Bukayo Saka said that Arsenal’s critics were “not laughing at us anymore” as the club celebrated their first English Premier League title in more than two decades.
Players and staff gathered at the club’s London Colney training ground to watch closest challengers Manchester City draw 1-1 at Bournemouth - a result which gave the Gunners an unassailable four-point lead at the top of the table with just Sunday’s final round of matches remaining.
As the squad relished the club’s first Premier League title since 2004, there were also joyous scenes at the north London side’s Emirates Stadium, where thousands of supporters gathered to mark the occasion by lighting fireworks and flares.
Arsenal, runners-up in the league for the previous three seasons, had faced accusations of “bottling” their title bid, with several observers questioning their temperament and ability to handle pressure following a 2-1 defeat at City on April 19. But while City subsequently drew at Everton and then at Bournemouth, Arsenal won their next four league games without conceding a goal.
As a result, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta joined a select group who’ve won English titles both as a player and manager.
Arteta, who rejoined Arsenal as manager in December 2019 with the club in dire straits, installed a blacked-out Premier League trophy at Colney which would light up only when the Gunners won the title
“Light that up,” Saka said in footage posted by defender Jurrien Timber on his Instagram account.
“Let me tell you something. Twenty-two years ... there was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing anymore,” the England international added. “Look, it is going to be shining, it is going to be shining bright.”
In an Instagram post, this time on Saka’s channel, Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly was seen holding a champagne bottle.
“They called us bottlers,” said Lewis-Skelly who, like Saka, came through the club’s youth system. “And now we’re holding the bottle.”
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger featured in a celebratory post put out by his old side.
The Frenchman, who won three Premier League titles with the Gunners, including the 2004 ‘Invincibles,, said: “You did it. Champions go on when others stop. This is your time. Now, go on and enjoy every moment.”
City manager Pep Guardiola, who had Arteta as his assistant for two of the Manchester club’s league titles, paid tribute to Arteta.
“They deserve it, for so much hard work and effort,” he added.
The Gunners could yet end the campaign with an impressive double when they go in search of their first Champions League title against Paris Saint-Germain in a Budapest final on May 30.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
