Mikel Arteta has revealed he was building a fire in his garden when Arsenal secured their first Premier League title in 22 years, unable to bear watching Manchester City’s draw at Bournemouth. The Arsenal manager admitted his relief after three successive runners-up finishes and confessed he had questioned whether he was good enough to lead the team to the title.
Arteta initially planned to watch the match with the squad at the training ground but left 20 minutes before kick-off. “I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted,” he said. “I went home, went outside to the garden, started to build a fire and started to do some barbecue. I didn’t watch any of it. Then the magic happened.” His son Gabriel, who plays for Arsenal’s under-18s, ran out to tell him they were champions.
The 44-year-old later celebrated with the squad at a West End nightclub, leading chants of “Champions of England”. He also phoned Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, a childhood friend, to thank him for his role. Arteta described the moment as “one of the best feelings of his life” but acknowledged times of self-doubt.
Arteta highlighted a pre-season meeting around an olive tree he planted at the training ground in 2019 as a turning point. “I got all the players together and told them: ‘Look at each other… we can be very, very good. It only depends on us and our behaviours.’ Once they realised that, we went to a different level.”
Arsenal are hopeful that Jurriën Timber may be fit for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, with Mikel Merino back in training. “Now, of course, you want more,” Arteta said, “and we have the biggest one to play in Budapest in a few days.”
