Arsenal have secured their first Premier League title in 22 years following a dramatic campaign and an intense battle with Manchester City.
The Gunners were officially crowned champions after Manchester City were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, allowing Mikel Arteta’s side to clinch the league with one match remaining.
After ending three consecutive seasons as runners-up, Arsenal finally found a way to cross the finish line. But the journey was packed with twists and defining moments.
Here are 10 moments that won Arsenal the Premier League;
Arsenal snatch Eze from Spurs
Arsenal enjoyed a busy summer transfer window, bringing in major additions including Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke to strengthen the squad.
Yet perhaps their most ruthless move was hijacking Eberechi Eze from rivals Spurs during the opening week of the campaign.
Eze had appeared destined to join Arsenal’s fierce north London rivals before the then-Crystal Palace midfielder personally contacted Mikel Arteta. Arteta, moments away from entering a board meeting, convinced the Arsenal hierarchy to make their move.
Although Eze has not always been at his very best this season, he delivered crucial moments that earned Arsenal valuable points. Spectacular winners against his former club Palace and Newcastle highlighted exactly why the Gunners signed him — those rare moments of brilliance few others in the squad could produce. Those two strikes alone proved worth four points.
Martinelli takes two big points off Man City
Eze’s first real moment of magic in Arsenal colours came through an assist — one that helped shape the title race.
In September, Arsenal were struggling against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Erling Haaland had fired City ahead inside 10 minutes and the Gunners were finding it difficult to break them down, despite limiting them to just 33.2 per cent possession — the joint-lowest figure of Guardiola’s managerial career.
But in stoppage time, Eze produced a precise clipped pass over the City defence for Gabriel Martinelli, who delicately chipped Gianluigi Donnarumma to rescue a priceless point for Arsenal — and deny City two more.
Gabriel ends Newcastle hoodoo in statement win
October brought a pivotal weekend in Arsenal’s season as they travelled to Newcastle already trailing in the title race.
At that stage, Liverpool — fuelled by the biggest transfer window in Premier League history — had won every league game and looked ready to break away from the pack.
Arsenal, meanwhile, viewed St James’ Park as a nightmare venue after losing four of their previous five visits there.
The opportunity opened up when Liverpool lost at Crystal Palace on Saturday courtesy of a dramatic late winner from former Gunner Eddie Nketiah.
Still, Arsenal’s struggles at Newcastle looked set to continue as Nick Woltemade gave the Magpies the lead deep into the contest — until Arsenal’s squad depth proved decisive.
Former Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino equalised from a cleverly-worked short corner before captain Martin Odegaard made a huge impact from the bench on his return from injury. The Norwegian’s corner found Gabriel, who headed home to spark wild celebrations among the away supporters.
Later in the season, even Arteta pointed to the significance of that game.”If we’d lost at Newcastle, we’d have been eight points behind Liverpool in October.”
The following weekend, Liverpool were beaten again at Chelsea while Arsenal defeated Palace thanks to another Eze goal, sending the Gunners top for the first time all season. They rarely surrendered first place after that.
Eze shines in both north London derbies
Spurs grew tired of seeing Eze torment them this season.
As if losing him to Arsenal at the last moment was not painful enough, the England international produced his finest displays in the north London derbies.
Former Spurs boss Thomas Frank attempted to joke about him before November’s clash at the Emirates.
“Who’s Eze?”
But the comment backfired spectacularly as Spurs failed to contain him. Sky Sports writer Nick Wright described the display as: “was a brutal exhibition of what Spurs missed out on, performed by a man seemingly on a mission to hammer home the message,”Eze made history, becoming the first Arsenal player since 1978 to score a hat-trick in a north London derby as the Gunners cruised to a 4-1 victory.
He tormented Spurs again in February, starring in another 4-1 win during Igor Tudor’s first game in charge.
By then, the former Crystal Palace man had scored five derby goals for the season, leaving Spurs to wonder what might have happened had they completed the signing themselves.
Ugly Brighton win sparks belief
Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Brighton in March was far from entertaining. Much of the discussion afterwards centred on Fabian Hurzeler accusing the Gunners of time-wasting and insisting he wouldn “never tell his team to play like that”.
But the scenes after the final whistle carried real significance. News filtered through that Manchester City had dropped points at home to Nottingham Forest, leaving Arsenal seven points clear at the summit.
For the first time that season, Arsenal supporters sang:
“We’re going to win the league”
There was a growing feeling that City no longer possessed the invincibility of previous title races.
Record-breaking Dowman saves the day
A few weeks later, Arsenal faced another difficult afternoon against Everton. David Moyes’ side frustrated the Gunners and the game remained goalless with only 15 minutes left.
Then Arteta turned to 16-year-old Max Dowman.
It was just the teenager’s third Premier League appearance and trusting someone so young underlined Arsenal’s desperation.
Dowman transformed the match. His deep delivery found Piero Hincapie at the back post before the ball dropped kindly for Gyokeres to finish from close range. Then came history. With Jordan Pickford up for a late corner, Dowman sprinted the length of the field to score into an empty net, becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history. Gary Neville called it Arsenal’s “defining Premier League moment”.
Arteta’s decision to introduce the teenager may well have been the best substitution of his managerial career.
Declan Rice: “It’s not done” after Man City setback
Arsenal’s title hopes appeared to be fading after defeats to Bournemouth and then Manchester City.
At the time, City’s 2-1 victory looked like a defining statement in the title race. Yet amid the celebrations at the Etihad, Declan Rice demonstrated the leadership qualities that have made him central to Arsenal’s rise.
Television cameras captured the England midfielder rallying his team-mates and insisting the race was”not done”despite the momentum swing.
Pep Guardiola himself praised Rice’s reaction.”I love that. I love that,”
Guardiola told Sky Sports News’ Vinny O’Connor. “That’s why Arsenal is there. I saw it and it shows what Declan Rice means. That’s the Arsenal mentality, we’ve faced it in the Premier League these [past] seasons and in the Carabao Cup, how competitive they are.” Both Rice and Guardiola proved correct. Arsenal responded by winning four straight league matches without conceding and also reached the Champions League final after beating Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.
Rice may not wear the captain’s armband permanently, but he has become Arsenal’s talisman and emotional leader.
Raya saves from Fernandes
After steadying themselves in the title race, Arsenal travelled to relegation-threatened West Ham in what many considered their toughest remaining fixture.
The Gunners struggled to break down the Hammers, while Arteta’s decision to deploy Rice at right-back following Ben White’s season-ending injury unsettled the side.
Then came a defining moment in the 78th minute.
West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes burst through on goal with only David Raya to beat. But the Arsenal goalkeeper produced a magnificent save to preserve the deadlock. It perfectly reflected the defensive resilience Arsenal showed during the closing weeks of the title race.
VAR saves Arsenal at West Ham!
Five minutes after Raya’s heroics, Arsenal moved ahead through Leandro Trossard following another brilliant contribution from Odegaard. Yet the drama was not over. In the 95th minute, Raya spilled a West Ham corner and Callum Wilson bundled home what looked like a devastating equaliser.
But VAR Darren England intervened. The video assistant referee spotted a foul by West Ham striker Pablo on Raya and advised Chris Kavanagh to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. Gary Neville, on commentary duty, labelled it: “the biggest moment in VAR’s Premier League history” the foul was awarded, Arsenal held on for a crucial victory, and the title moved within touching distance.
Bournemouth seal the deal for Arsenal
And after Arsenal edged Burnley 1-0, they no longer needed to kick another ball to become champions. Arteta’s defining moment arrived courtesy of his childhood friend Andoni Iraola, whose Bournemouth side held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw. City could no longer catch the Gunners.
The result sparked scenes of jubilation across the red half of north London as 22 years of waiting finally came to an end.
From a Champions League final in Budapest to the challenges of next season, Arsenal’s journey is only just beginning.