(FILES) A hopeful Arsenal fan holds up a banner reading ’22 years of waiting’ ends this season, during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Burnley at the Emirates Stadium in London on May 18, 2026 | AFP
Arsenal Football Club were crowned English Premier League champions on Tuesday for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s men needed to win on England’s south coast to keep the title race alive but fell short.
Following three runners-up finishes, the Gunners have sealed top spot after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
The trophy lift is set to take place at Selhurst Park on Sunday when the North London club play the final game of the season on May 24.
The draw left the North London side mathematically unreachable at the top of the table and triggered historic celebrations among Arsenal supporters, who had not experienced a league triumph since the “Invincibles” season of 2003-04 under legendary manager Arsène Wenger.
Arsenal have topped the table for much of the season, but their title bid looked to have hit shaky ground in April as Man City started to breathe down their necks.
A 2-1 defeat at the Etihad seemed to hand the title advantage to City but the Gunners rallied and have held off Pep Guardiola’s side to win the league for the first time since the Invincibles in the 2003/04 season.
It ends a six-year period without a trophy and is Arteta’s second major honour as manager at the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Arsenal football website has also celebrated the new feat.
A Tuesday night release titled, “Arsenal crowned 2025/26 Premier League champions,” disclosed this.
“We have been crowned 2025/26 Premier League champions with a game to spare, after an incredible campaign in N5 has ended with us claiming our 14th top-flight championship.
“Following our 1-0 success against Burnley last night, our nearest challengers Manchester City had to beat Bournemouth to force us into a final-day showdown for the title. However, a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium saw us crowned champions.
“The silverware sees Mikel Arteta become the first Gunners boss to land English football’s top prize in 22 years, following in the footsteps of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles who were our last side to win the Premier League after going unbeaten during the 2003/04 campaign,” it read.
Arsenal won 25 of our 37 league games so far, drawing seven and losing just five times to top the pile, having finished runners-up in each of the previous three seasons.
“But a solid defensive platform, which has seen us keep 19 clean sheets and David Raya claim the Golden Glove for the third successive season, has led us to the best defensive record this term, while only City can better our tally of 69 goals scored to this point,” the release further read.
Season’s campaign began at Old Trafford
The North London club began its English league record 100th consecutive campaign with a 1-0 success at Manchester United, and won nine of our first 10 games to hit top spot for the first time at the start of October.
“We led the league for 200 days before Manchester City nudged us off on goals scored late last month. However, we won four successive matches without conceding to reclaim top spot and pave our way to the championship.
“It is the 14th time we have been crowned champions of England, only behind Manchester United and Liverpool in the all-time rankings, and the 32nd major trophy we’ve claimed.
“We now have the chance to cap one of the greatest seasons in our 140-year history by adding one more to that total when we head to Budapest next week to contest our second-ever Champions League final.
“We will face holders Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, May 30 as we aim to claim our first European Cup triumph in our 139-year history,” the club wrote.
Bournemouth in Europe
Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth also “penned a new chapter in the club record books by securing a place in Europe for the first time in their 127-year history,” a post-match release on the club’s website as obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday night stated.
“Junior Kroupi’s superbly-executed first-half goal appeared to have put Andoni Iraola’s team on course for victory, only for Erling Haaland to grab an injury-time equaliser for the visitors.
“Haaland’s dramatic late strike failed to take the gloss off another memorable game under head coach Iraola who will leave the club in the summer following three glorious seasons.
“A share of the points extended the Cherries’ unbeaten run to 17 matches, equalling the club record for a single season which has stood since 1981/82 in Division Four,” the club wrote.
Source: The Punch
