Premier League: From Highbury to Emirates Stadium, Arsenal ends years of near misses and botched-up chases

Twenty-two years after the 'Invincibles' went unbeaten under Arsene Wenger and twenty years after moving from their traditional homeground of Highbury to Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have been crowned as Premier League champions under Mike Arteta's regime.

The title, which is their first in top flight of English football after 2004, came after numerous slip ups and botched-up chases.

The Gunners' 14th English title is their first since Wenger's 'Invincibles' went unbeaten through the 2003-04 Premier League season at the club's old Highbury ground.

Wenger and his stars had cast a long shadow over the Emirates Stadium in the fallow period that followed.

So good was the French manager in managing finances that he became a subject of jokes, with critics saying that Wenger was spending less on signing marquee players as he had to repay the EMI for Emirates Stadium.

After the 'Invincibles' stamped their authority in 2004, the Gunners went almost 10 years without a title. They were made the butt of jokes, with some even asking, "What's the difference between Arsenal and a book? Well, the the book has a title was the cryptic answer!"

Football lore is intertwined with Arsenal's Premier League stories — be it Cesc Fabregas throwing pizza at the then Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson or the famous North London derby with arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur where the chants of "We hate Tottenham, we hate Tottenham, what is s..t Tottenham, what is Tottenham s..t" reverberate all over the Emirates Stadium.

It is presumed beer and football have a close bond. But many superstitious Arsenal fans never open a can of Stella Artois or Heineken unless the Gunners take a lead.

Fan base of the club is enormous. During a Premier League promotional event at the KTPC Ground in Bengaluru a few years back, stalls of all clubs were set up. As this journalist walked up through the venue and asked one Gunner fan where the Arsenal booth is, pat came the reply "Bro.. over there.. see that long queue.. that's the only booth which is crowded and that's Arsenal's."

Many pundits blamed Arsenal's costly move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 for the club's inability to keep pace with big-spending title rivals.

They finished sixth in Wenger's farewell campaign in 2018 — the club's lowest final position since 1995.

Following Wenger's departure, Unai Emery was roped in, but Arsenal failed miserably under him, forcing them to bring former player Arteta into the dugout.

The Spaniard struggled initially as he had to rid the dressing room of divisive egos, stamping his authority by exiling unsettled captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and moving on from Mesut Ozil.

Arsenal finished a lowly eighth in 2020 and 2021, leading to calls for his dismissal.

Yet, gradually, a highly motivated, superbly drilled team fashioned in Arteta's intense image emerged from the turmoil and to him goes the credit for instilling a winning spirit in the team, as on Tuesday (May 19) night at the Vitality Stadium, with him completing his quest to take the club back to the promised land as Manchester City's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth sealed a long-awaited Premier League title.

For Arteta, it was also the moment the student took over the baton from his teacher after three years, as the 44-year-old spent learning from Pep Guardiola during his time as City's assistant manager.

It has been a phenomenal season for Arsenal as more than 40 per cent of their goals came from dead balls. Of their 28 goals from set pieces, 18 have come from corners to set a new single-season Premier League record.

The job is not done yet as 2G could still load! Arteta is one more win away from delivering the club's greatest ever season as Arsenal also plays Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final at Budapest on May 30.

Celebrations begin
But for now it is time for them to celebrate. From Madrid to Malappuram to Maracana, the fans celebrated wildly, just like the scenes outside Emirates Stadium as news of the score line came through on Tuesday night.

For Arsenal, the time has come. One title is all that it takes to get the confidence back.

As one hoarding in Malappuram, which is the cradle of football in Kerala reads, 'Paraajaayam enthanennu njangalkkariyilla, paraajitharaayi njangal madangaarilla', which roughly translates to 'We don't know what defeat is, we never comeback defeated'

Bravo Arsenal!