For 22 long years, Arsenal football club and its global fanbase waited in the wings, enduring near-misses, criticism, and the weight of a title drought that stretched across generations. On Tuesday night, that wait finally ended, sending thousands of jubilant supporters flooding to the gates of Emirates Stadium before dawn to celebrate a historic Premier League crown that has eluded the club since the legendary Invincibles side of 2004.
The title was secured in dramatic fashion, as Manchester City — the four-time defending champions who needed a victory at Bournemouth to keep their title hopes alive — dropped crucial points. While City fought back from an early Bournemouth lead to equalize in stoppage time, the final 1-1 draw left them one point short of Arsenal, handing the North London side the league trophy. Even as the match played out, fans began gathering outside Emirates Stadium, with crowds swelling as Bournemouth held on to their lead, and exploding in celebration when the final whistle confirmed Arsenal’s victory.
By 5 a.m. Wednesday, Arsenal’s first-team players joined the throng of supporters to mark the occasion, after holding an initial private celebration with manager Mikel Arteta at the club’s London Colney training ground. Teammate Eberechi Eze shared early-hours images of star players Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber celebrating with the crowd, while another video posted by Saka showed 19-year-old academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly brandishing a champagne bottle, poking fun at years of criticism that labelled Arsenal as “bottlers” for choking late in title races. “They called us bottlers,” Lewis-Skelly said in the clip. “And now we’re holding the bottle.”
For Saka, the title win marks a full-circle moment for a side that finished as Premier League runners-up in each of the past three seasons, capping years of incremental progress under Arteta. Addressing critics who had mocked the club’s long drought, the England international stated, “Twenty-two years, 22 years. There was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing anymore.”
Long-time supporters described the moment as surreal, decades in the making. “It doesn’t feel real. It feels like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and be like, yeah, it was a dream, but we did it. We actually did it. Wow. It’s going to be the best summer ever,” said 32-year-old fan George Owusu-Afriyie. Twenty-year-old supporter Julia Szumilas recalled the chaotic rush to the stadium after the final result was confirmed: “Everyone was running from all the pubs. We started running down to here. (Taking) bikes, running, driving their cars down… It was insane.”
The celebration drew congratulations from Arsenal icons of the past. Arsene Wenger, the French manager who led the club to its last title in 2004’s undefeated Invincibles season, shared a heartfelt video message to the current squad 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,” Wenger said. Club legend Ian Wright, who scored 185 goals during his time with the Gunners and was part of the 1998 domestic double-winning side, was mobbed by fans as he joined the celebrations outside the stadium.
The side will formally receive the Premier League trophy on Sunday following their final regular season match against Crystal Palace. Beyond domestic glory, Arteta’s squad will now turn their full attention to a historic opportunity: the chance to claim the club’s first-ever UEFA Champions League title, when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the competition’s final in Budapest on May 30.