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[Sports Seoul | Reporter Jung Da-won] Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has finally delivered a Premier League title to the club.
Arsenal sealed the 2025–26 Premier League crown. On May 20 (KST), second-place Manchester City drew 1-1 away to AFC Bournemouth, a result that confirmed Arsenal as champions. Arsenal finished on 82 points; City sit on 78 — four points back with only one match left, making a comeback mathematically impossible.
It’s the Gunners’ first Premier League title in 22 years. Arsenal hadn’t lifted the trophy since the 2003–04 season while rivals such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea rotated the honors.
The win carries extra weight because Arteta took charge midway through the 2019–20 campaign. Under his stewardship the club stabilized, underwent a series of structural changes and rebounded to finish runners-up in 2022–23. Despite that progress, Arsenal had looked like bridesmaids in recent seasons, finishing second three years running without getting over the line.
This season was different. Arteta’s side rode an exceptional defense — conceding just 26 goals in 37 matches — and led the table for virtually the entire campaign before closing it out as champions.
Arteta is also the first manager who previously played in the Premier League to lift the title as a coach. Contemporaries like Steven Gerrard (former Aston Villa boss) and Frank Lampard (currently at Coventry City) struggled in the top flight, but the Spanish coach has successfully transformed Arsenal into a title-winning team and earned his place among top managers.
At 1982-born Arteta is one of the youngest to win the Premier League, becoming the second-youngest manager to do so after José Mourinho, now at Benfica. He is in his mid-40s. weo@sportsseoul.com
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