Arsenal’s long 22-year wait for an English league title is finally over. The Gunners were confirmed as champions on Tuesday night after Manchester City dropped points at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
Arteta’s side had done their part the previous evening, grinding out a 1-0 win over already-relegated Burnley to pile the pressure on his former mentor Guardiola. City, however, could not deliver when it mattered most. Despite Haaland pulling them level late on, a draw was not enough to keep the title race alive heading into the final weekend.
It was Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi who sparked the Arsenal party with a stunning strike to give the Cherries the lead, and the young Frenchman is sure to be fondly remembered in north London for years to come. City pushed hard for a winner but had to settle for a point, leaving Guardiola to reflect on back-to-back seasons without a Premier League crown as he prepares to depart the club.
The bulk of the Arsenal squad gathered at their Sobha training ground to watch City’s match together, and the full-time whistle triggered euphoric scenes. Declan Rice, Piero Hincapie and Gabriel Magalhaes were among those leading the celebrations, while Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly helped silence the “bottlers” tag that had followed the club through previous near-misses.
Arteta, however, was nowhere to be seen at the training ground. True to his word after the Burnley win, the Spaniard chose to watch the decisive match at home with his family. He had hinted at his plans in his post-match press conference, joking that the demands of management were testing even his hairline, and admitting he was unsure how long his nerves would hold up in front of the television.
Guardiola, who did complete a domestic cup double by winning both the FA Cup and EFL Cup this season, was magnanimous in defeat, sending his congratulations to his former assistant. It now appears increasingly likely that the 55-year-old will leave Manchester City after Sunday’s final game against Aston Villa, drawing the curtain on a decade at the club that yielded 20 trophies — but ending without the farewell Premier League title he would have wanted.
