Arsenal have been crowned English champions with one matchday remaining in the season. With Manchester City dropping points in Bournemouth, the Gunners secured the long-awaited Premier League trophy from the comfort of their own homes.
For three years in a row, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal had to settle for the runner-up title. As of Tuesday evening, the Gunners can finally call themselves Premier League champions again. With Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth, the league leaders’ lead stands at four points—and can therefore no longer be overtaken on the remaining 38th matchday.
For Arteta, who took over as head coach in December 2019, this also marks the end of a long wait. On several occasions during his tenure, the North Londoners had come close to their first league title since the 2003–04 season, when they dominated the league with big names like Jens Lehmann, Sol Campbell, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, and Thierry Henry.
Set-piece prowess as a trump card
In the current season, Arsenal finally climbed to the top of the table on Matchday 7—and haven’t relinquished it since. Although Man City fans were at one point gleefully hoping for another “bottle job” (a euphemism for a team collapsing in the home stretch) from the Gunners, the latter held their ground.
After a strong first half of the season, which included a flawless October (six games, six wins) and a 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the group stage of the Champions League, Arteta and his team, however, increasingly faced criticism for prioritizing results-oriented soccer over attractive play.
The fact that they scored a significant portion of their goals from set pieces did not earn them universal praise. According to data provider Opta, since the Premier League’s inception (1992–93), Arteta’s team has the lowest percentage of goals scored from open play among all English champions.
Will the grand coronation follow in Budapest?
However, their exceptional quality on set pieces ultimately proved a decisive factor on the path to the title—and it is not set to be the Gunners’ last this season. Following the league season finale at Crystal Palace (Sunday, 5 p.m.), Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final (May 30, 6 p.m.).
Together with his team, Arteta led the club to its second Champions League final in its history. As the newly crowned champions, Arsenal will do everything in their power to bring the trophy home from Budapest to the English capital—unlike in 2006 (a 1-2 loss to FC Barcelona)—so they can hoist two trophies during the victory parade at the end of the season.