Arsenal’s anxious wait for a first Premier League title in over two decades came to an end on Tuesday night when Manchester City drew at Bournemouth.
The celebrations amongst Arsenal fans and players were jubilant, and that will undoubtedly continue when the trophy is lifted at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
A couple of Arsenal players have taken particular glee in goading their doubters.
Lewis-Skelly laughs at Arsenal doubters
Bukayo Saka posted a video to social media on Tuesday night, in which team-mate Myles Lewis-Skelly joked about the “bottlers” tag.
Arsenal had finished second three seasons in a row and twice narrowly missed out to Pep Guardiola’s City after losing key games during the run-in.
There was a feeling that the Gunners might not hold their nerve having led the table for most of the 2025/26 season, before losing 2-1 to City at the Etihad last month.
That match was labelled a potential title decider, but Mikel Arteta’s side won their next four games while City twice dropped points.
With champagne in his hands and egged on by Saka, Lewis Skelly said: “They called us bottlers, and now we're holding the bottles!”
Very few will describe Arsenal as bottlers again after a battling end to the season that included three tense 1-0 victories.
And Arteta’s side could yet achieve an impressive double, with the Champions League final against European champions Paris Saint-Germain to come a week on Saturday.
Saka himself had a message for Arsenal’s detractors in a video posted by defender Jurrien Timber.
“Light that up," he said. "Let me tell you something. Twenty-two years, 22 years. There was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing any more.”
Referencing the blacked out Premier League trophy installed at Arsenal’s training ground, which was designed to only light up when they secured the title, Saka added: “Look, it is going to be shining, it is going to be shining bright.”
