After 22 long years, Arsenal finally ended their Premier League title drought following Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on May 19, 2026.
The result finally put to bed the endless moments of heartbreak and mental suffering, as the side finally stopped living in the shadow of the Invincibles, who completed the 2003/2004 season unbeaten.
While the crowning moment happened on the south coast, the title was really won thanks to some very pivotal games earlier.
In a campaign defined by 19 David Raya clean sheets (could be 20 after the Crystal Palace coronation game) and 18 goals from setpieces, Arteta’s men developed an iron-willed psychological edge.
Striver.Football compiled the five definitive matches that turned the title race in the Gunners' favor and brought the trophy back to N5.
5. Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City - The Mental Barrier Was Broken
The Significance: Busting the mental block.
Key Moment: Gabriel Martinelli 90+2' (assisted by Eberechi Eze)
Although the Gunners never delivered all three points, it was still a significant goal for them, at it effectively salvaged them one crucial point that proved pivotal in the end.
Arsenal had actually thrashed City at the same venue 5-0 that February, so it was a relative surprise when the Pep Guardiola-coached outfit took the lead through Erling Haaland before adopting a pragmatic approach for the rest of the game.
City held on to their lead, and it looked as if it would be one of those days when Arsenal could not get the better of their competitive rivals, but Arteta’s tactical patience bore fruit late in the game when his summer signing, Eberechi Eze, floated an inch-perfect ball over the City backline.
Martinelli chest-controlled it and lobbed Gianluigi Donnarumma in stoppage time to steal a point.
The Striver Take: This draw prevented City from establishing an early psychological stranglehold on the league.
4. Newcastle United 1-2 Arsenal - Ending the St James’ Park Curse
The Significance: Banishing the St. James' Park ghosts.
Key Moment: Gabriel Magalhaes 90+1' header
Arsenal had struggled to get a positive result at St.James’ park, with their last victory at the ground coming in April 2023.
When Nick Woltemade headed Newcastle into a first-half lead, it looked as if the familiar feeling of struggling in Tyneside would persist.
However, Arsenal huffed and puffed in the second half. Mikel Merino came off the bench to glance home an equaliser with seven minutes left.
Deep into injury time, Martin Odegaard swung a corner to the back post, and Gabriel rose highest to bullet a header into the net, much to the delight of both the fans and set piece coach Nicolas Jover.
3. Arsenal 2-0 Everton - Max Dowman Announces Himself
The Significance: A historic academy cameo breaks the deadlock.
Key Moment: Max Dowman's 97th-minute solo breakaway goal
Facing an incredibly stubborn, low-blocking Everton side at the Emirates, the Gunners threw everything forward but found themselves constantly thwarted by Jordan Pickford.
With the clock ticking toward a deeply frustrating 0-0 draw, Arteta took a leap of faith and brought on 16-year-old Hale End sensation Max Dowman, who had been earning plaudits for his ability to turn nothing into something since his breakthrough in pre-season.
The teenager completely unlocked the game. In the 89th minute, Dowman delivered a sharp cross that forced a mistake from Pickford, allowing Viktor Gyokeres to tap home the vital breakthrough.
Then, in the 97th minute, Dowman sealed his place in football folklore. Snapping up a loose ball on a counter-attack, he embarked on a sensational solo run, remaining incredibly cool to slide the ball home.
2. West Ham United 0-1 Arsenal - The VAR Moment That Saved the Title Charge
The Significance: Navigating the final-stretch VAR drama.
Key Moment: West Ham’s disallowed stoppage time goal
In May, Guardiola publicly urged West Ham to do Man City a favor and halt Arsenal’s momentum. They nearly did on two different occasions.
The first came in the 78th minute when David Raya produced an almost impossible save to deny Matheus Fernandes from equalising for the Hammers.
The second, and perhaps the more pivotal moment was in stoppage time when a controversial VAR review intervened to verify a goal by Callum Wilson following a chaotic series of events inside the box resulting from a West Ham corner.
The tension inside the stadium was thick enough to cut with a knife. When the decision was cleared and the goal disallowed, the away end was sent into raptures, and Arsenal eventually saw out their 1-0 win courtesy of a Leandro Trossard goal.
Honorable mention: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham - Lewis-Skelly Changed the Midfield
Mikel Arteta made the brave decision to hand Myles Lewis-Skelly his first ever senior start playing as a central midfielder - a position he actually developed during his days at Hale End.
Arsenal were struggling to create chances from open play while both Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice started together. With Zubimendi leggy, which forced him into making crucial errors in big moments, Arteta chose to start Lewis-Skelly, and the teenager never disappointed.
The England international gave the side something they had arguably been missing since Thomas Partey departed: verticality.
He broke up play, sprayed line breaking passes and speeded up attacks with his ball carrying capabilities while nonchalantly resisting the pressure with his half-turn and ability to protect the ball. It created space for Saka and Gyokeres to run riot all afternoon, as Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win.
1. Arsenal 1-0 Burnley - The Set-Piece Goal That Clinched the Title
The Significance: The penultimate knockout blow.
Key Moment: Kai Havertz 34' (assisted by Bukayo Saka)
With City breathing down their necks, Arsenal welcomed Burnley to the Emirates for their final home game of the season knowing that anything less than three points would hand the keys back to Manchester.
True to form, the match was decided by the defining characteristic of Arsenal's 25/26 campaign: a set-piece masterclass.
In the 34th minute, Saka curled a beautiful, inswinging corner into the danger zone. Havertz towered over the Burnley defense to smash home the header.
Havertz's header marked Arsenal's 18th corner-kick goal of the season, officially breaking the all-time Premier League record previously held by Oldham Athletic (16 in 1992/93).
Arsenal suffocated the game from there, securing a 1-0 victory and moving four points clear. Twenty-four hours later, a exhausted City side drew at Bournemouth, and the coronation was complete.
Mikel Arteta’s squad carried the scars of three successive runners-up finishes, but in 2025/26, those scars turned into armor. They weren't just the most aesthetic team in England, they became the most ruthless.
Twenty-two years later, the Premier League trophy is finally coming home to North London.
