05/19/26 04:43:00
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05/19 16:41 CDT Arsenal wins its first Premier League title in 22 years after
Man City draws with Bournemouth
Arsenal wins its first Premier League title in 22 years after Man City draws
with Bournemouth
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
Arsenal's decades-long wait is over.
Mikel Arteta's team was crowned Premier League champion for the first time
since 2004 on Tuesday after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth.
The result put an end to what might be Pep Guardiola's final title challenge
with City after the decorated manager didn't dismiss reports he was set to
leave the club at the end of the season.
City needed to win at Bournemouth 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.
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.
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