Mikel Arteta did not watch the decisive moment from inside the ground. He left Arsenal's training-ground watchalong 20 minutes before kick-off because he could not bring the energy the players wanted, went home, started a fire in the garden and had a barbecue while the title was decided. Then his oldest son ran out crying, hugged him and said: "We are champions, Daddy".
How the title night unfolded at home
Arteta's own version of the evening is the story here. He told BBC that he was hearing noises from the living room before the garden door opened and the news arrived through his family. "My oldest son opened the garden door, started to run towards me, started to cry, gave me a hug, and said: 'We are champions, Daddy'," he said. "Then my other two boys and my wife came over and it was beautiful." He added: "Just to see that joy on them as well, that they are always with me, it was magical."
The title itself came with Arsenal finishing first in the Premier League on 82 points from 37 matches. Their record was 25 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats. Arteta's point was not just that they won, but how they won it. "We won the league, but I'm most proud of how we won it," he said. "We showed a very important value, not only in sport, but in life as well, which is perseverance, to be resilient, to be composed in moments when people are doubting."
Why Arteta thinks this team finished the job
There was a real edge to that assessment because Arsenal's run-in backed it up. They won all four league matches after the Manchester City defeat without conceding a goal. That is the cleaner explanation for why Arteta keeps talking about resilience rather than style points.
He also pointed back to the summer meeting when he told the squad to look at each other and see a group "capable of everything". That line fits the season better than any grander title-night speech. The club were already good enough to finish the job, but Arteta is making a bigger case about belief under pressure.
The title was confirmed when Bournemouth held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw, and Arteta even rang Andoni Iraola to congratulate him. He told the Bournemouth boss he had "almost took the Premier League away from us and then helped us to win it on the last week". However the result is described, the point is the same: Arsenal had done their part, and the final confirmation came once City dropped points. The season ended with Arsenal on top and Arteta talking about the night as a family memory first, trophy moment second.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
