Arsenal won the 2025-26 English Premier League title, their first league championship since the unbeaten 2003-04 campaign, known as the 'Invincibles' season [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The club secured the trophy on May 19, 2026, when Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, leaving Arsenal four points clear with one game remaining [2, 4, 5, 6].
Mikel Arteta, aged 44, led Arsenal to the title after being appointed head coach in December 2019 despite having no prior managerial experience [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Before taking over at Arsenal, Arteta spent three years as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where he adopted a pragmatic approach focused on zonal dominance, high pressing, defensive stability, and strong team ethic [1, 3, 7]. Arteta said, "As a player and as a coach, he’s been an inspiration for me, and he’s the person who decided to bet on me, to include me as a second coach. I’ll always be grateful to him, otherwise I wouldn’t be here" [2].
Arteta credited his former Everton manager David Moyes for influencing his managerial approach, especially regarding building team character and defensive solidity. Moyes said, "You have got to find ways of winning, that's part of the job. You can play as good as you like, but winning is the thing that really matters" [1]. Arteta reflected, "I learned from [David Moyes] on the field and off the field about building a team and getting the right characters in the team to build what you want" [7].
Since his appointment, Arsenal experienced mixed early results, finishing eighth in the Premier League in his first two seasons and missing European competition in 2020-21. However, Arteta won the FA Cup in his first season in 2020 [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]. The Arsenal management and owners demonstrated strong faith in Arteta, allowing him to rebuild the squad into a title-winning side [5, 6].
Key squad changes included removing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil to improve harmony within the team [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Arsenal also broke the Premier League record for goals scored from corners this season, with 18 goals from set pieces, accounting for more than a third of their total goals. This helped the team win eight matches by a narrow 1-0 margin [1, 3]. Arteta said, "In our environment it needs a lot of detail, a lot of attention. Because it can fluctuate and one day the storm can come in. How do you react to that?" [5].
Arsenal's title marks their first top-flight league crown in 22 years, ending a long wait since the 2003-04 season [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Their victory comes as Manchester City's teams have won six Premier League titles in the past decade [1, 3].
The final round of Premier League fixtures for the 2025-26 season will take place on May 22, when Arsenal will complete their campaign. [2, 4]
