There is no such thing as an undeserving champion, at least not until independent commissions or courts make their judgements. But holding out for 22 years, finishing as runners-up three years in a row and combining it with an impeccable run to a Champions League final all at once? That counts as a biggie.
Glorious triumph is viewed through two prisms, both quite different to the other. The first is as a simple mark of success, an in-the-moment judgement. In this snapshot in time Arsenal were the best and nobody can argue it.
The second is triumph as the completion of a redemption arc and it’s often here where the sweetest fruit can be picked. It asks us not just to look at where champions got to, but where they came from. Only Leicester City’s arc is more storied in the Premier League’s last 20 years than Arsenal in 2026.
This campaign hasn’t just been the culmination of very good players doing very good things. It is the final step of a 20-year journey since Arsenal moved to the Emirates Stadium. That coincided with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal finishing outside the top two for the first time in eight years and the rapid disintegration of modern rivalry with Manchester United. First Arsenal fell, then United did.
