After 22 years of heartbreak, Arsenal’s drought is finally over.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, fresh off winning four straight league matches without conceding a goal, have been crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City were held 1-1 by Bournemouth on Tuesday.
It ends an agonising streak of three consecutive seasons as Premier League runners-up for Arsenal, while the departing Pep Guardiola has been denied a dream farewell from Manchester City.
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“Congratulations to Arsenal, Mikel, the staff, all the players, fans for this Premier League,” Guardiola said after the draw.
“You deserve it.”
Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said in a video posted on the club’s social media channels: “You did it! Champions go on when others stop.
“This is your time. Now, go on and enjoy every moment.”
Writing for Sky Sports, reporter Nick Wright declared the triumph was “the culmination of six-and-a-half years of work” for Arteta, who took charge of the club in December 2019.
“He inherited a club in a state of drift when he took the job. The squad was an expensively assembled mess. Supporters were disengaged. Standards had slipped,” he said.
“The transformation has been exhaustive, with Arteta one of few constants. Arsenal, once soft-centred and easily bullied, are now characterised by steeliness and a fierce will to win, described by Pep Guardiola as one of the most competitive sides he has ever faced.
“Their title triumph, the club’s first in 22 years, provides a crowning moment for Arteta’s Arsenal project, and marks the completion of a steady rise to the summit.”
While analysing Arsenal’s triumph, Wright acknowledged that Arteta’s off-season focus on squad depth, rather than recruiting superstar players, was critical to the club’s success.
“Liverpool generated more excitement by ploughing huge sums into their attack, but Arsenal’s title triumph vindicates the decision to instead add depth in all areas, and build a group capable of absorbing the injury blows that previously derailed them,” he penned.
“Arsenal’s league-high total of 22 goal involvements by substitutes highlights their strength in depth.”
Scenes as Arsenal celebrate title win | 01:45
The Telegraph’s Sam Dean also applauded Arteta’s recruitment strategy, pointing out that Arsenal’s substitutes – or finishers, as the manager called them – accumulated 39 goal involvements across all competitions this season, the highest among Europe’s top five leagues.
“On the pitch, Arsenal have had a team good enough to win the title in each of the last four seasons. The difference this year is that they now have a squad capable of doing so,” he wrote.
“Last summer’s focus in the transfer window was on depth, on raising the floor of the squad rather than the ceiling of the team. Overall, the strategy has proved to be effective.
“The number of high-quality options at Arteta’s disposal has allowed them to compete on multiple fronts and also to change the course of matches.”
Dean also celebrated the team culture Arteta has created at Arsenal, specifically his ability to “capture a footballer’s mind and soul”.
“Arteta’s passion, conviction and ability to explain his vision has underpinned every aspect of Arsenal’s rise under his management,” he penned.
“He has convinced the players to follow him, the club’s owners to back him and the supporters to believe in him on this long, turbulent journey to his and Arsenal’s ultimate destination.
“Now that destination has finally been reached.”
Arsenal claim first title in 22 years | 00:46
The Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman revisited Arteta’s decision to overhaul the club by sacking key players early in his tenure, with the Arsenal boss prioritising team culture over individual superstardom.
“Arteta has been rewarded for having a plan and sticking to it, for realising that the weeds that had grown over foundations once laid by Arsene Wenger needed taking out by the roots,” he wrote.
“Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Gifted players but not Arsenal players. Not Arsenal people. Not in the way they viewed their work. It took courage to get them out – Wenger had ducked the issue – and Arteta needed the confidence of those who had hired him in order to do it.
“Arteta knows loyalty, but also understanding it’s a failing when indulged in a blind form.”
Elsewhere, The Guardian’s Ed Aarons analysed Arsenal’s set-piece superiority, notably how more than a third of the club’s 69 Premier League goals came from set pieces. Nineteen came from corners, a league record; which has sparked regular jibes about winning ugly, but paid off in glorious fashion.
“Set pieces have also played a massive role in Arsenal’s success,” he wrote.
“Not much of it has been pretty, although that will not concern fans who will gather on the streets of Islington for their title-winning parade.
“They say good things come to those who wait, and for Arsenal supporters it has felt like an eternity.”
Guardiola refuses to confirm departure | 01:02
Elsewhere, fans and pundits celebrated Guardiola’s influential stint at Manchester City ahead of what will reportedly be his final game in charge of the powerhouse club.
Since the Spaniard took charge in 2016, Manchester City has won six Premier League titles and three FA Cup titles, also lifting the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup in 2023.
“How can anybody replace what Pep has done for so many seasons at Manchester City in terms of the brand of football and winning trophies?” former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It’s impossible to come in and make the impact which Pep Guardiola has had, not just at Manchester City, but in the Premier League as a whole.”
However, BBC Sport’s Shamoon Hafez lamented Manchester City’s missed opportunity, flagging the club’s recent 3-3 draw against Everton as the moment that ruined their Premier League quest.
“If it does transpire to be his final week, he will no doubt depart with a tinge of regret,” he penned.
“City had the title in their own hands 15 days ago, but the trip to Everton proved to be a turning point, dropping two points in a thrilling draw that Arsenal fully capitalised on.”