MIKEL Arteta’s Arsenal were worthy Premier League champions in 2025-26 after finishing runners-up for three consecutive seasons. The importance of this title win cannot be underestimated; Arsenal’s last championship triumph came 22 years’ ago and since the club moved in 2006 from their beloved Highbury to nearby Ashburton Grove, aka the Emirates, trophies have been harder to come by. They overcame any psychological issues that might have been lurking the coridoors of their impressive stadium by winning their 14th title and, at the same time, showed they could last the pace after going so close for three years. As for Arteta, he finally proved the doubters wrong. Arsenal deserved their title but the campaign could have been even more satisfying.
The Gunners were top of the table for most of the season but they also reached two cup finals – the EFL Cup and UEFA Champions League – and the last eight of the FA Cup. They were disappointing in the EFL final, losing to Manchester City, but went very close in Europe, topping the league phase with a 100% record before losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in the final.
They spent heavily in the summer, paying £ 55 million for Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres, who had been prolific in the previous two seasons. There were high hopes that the Swedish striker would be the final piece in the jigsaw, but the jury is still out and there has even been talk of Gyökeres being used in a swap deal, suggesting things havn’t worked out as expected, despite 14 league goals. Arsenal’s best signing was arguably Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace who cost them £ 60 million. The quality of the Arsenal squad was evidenced by the number of players called up for World Cup duty – 15 across nine different nations.
Arsenal lost just five league games, all to teams in the top six. Mostly, a league defeat was followed by a return to form, but in April, they were beaten in two successive games, at home to Bournemouth and away to Manchester City, which briefly opened up the title race. But they ended the league programme with five successive victories and ironically, it was a Manchester City slip-up, a draw with Bournemouth, that handed Arsenal the Premier League title on May 19.
Arsenal’s success was undoubtedly built from the back; goalkeeper David Raya kept 19 clean sheets and the defence conceded just 27 goals in 38 games. Players such as Jurriën Timber, Gabriel and William Saliba were outstanding in defence, while midfielder Declan Rice showed why the club paid so much money for him. Arsenal were exceptional at set-pieces and scored 25 of their 67 Premier League goals from corners and free-kicks. Nineteen of the 25 came from corners.
There was a sense of joy and relief when Arsenal were crowned champions and while their loyal fans will be hoping this success is the start of an era of dominance, their rivals will be regrouping and strengthening their squads. One of the reasons the Gunners won the league was due to their stability; so many of the contenders seemed to be in a state of flux in 2025-26 and the success of Arteta’s team demonstrated the benefits of a patient approach. It was not so long ago that Arsenal fans were screaming for their owner to “leave our club”. A few years later, the story is so very different.
Photo: James Kirkup, via Unsplash
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