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We’ll keep the focus here on Arsenal’s title win – so Gunners fans, drop me a line here wherever you are. I have to give a shoutout to my friends from uni, Andy and James. We watched the Invicibles’ parade on a beaten-up telly at our student digs in Cardiff, and it’s been a long, long wait for them to celebrate again. Congratulations, chaps.
Pep Guardiola has offered his congratulations to Arsenal and Arteta, his former assistant at Manchester City. “We were close. 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.
Despite the widespread reports this week, Guardiola did not confirm his departure, telling Sky that he has a year on his contract and needs to speak to the club hierarchy. It still feels like he is leaving it to City to make it official later this week, though.
Kari Tulinius writes: “It’s said to be anticlimactic to win the title by having your main rival lose. If this is an anticlimax, I’ll take it.” Personally, I think when your team wins a title like this, it’s different to sealing it on the pitch, but no less wonderful. Shame it’s a school night, is all.
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John Brewin was at the Vitality to see a game that Manchester City never really looked like winning, until a frantic 90-second spell in stoppage time.
Paul MacInnes
A mass celebration is underway outside the Emirates Stadium as delirious Arsenal fans celebrate their first league title in 22 years. Young and old, male and female, people of all shapes and colours are spilling from the pubs on to the local streets, thronging around the concourse, singing and somehow trying to make sense of what has just occurred.
Arsenal’s Instagram admin marks their historic moment …
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Arsenal’s 14th title cements their third place in English football’s roll of honour:
20 Liverpool, Manchester United
14 Arsenal
10 Manchester City
9 Everton
7 Aston Villa
6 Chelsea, Sunderland
4 Newcastle, Sheffield Wednesday
3 Blackburn, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wolves
2 Burnley, Derby, Portsmouth, Preston, Tottenham
1 Ipswich, Leicester, Nottm Forest, Sheffield United, West Brom
And in the Premier League era, this is how things stand:
13 Manchester United
8 Manchester City
5 Chelsea
4 Arsenal
2 Liverpool
1 Blackburn, Leicester
Here’s more on how Arsenal sealed Premier League glory tonight.
Preamble
On 26 April 2004, Arsenal secured the English title – their 13th in total –with a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane, with four games still to play and an unbeaten league season to complete. Few of the delirious fans in attendance that day would have believed another 22 years would pass before their team would win it again, and take their tally to 14.
White Hart Lane has been bulldozed and rebuilt while Highbury is now a block of flats, with the Emirates Stadium overseeing a painful period of decline under Arsène Wenger, before Unai Emery’s brief tenure. Mikel Arteta, an Arsenal player from 2011 to 2016, took charge in 2019 and has made the team title contenders again.
In the last six seasons, Arteta has led Arsenal to finish eighth, fifth, second, second, second … and now first. Gooners around the globe, rejoice. The day is finally here – Arsenal are champions of England again.