Arsenal Celebrate First Premier League Title in 22 Years as Man City Draw

Gunners players and staff gathered at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground on Tuesday to watch Manchester City draw 1-1 away to Bournemouth. The result gave Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead at the top of the Premier League with only Sunday’s final round of matches remaining.

As the Arsenal squad celebrated the club’s first league title since 2004, supporters also erupted at the Emirates Stadium, where thousands gathered to mark the occasion with fireworks and flares.

Arsenal had been runners-up in the league for the previous three seasons and faced accusations of “bottling” their title hopes. Many questioned the team’s temperament and ability to handle pressure after a 2-1 defeat at City on April 19.

However, after City drew with Everton and then Bournemouth, Arsenal responded by winning their next four league games without conceding a goal.

Arsenal’s success also brought personal milestones for manager Mikel Arteta. He has now become one of the few people to win English titles both as a player and as a manager. Arteta rejoined the club as manager in December 2019 when Arsenal were struggling, and he marked the moment at Colney by having a blacked-out Premier League trophy that would only light up when the Gunners secured the title.

After the confirmation, Bukayo Saka urged the crowd to “light that up,” and said: “Twenty-two years… There was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing anymore.”

Arsenal players and academy graduates also shared celebration clips online, with Myles Lewis-Skelly taking aim at earlier criticism that Arsenal were “bottlers,” saying: “And now we’re holding the bottle.”

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sent a celebratory message, saying: “You did it. Champions go on when others stop. This is your time.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also paid tribute to Arteta, telling Sky Sports: “On behalf of everyone at Manchester City, we congratulate Mikel and all the staff, players and fans on winning the Premier League. They deserve it, for so much hard work and effort.”

Arsenal will receive the Premier League trophy after their final domestic match against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The club could still finish the season with a historic double as they chase their first Champions League title against Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Budapest on May 30.