Mikel Arteta’s transformation reaches its pinnacle as Manchester City’s stumble hands the Gunners their first top-flight crown since the Invincibles, sparking celebrations two decades in the making.
Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City dropped points away to Bournemouth in a 1-1 draw.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved five points clear at the top with their 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday night, meaning City had to win at Bournemouth to keep the title race alive until the final day. Instead, Pep Guardiola’s side failed to take all three points, confirming Arsenal as champions before their trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
It ends one of the longest waits in Arsenal’s modern history. The club had not won the league since the Invincibles season of 2003/04, when Arsene Wenger’s side went unbeaten and set a standard that became both a source of pride and a burden in the years that followed.
Since then, the Gunners have gone through transition, frustration and several false starts. They left Highbury, moved to Emirates Stadium, rebuilt squads, changed managers and spent long periods trying to return to the top of English football.
This title is the clearest proof yet of the transformation under Arteta.
When the Spaniard returned to the club as manager in December 2019, Arsenal were drifting. He won the FA Cup within months, but the larger rebuild took time. The squad has been reshaped, standards have been raised, and Arsenal have gradually moved from hopeful challengers to a side capable of finishing above Manchester City across a full league season.
There have been near misses along the way. Arsenal finished second in three consecutive Premier League seasons, collecting 84 points in 2022/23, 89 in 2023/24 and 74 in 2024/25, but each campaign ended with the same frustration of falling short.
Those years still mattered. They hardened the group, raised the standards and kept Arsenal in the conversation at the top of English football. This time, the Gunners carried the race through the pressure points and did enough to finish the job before the final weekend.
The decisive step came against Burnley, when Kai Havertz’s first-half header secured a 1-0 win at Emirates Stadium. It was not Arsenal’s most comfortable performance of the season, but it was another example of the control and defensive resilience that has underpinned their title challenge.
Arsenal now head to Crystal Palace on the final day with the Premier League already secured. That could give Arteta the option to manage minutes before the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, with the club still chasing what would be a historic double.
The scale of the achievement is significant. This is Arsenal’s fourth Premier League title and their 14th English league title overall. It is also their first league crown at Emirates Stadium, finally ending the wait that began after the Invincibles.
For Arteta, the title completes the first major phase of his Arsenal project. The club had been close before, but this season they have gone one step further. After 22 years, Arsenal are champions of England again.
