The last time Arsenal were champions of England was in 2003-04, when they earned the nickname "the Invincibles" by never losing a single league game. For 22 years, their supporters waited for another title. On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, it finally arrived, but Arsenal were not even playing.
Manchester City needed a win at Bournemouth to keep their title hopes alive. Junior Kroupi put Bournemouth ahead in the 39th minute, and for most of the afternoon, City were losing. Then Erling Haaland scored late in stoppage time to make it 1-1, but it was too late. The draw left City five points behind Arsenal with only one game remaining, a mathematical impossibility they could not overcome.
Thousands of Arsenal fans celebrated at Emirates Stadium even though no match took place there that day. Manager Mikel Arteta, a Spanish coach who once played for Arsenal and worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, became the first former Premier League player to win the league as a manager.
Arsenal had finished second in each of the three previous seasons. This title victory also ended a six-year drought without any trophy. On Saturday, May 30, Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest. For now, though, the long wait is finally over.