First title in 22 years 

©TM/IMAGO

Few Arsenal fans would have predicted that history would be made at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, but that’s where Mikel Arteta’s side were crowned champions of the Premier League. Thanks to a wonderful, curling finish from Junior Kroupi in the 39th minute, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side were forced to concede defeat to Bournemouth and the title race in their 1-0 loss to the Cherries. As a result, Arsenal were made English champions with a game to spare, winning the North London club their first league title in 22 years. And while this season’s campaign may not be as memorable as Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles”, it is no less impressive. This title has been seven years in the making and entirely down to the remarkable work and long-term vision of Arteta and the club.

How Arsenal became champions

While Arsenal fans had to endure a few eight-place finishes in Arteta’s early years at the club, the Spaniard began to show his worth as a worthy Arsenal manager by finishing fifth in the 2021/22 season and then second in three successive seasons. Many wondered whether the North London club had the right manager in place to take them to first place, but as we can see from the table above, few could rival Arteta’s ability to pick up points in the Premier League. Since making the move to Arsenal in 2019, only Guardiola has won more league points than Arteta, with the next best manager being Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. And with that remarkable winning rate in mind, it seems as though a league title was all but inevitable.

There’s little doubt that Arsenal are worthy English champions, and while they may have struggled to entertain neutrals with a lack of goals this season, there’s no denying that Arteta’s defence has outperformed all others in the Premier League. Not only do Arsenal have the best defensive record in the English top-flight this season, but as we can see in the graph above Arteta has been steadily improving his team’s ability to pick up clean sheets with each passing season. As such, the club’s defensive record has improved by an incredible 44% during his time at the club. As the old saying goes, “attack wins games, but defence wins titles”. And that is evidently true when it comes to Arsenal this season.

However, what’s even more impressive about Arsenal’s title win is the manner in which Arteta has built this squad over time to become the all-conquering goliath that it is today. Indeed, the North London club’s squad is only the sixth most expensively assembled squad in the Premier League, but in terms of squad market value, it sits second only to Man City. That’s because since Arteta took over, the market value of Arsenal’s players has increased by an incredibly €551m. Not only is that an 81% increase in the value of Arsenal’s squad, but it’s also comfortably the highest increase in squad value in the Premier League in that period of time, far outperforming the rest of England’s other big clubs.

As Arsenal fans celebrate their first league title in 22 years, they’ll think back to important goals, key saves and, most importantly, the wins that took them to the league title. But, as we can see, Arteta’s first major trophy as Arsenal manager was a result of some remarkable long-term planning. And that, more than anything else, is what has led the North London club to the top of the Premier League table this season to be crowned champions.