Arsenal become EPL champions after 22 years as Manchester City drew 1-1 to AFC Bournemouth
Arsenal finished at runners up in both 2023 and 24 season, when City chased down their lead to become Champions
Pep Guardiola has one more year left with City but he'll decide his future with the club once the season ends
Arsenal's decades-long wait is over. They are crowned Premier League champion for the first time since 2004 on Tuesday after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth.
The result put an to end Pep Guardiola's title challenge with one round of the season go.
City needed to win at the Vitality Stadium to take it down to the final game of the campaign on Sunday. But the draw left Arsenal with an unassailable four-point lead at the top, ending its 22-year wait for the title.
Arsenal fans celebrated wildly outside its Emirates Stadium. The players did likewise after gathering to watch the game at the club's training ground.
City threatened another twist in an engrossing title race when Erling Haaland scored in stoppage time to equalize after Junior Kroupi's first-half strike, but it was too late to find a winner.
Arteta's players can now stand alongside club icons Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright, who previously led the club to the summit of English soccer. And Arsenal's current class could yet break new ground by winning the Champions League for the first time in its history later this month.
Thoughts of the May 30 final against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain can be put on the backburner for now.
Now is a time for celebration and relief for Arteta after finishing runner-up in the league three years running.
In back-to-back seasons in 2023 and '24, he watched as Guardiola's City chased down Arsenal's lead to be crowned champion. And another chance was missed last year by finishing second to Liverpool.
Once again Arsenal has led the way for most of this campaign and despite seeing its points advantage ebb away during a gripping run-in, it has finally managed to get over the line.
Arsenal's last champion was the so-called “Invincibles” team of 2004, which went an entire campaign without losing in the league.
Since then it has seen Chelsea, Manchester United, City, Leicester and Liverpool all take the title. This is the first time since 2017 that a team other than City or Liverpool has not been crowned champion. It is Arsenal’s 14th title and Arteta will hope it is the beginning of a new era of dominance.
He has finally got the better of Guardiola, who he was formerly assistant to at City.
The Spaniard took over at Arsenal in December 2019 — his first role as a manager. After winning the FA Cup in that first season, it has been a frustrating wait for more honors.
While his team has not maintained the attractive playing style of former manager Arsene Wenger, it has powered its way to the title with the best defense in the league and earned a reputation as a set-piece specialist.
Time will tell if Arteta adopts a more expansive style in the future, more in-keeping with Guardiola's City.
Pep Guardiola to Review His Future After Campaign Ends
How City will look going forward is a bigger question, with Enzo Maresco widely considered the front-runner to replace Guardiola.
The future of City's greatest manager overshadowed the buildup to the game after 10 years at the club.
“I should talk with my chairman first,” Guardiola said. “After that, when I talk with my chairman…. we will decide. We will talk in the next days."
He was aiming to win the title for the seventh time in England and a second domestic treble after winning the League Cup and FA Cup this term. But Kroupi’s curling shot in the 39th minute left City with a mountain to climb.
Bournemouth wasted further chances to extend its lead, and Haaland ensured a tense finish for Arsenal fans when he leveled in the fifth minute of added time.
Ultimately it wasn't enough and Guardiola has gone two years without winning a league title for the first time in his coaching career.
