Tens of thousands of people flocked to the streets of North London late Tuesday after Arsenal clinched its first Premier League title in 22 years, sparking wild scenes outside the team’s stadium that continued deep into the night.
Arsenal, who had a dominant campaign and led the league for almost the entire season, were confirmed as champions without kicking a ball after second-placed Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth.
The players had gathered at the club’s training ground an hour north of London to watch the match and video released on social media showed them leaping around and hugging one another once the club’s 14th English title was assured.
In London, fans streamed out of pubs and houses and gathered outside the club’s Emirates Stadium, setting off fireworks and flares while chanting “Champions! Champions! Ole! Ole! Ole!”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took time out from dealing with his own sticky political situation to congratulate his favorite soccer team.
“22 long years for the Arsenal,” Starmer posted on X soon after the title was clinched late Tuesday. “But finally, we’re back where we belong. Champions!” He also praised the team in Parliament on Wednesday.
For Starmer, a lifelong Arsenal fan, the victory was rare good news at a time when he is clinging to power after woeful election results for his Labour Party.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is running for a seat in Parliament so he can potentially challenge Starmer for the party leadership. On this occasion, London got the better of Manchester, with Arsenal outlasting rivals Man City to win the biggest prize in English soccer for the first time since 2004.
The new champions and thousands of Arsenal fans celebrated into the night, with midfielder Eberechi Eze posting pictures on his Instagram account up to 5 a.m. local time.
One showed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard leaning his head back with an Arsenal-branded bottle in his mouth, likely a nod to those critics who accused the team of being “bottlers” — a British term for collapsing under pressure — after three straight runner-up finishes in the Premier League and no major trophy since 2020.
Odegaard will be lifting the Premier League trophy after the away match against Crystal Palace on Sunday, the final day of the league season.
Arsenal’s players will parade the trophy in North London on May 31 — the day after competing in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, making it a possible double celebration.
There was footage on social media of many Arsenal players, including Eze, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber, walking around the club’s Emirates Stadium home as the sun came up early Wednesday.
Members of the squad had earlier gathered at the club’s training ground to watch the Bournemouth-City match. When it was confirmed Arsenal was the new champion, Saka and Timber headed to a blacked-out Premier League trophy that Arteta had installed at the training base and which would light up only when the Gunners won the title.
“Light that up,” Saka said in a video posted by Timber on Instagram. “Let me tell you something — 22 years, 22 years. There was laughing. There was joking. They aren’t laughing anymore.
“Look, it’s going to be shining, it’s going to be shining bright.”
Former Arsenal players were soaking it all in, too.
Legendary forward Ian Wright was seen popping Champagne outside the Emirates surrounded by fans on Tuesday night.
Thierry Henry, a member of the club’s last league title-winning team — the “Invincibles from 2004,” thanked the new generation.
“Finally,” Henry wrote, “now my kids saw us winning the league.”
