The road to the title
Arsenal became Premier League champions for the first time since 2004, after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth. The distribution of points left Mikel Arteta’s team with an unattainable advantage of four points, with one date to play. Thus ended a 22-year wait.
Fans celebrated outside the Emirates Stadium when the score was announced. City threatened a late reaction when Erling Haaland scored in injury time, but it was not enough to seal the victory. Junior Kroupi had put Bournemouth ahead in the 38th minute.
A team that returns to the top
Arsenal players now share credits with legends such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright. The team can still write another glorious chapter by playing in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the month.
Arteta finally breaks the streak of three consecutive runners-up finishes. In 2023 and 2024, City came back to snatch the title, and last year they finished second behind Liverpool. This time, Arsenal kept pace for most of the campaign and managed to establish themselves.
The last champion was the 2004 ‘Invincibles’ team, which completed an undefeated campaign under Arsène Wenger. Since then, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Leicester and Liverpool have won the title. It is the first time since 2017 that a team other than City or Liverpool wins the Premier.
The preview of the match was overshadowed by reports about the possible departure of Pep Guardiola after 10 years at the club. The Catalan coach was aiming for his seventh league title, but Kroupi’s goal left City against the current. Bournemouth wasted more chances to extend the lead, and Haaland added tension at the end with his equalizer in the fifth minute of added time.




