Twenty-two years. Three consecutive second-place finishes. Nine hundred and eighty-four days at the top of the table without a trophy. On Tuesday night, Arsenal’s long wait finally ended.

Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City could only draw 1-1 at Bournemouth, ending the title race with one round still to play and sending thousands into the streets around the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side had done their part 24 hours earlier, grinding out an unconvincing 1-0 win over already-relegated Burnley to move five points clear. City needed all three points on the south coast. They couldn’t find them.

Bournemouth took the lead through 19-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi’s curling strike in the 39th minute — a goal that set a Premier League record for most goals by a teenager in a debut season, according to France 24. Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time equalizer salvaged a draw but came too late to keep City’s title defense alive.

The Weight of Almost

This title carries a specific kind of catharsis. Arsenal have finished second in each of the past three seasons — sustained excellence that had begun to feel less like progress than purgatory. Only five teams in English football history have endured three consecutive runner-up finishes. Of those, only two went on to win the title in the fourth season: Arsenal’s 1998-2001 side, and this one, according to The Guardian.

The season was defined by razor-thin margins. Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd-minute equalizer against City in September. Gabriel’s 96th-minute winner at Newcastle the following week. A 94th-minute own goal from Wolves in December. Arsenal won eight league matches by a 1-0 scoreline — champions who repeatedly did just enough.

North London Erupts

Outside the Emirates, the numbers dissolved into emotion. Fans streamed from Arsenal tube station into a sea of red. Fireworks crackled. Some climbed onto merchandise stalls to wave flags. Ian Wright appeared wearing a shirt bearing David Rocastle’s name — a tribute to a beloved former player who died in 2001, during those fallow decades between titles.

“Twenty-two effing years,” one father told his son, shaking his head. He was not alone in struggling for words.

Arteta’s Rebuild, Vindicated

Arteta arrived at Arsenal a week before Christmas 2019, a rookie manager charged with restoring a club that had drifted through Arsène Wenger’s final years. His only silverware before this season was the FA Cup in 2020. The skeptics multiplied during a brutal April — four consecutive domestic defeats across three competitions, including two losses to City.

“I think after that City game, it wasn’t a title-defining game in my opinion,” midfielder Declan Rice told Amazon Prime. “We lost, we didn’t want to lose, but it definitely wasn’t done.”

The response: four consecutive league wins without conceding. David Raya claimed the Golden Glove for the third straight season with 18 clean sheets in 36 league games. His career concession rate of 0.79 goals per match is the fourth-best in Premier League history among goalkeepers with at least 100 appearances, according to BBC Sport.

“It’s so good after so many years to give that joy back to them and see that pride in their eyes — is beautiful to watch,” Arteta said, according to the Associated Press.

A Title Race That Circled the Globe

The Premier League’s reach ensured this was never just a north London story. The duel between Arsenal and City captivated audiences from Lagos to Buenos Aires, tracked in bars and group chats from Bangkok to Brooklyn. When a Guardian reporter described “a wall of constant noise” outside the Emirates, that noise was echoing worldwide.

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, appears headed for the exit after a decade at City. Fans chanted “One more year, Guardiola” at the Vitality Stadium, but his players couldn’t deliver. This will be the first time in his managerial career that he has failed to win the league in consecutive seasons, per France 24.

The Double Beckons

Arsenal’s season still has a defining chapter ahead. On May 30, they face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final — a chance to complete the club’s first-ever league and European double. “Congratulations to this group for becoming champions! […] Enjoy, rest and let’s go and win our first Champions League!” Martin Keown wrote on X.

But that is for another night. For now, the 22 years — the near-misses, the 984 days at the summit without a crown — can be put to rest. Arsenal are champions.

Sources