Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years, ending a run of three consecutive seasons as runners-up. The Gunners secured the title with a game to spare after Manchester City could only manage a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, leaving the gap at four points with one match remaining.
City fell behind to a stunning 39th-minute strike from Eli Kroupi Junior and, despite Erling Haaland's stoppage-time equaliser, it proved too little too late for Pep Guardiola, who is expected to leave the club at the end of the season. Arsenal's victory was confirmed as players and staff gathered at their London Colney training base to watch the match.
Mikel Arteta's side will travel to Crystal Palace on the final day of the 2025/26 season as champions, having clinched the club's 14th top-flight title, the third-most in English football history, and their first since the 'Invincibles' of 2004. Jubilant scenes erupted outside the Emirates Stadium, with former player Ian Wright among thousands of fans celebrating.
Bukayo Saka hit back at critics, saying: 'They're not laughing at us anymore.' The winger was part of footage posted by defender Jurrien Timber showing a blacked-out Premier League trophy that Arteta had installed at the training base, which lit up upon confirmation of the title. 'Light that up,' Saka said. 'Twenty-two years, there was laughing, there was joking, they're not laughing anymore.'
The title win also marks a historic moment for 16-year-old Max Dowman, who will become the youngest-ever Premier League champion at 144 days old on the final day, surpassing Phil Foden's previous record. Dowman, who is sitting his GCSEs, has made five substitute appearances to qualify for a winner's medal.
