Twenty-two years. That is how long Arsenal supporters waited to see their club crowned champions of England again.
The Gunners’ previous Premier League triumph had come in 2003/04, when Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles completed an entire league campaign without defeat. What followed were more than two decades of rebuilding, near misses and repeated challenges that fell short.
That changed in 2026.
Mikel Arteta finally guided Arsenal back to the summit of English football, ending one of the most significant title droughts in the club’s history. Other famous English clubs continue to endure even longer waits for major silverware, adding further perspective to Arsenal’s achievement. Supporters following the latest developments across the top flight can also visit www.betiton.com/en-gb/sports/.
Arsenal finally end 22-year Premier League title wait
Arsenal were officially crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City dropped points at Bournemouth with one game of the season remaining.
It was the club’s first league championship since the Invincibles and their 14th English top-flight title overall.
Arteta’s side eventually finished the 2025/26 campaign with 85 points from 38 matches, winning 26, drawing seven and losing just five.
The triumph felt particularly significant because of what had come immediately before it.
Arsenal had finished second in each of the previous three Premier League seasons. They had moved from hopeful challengers to genuine title contenders, but repeatedly found themselves just short of the final step.
In 2025/26, they finally took it, and ReadArsenal’s end-of-season awards looked back at the players and moments that defined the title-winning campaign.
How Arsenal turned near misses into a title
Arsenal’s years without a league title were not trophyless years.
The Gunners won several FA Cups after 2004, including four between 2014 and 2020, but the Premier League remained beyond their reach.
There were promising teams under Wenger, a transitional period following his departure and then the difficult early stages of Arteta’s rebuild.
The major change came when Arsenal began consistently competing at the top of the league again.
After years of fighting primarily for Champions League qualification, Arteta created a side capable of sustaining a title challenge across an entire season.
Three consecutive runners-up finishes demonstrated Arsenal were close. Winning the title required them to turn that consistency into something tangible.
They did so with one of the strongest defensive records in Europe.
Arsenal kept 19 Premier League clean sheets during the title-winning campaign and conceded only 27 goals. David Raya won another Golden Glove, while Arteta’s side became increasingly comfortable protecting narrow leads.
They also spent 200 consecutive days at the top of the Premier League table, demonstrating how consistently they performed once they established themselves as leaders.
The success placed the 2025/26 side alongside some of the club’s most celebrated teams, with ReadArsenal ranking the greatest title-winning Arsenal sides after Arteta ended the 22-year wait.
Mikel Arteta’s role in Arsenal’s transformation
Arteta returned to Arsenal as head coach in December 2019 after previously representing the club as a player.
His first few years included difficult periods as he attempted to rebuild both the squad and the standards expected inside the club.
The transformation was gradual.
Arsenal invested heavily, reduced the age profile of their squad and built around a core capable of competing for several seasons rather than one short title challenge.
Bukayo Saka became one of the team’s defining players after progressing through Arsenal’s Hale End academy. Martin Ødegaard developed into captain and a major creative influence, while signings such as Declan Rice helped strengthen the spine of Arteta’s side.
Arteta’s six-year transformation from a struggling Arsenal side to Premier League champions underlined just how extensive the rebuild had been.
By 2025/26, Arsenal had also developed numerous ways of winning matches.
They could dominate possession but were increasingly comfortable without it. They could attack quickly but had also become one of the Premier League’s most dangerous teams from set pieces.
Arsenal scored 19 goals from corners during their championship season, setting a new Premier League record.
Perhaps most importantly, they learned how to protect leads.
Fourteen of their victories came by a single-goal margin, including eight 1-0 wins. Those results proved vital during a campaign in which the margin for error remained small.
Arsenal’s wait compared with other English clubs
Twenty-two years without a league championship felt enormous for a club of Arsenal’s stature, but several established English clubs have gone considerably longer without winning a recognised major domestic trophy.
| Club | Last major trophy | Competition | Wait to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 1960 | First Division | 66 years |
| Sunderland | 1973 | FA Cup | 53 years |
| Wolves | 1980 | League Cup | 46 years |
| Nottingham Forest | 1990 | League Cup | 36 years |
| Leeds United | 1992 | First Division | 34 years |
| Everton | 1995 | FA Cup | 31 years |
Everton’s last major trophy came when Paul Rideout scored the winner against Manchester United in the 1995 FA Cup final.
Leeds United were champions of England in 1992, winning the final First Division title before the formation of the Premier League.
Sunderland’s wait stretches back to one of the great FA Cup shocks. Ian Porterfield scored as the Second Division club defeated Don Revie’s Leeds United at Wembley in 1973.
Burnley’s last league championship came even earlier, in 1960.
Those examples provide some perspective, although expectations at Arsenal have always been different. Regular Champions League football, significant investment and the club’s historic status meant a 22-year wait for another league title became increasingly difficult to accept.
Why Arsenal succeeded in 2025/26
There was no single reason Arsenal finally became champions.
Arteta had spent several seasons building the squad. Key players had accumulated experience from previous title races. Arsenal had become significantly stronger defensively and increasingly capable of winning matches without producing their best attacking football.
They also shared responsibility across the squad.
Eighteen different Arsenal players scored Premier League goals during the campaign, excluding own goals. That reduced the team’s reliance on one prolific forward and made Arsenal less predictable.
Their defensive consistency provided the foundation.
Nineteen clean sheets and only 27 goals conceded gave Arsenal room to win difficult matches by narrow margins, while their set-piece strength regularly produced goals when open play became more difficult.
Those qualities had developed during the previous title challenges.
The difference in 2025/26 was that Arsenal sustained them until the job was finished.
The achievement also strengthened Arteta’s position considerably, with Arsenal moving to reward their manager following the historic Premier League triumph.
What Arsenal’s title means after 22 years
For supporters who remembered the Invincibles, the title finally ended a wait that once seemed increasingly difficult to explain.
For younger Arsenal fans, it represented something completely different. Many had never seen their club crowned champions of England.
An entire generation had grown up with the Invincibles existing primarily through old footage, stories and statistics.
Arteta’s side finally gave them a championship team of their own.
The challenge now changes.
Arsenal no longer have to answer questions about whether they are capable of winning the Premier League. They have done it.
Arteta has already spoken about evolving the team following their success, with the Arsenal boss revealing how his approach is changing after winning the title.
The next task is proving that the 2025/26 triumph was not the end of the journey, but the beginning of another successful era in north London.
Supporters can follow Arsenal’s upcoming matches throughout the new campaign on our fixtures and results page.
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