Arsenal’s Kai Havertz celebrates after scoring during a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Arsenal’s decades-long wait is over.
Mikel Arteta’s team was crowned Premier League champion for the primary time since 2004 on Tuesday after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth.
“I told you all.. it’s done,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice posted on social media with a photograph of he and his teammates celebrating.
The result put an end to what is perhaps Pep Guardiola’s final title challenge with City after the decorated manager didn’t dismiss reports he was set to depart the club at the top of the season.
READ: Arsenal on verge of Premier League title after beating Burnley
City needed to win at Bournemouth to take it all the way down to the ultimate game of the campaign on Sunday. However the draw left Arsenal with an unassailable four-point lead at the highest, ending its 22-year wait for the title.
Arsenal fans celebrated wildly outside its Emirates Stadium, setting off flares and partying on the street. There have been celebrations on the club’s training ground, too, where the players had gathered to observe the match.
City threatened one other twist in an engrossing title race when Erling Haaland scored in stoppage time to equalize after Junior Kroupi’s first-half strike, nevertheless it was too late to seek out a winner.
Arsenal supporters gather to rejoice on the Arsenal stadium after Arsenal’s soccer team won the Premier League title in London, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Arteta’s players can now stand alongside club icons Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright, who previously reached the summit of English soccer. And Arsenal’s current class could yet break latest ground by winning the Champions League for the primary time in its history later this month.
Thoughts of the May 30 final against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain could be placed on the backburner for now.
Now could be a time for celebration and relief for Arteta after ending runner-up within the league three years in a row.
In back-to-back seasons in 2023 and ’24, he watched as Guardiola’s City chased down Arsenal’s result in be crowned champion. And one other probability was missed last yr by ending second to Liverpool.
Once more Arsenal has led the best way for many of this campaign and despite seeing its points advantage ebb away during a gripping run-in, it has finally managed to recover from the road.
Arsenal’s last champion was the so-called “Invincibles” team of 2004, which went a complete campaign without losing within the league.
Since then it has seen Chelsea, Manchester United, City, Leicester and Liverpool all take the title. That is the primary time since 2017 that a team apart from City or Liverpool has not been crowned champion. It’s Arsenal’s 14th title and Arteta will hope it’s the start of a brand new era of dominance.
He has finally got the higher of Guardiola, who he was formerly assistant to at City.
The Spaniard took over at Arsenal in December 2019 — his first role as a manager. After winning the FA Cup in that first season, it has been a frustrating wait for more honors. Even still, he’s the second-youngest coach after José Mourinho to win the Premier League on the age of 44.
While his team has not maintained the attractive playing type of former manager Arsene Wenger, it has powered its strategy to the title with the perfect defense within the league and earned a fame as a specialist for set-piece goals.
Time will tell if Arteta adopts a more expansive style in the longer term, more in-keeping with Guardiola’s City.
How City will look going forward is an even bigger query, with Enzo Maresco widely considered the front-runner to interchange Guardiola.
The longer term of City’s best manager overshadowed the buildup to the sport after 10 years on the club.
“I should talk with my chairman first,” Guardiola said. “After that, once I talk with my chairman…. we are going to resolve. We’ll talk in the subsequent days.”
He was aiming to win the title for the seventh time in England and a second domestic treble after winning the League Cup and FA Cup this term. But Kroupi’s curling shot within the thirty ninth minute left City with a mountain to climb.
Bournemouth wasted further possibilities to increase its lead, and Haaland ensured a tense finish for Arsenal fans when he leveled within the fifth minute of added time.
Ultimately it wasn’t enough and Guardiola has gone two years without winning a league title for the primary time in his coaching profession.
Relegation battle
The fight for survival will go all the way down to the ultimate day of the season after Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1.
Spurs are two points ahead of West Ham, which is in the ultimate relegation spot.
West Ham must beat Leeds on Sunday to have any probability of leapfrogging Tottenham and climbing out of the drop zone.
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Tottenham hosts Everton and a draw would likely be enough due to superior goal difference. A win would guarantee safety.