenal manager said at his post-match press conference.
"There are areas he's better in. I see a different edge to him in the way he competes. He loves winning more than three months ago."
Kai Haverz won Saka's first-half penalty, though Bournemouth may feel the Arsenal forward triggered contact with goalkeeper Mark Travers.
The Cherries also had a goal disallowed at 2-0 down when Dominic Solanke was adjudged to have fouled David Raya before Antoine Semenyo turned into an empty net.
A lengthy VAR check followed both decisions but Arteta refused to comment on either incident, suggesting he had not seen them back yet.
"The honest answer is I haven't seen any of the incidents because I knew you were going to ask me," he added.
"They said do you want to see it and I said no so I can give you an honest answer!"
All 10 of Arsenal’s outfield starters attempted at least one shot in this game, the first time this has happened in a Premier League game for the Gunners since January 2022 against Burnley.
Gabriel Magalhaes almost got in the act but his strike was ruled out late on for offside, before Rice managed to add gloss to a dominant performance.
Rice was playing for West Ham last season as Arsenal capitulated in the title race against Man City, though the England international is hoping for a different outcome this time around.
"I wasn't here last year but I can sense that we are embracing it," the Arsenal midfielder told TNT Sports as Man City prepare to host Wolves later on Saturday.
"Man City are a machine and they don't lose many. Anything can happen in football. Surprises can happen and miracles can happen and we just have to stay focused."
Arsenal will continue to go about their business in hope of Man City slipping up, the Gunners have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games in 2024 (D1 L1), scoring 51 goals and conceding just eight in reply.
Indeed, the Gunners have won the most points in the competition since the turn of the year (43), but Arteta's side remain reliant on favours from elsewhere in the title race.
Ipswich Town promoted to Premier League after 22-year absence
Ipswich Town secured their return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence by seeing off Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Saturday.
Kieran McKenna's side, who only earned promotion from League One last year, required a point on the final day of regular-season fixtures.
Wes Burns put Ipswich on their way with a 27th-minute strike, before Omar Hutchinson sealed the deal early in the second period.
As it turned out, even a loss would have seen Town go up as Leeds failed to pick up the three points they needed in a 2-1 loss to Southampton.
Joel Piroe cancelled out Adam Armstrong's goal, but Will Smallbone restored the visitors' lead before half-time at Elland Road and at it remained that way.
Leeds will now face Norwich City in the play-offs after the Canaries dropped from fifth to sixth with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City.
West Brom's 3-0 win over Preston North End ensured they finished the season in fifth, meaning a play-off semi-final date with Southampton.
Despite their home win over Norwich, Birmingham joined Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in being relegated to the third tier.
That is due to Plymouth Argyle defeating top-six chasers Hull City 1-0, while Sheffield Wednesday eased to a 2-0 victory at Sunderland.
Rotherham's relegation was confirmed last month, while Huddersfield were effectively already down barring a miraculous set of results on the final day.
Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth: Gunners put pressure back on Man City in title race
Arsenal put the pressure back onto Manchester City in the Premier League title race after their comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's side moved four points clear at the league summit with this victory but Man City have two games in hand, the first of which comes at home to Wolves later on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Arsenal securing a deserved reward for their first-half dominance.
Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice made sure of three points with late finishes as defeat left Bournemouth – who had an Antoine Semenyo strike ruled out in the closing stages – 10th in the table.
A flowing Arsenal move almost ended in Trossard converting Ben White's 10th-minute cross, only for a last-gasp Marcos Senesi block to thwart the Belgium forward.
Bournemouth had Mark Travers to thank soon after as the goalkeeper denied fizzing efforts from Kai Havertz and Saka, as well as a one-on-one with William Saliba.
Travers' one-man resistance continued when pushing away Thomas Partey's low left-footed curling attempt before Rice fired narrowly wide following Havertz's delicate header.
Yet Arsenal finally got their breakthrough as Travers felled the marauding Havertz – with the VAR confirming the spot-kick decision – before Saka coolly swept into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.
Saka should have doubled his tally after the interval but arrowed a glorious opportunity straight at Travers following a smart offload from Havertz, who went close minutes later.
The otherwise unneeded David Raya was forced into action at the other end to deny Dominic Solanke after 53 minutes, while Justin Kluivert whipped a free-kick just over.
That spell of Bournemouth pressure came to an abrupt end with 20 minutes to go when Rice twisted to play through for Trossard, who slotted a smart right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner.
The Cherries thought they had snatched a goal back just three minutes later but Semenyo's rebounded strike after Ryan Christie hit the crossbar was ruled out for a Solanke foul on Raya, with the VAR confirming the on-field decision.
Arsenal then suffered a similar fate with the officials as Gabriel Magalhaes' rocketed volley was disallowed for offside, but Rice was not to be denied in stoppage-time as he fired Gabriel Jesus' throughball under the helpless Travers.
Advantage Arsenal thanks to super Saka
Arsenal have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games so far in 2024, dropping points only against Man City (0-0) and Aston Villa (0-2) this year.
That incredible run of form ensures a tantalising title race will continue towards the final two games of the season, when Arsenal travel to Manchester United and then host Everton on the last day.
Their success this term can be somewhat apportioned to star winger Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season across all competitions since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).
Saka is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) as the England international continues to deliver in key moments for the Gunners.
Cherries blunted by dominant Gunners
Bournemouth had won 1-0 at Wolves and 3-0 against Brighton in their last two Premier League games before this – but they have never triumphed in three consecutive top-flight games without conceding.
A wait for three straight such victories will go on into next season, though Andoni Iraola will look back on this campaign with fond memories.
They have never won more matches in a top-flight season than their 13 in 2023-24 (also 13 in 2018-19) and – despite this underwhelming performance – will have another chance to set an outright club record when they host Brentford before visiting Chelsea on the final day, with a top-half finish still possible.
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