Arsenal win the Premier League after Manchester City’s draw against Bournemouth

After 22 years of waiting, frustrations and dashed hopes, Arsenal won the Premier League without even entering the pitch thanks to Manchester City, second in the table, drawing 1-1 with Bournemouth. With only one matchday left to play, the eleven coached by Guardiola, on 78 points, can no longer catch up with the Gunners, on 82 points, who have been at the top of the table almost continuously since the start of the season.

The Londoners will celebrate their first title since 2004 and then face PSG in the Champions League final. Arsenal fans have already kicked off the celebrations with a cacophony of horns, chants and celebrations in the streets and around pubs of Arsenal’s home district of Islington. The club’s patience with Mikel Arteta, recruited at the end of 2019 to right a drifting ship, is therefore rewarded.

Four years ago the Gunners finished the championship in fifth place, behind bitter rivals Tottenham, who secured the last available Champions League spot, and 24 points behind Manchester City. Arsenal have certainly benefited from a relative decline in form from their rivals, particularly City and Liverpool. This does not diminish the merit of David Raya, William Saliba, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, the new kings of the Premier League. Last summer’s eventful transfer session, with the arrivals of Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres – the lethal number 9 Arsenal were missing – also played an important role in a long-awaited triumph.

“Congratulations to Arsenal, Mikel, the staff, all the players and fans for this Premier League,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “You deserve it!”

On Monday, just 48 hours after completing a domestic cup double with victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final, City were rocked by numerous reports that Guardiola will step down at the end of the season after a decade in charge of the team.

Victory at Wembley on Saturday secured Guardiola the twentieth trophy of his glorious reign.

But he will be unable to add any more Premier League titles to his six already won as Aston Villa visit the Etihad on Sunday in what is expected to be his last game as manager.

“The first person I have to talk to is my president,” Guardiola added about his future. “We will decide when we finish the season, we will sit down and talk about it, it’s simple, and then we will make the decision.”