And so there we are: Champions at last! Thanks to every player and every supporter.

 

 

• Champions Champions Champions
• Why I want Arsenal to win the league and have an asterisk in this season’s league table

By Tony Attwood

It is of course a bit hard to get up and write a commentary first thing in the morning after a night like that, and even harder to find anything to say that hasn’t already been said 100 times.   And who needs clever-clever headlines after a night like that?  “Arsenal crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City draw” says the Guardian.   “Arsenal players and Ian Wright in wild title celebrations” announces the Telegraph, which also has a very generous headline reading, “Arteta inherited a toxic mess – this is how he fixed Arsenal,” followed by “Manager’s unique methods and attention to detail created a united squad strong enough to end 22-year wait for Premier League title.”  It’s just a shame they didn’t say that lasts season as well.

But still, that second headline from the Telegraph does get it right, overall.   Arsenal was left in a dreadful mess by Emery, and he took one and a half seasons to fix it, selling off or even giving away players of great quality who simply did not want to be there while bringing in a new type of player.   Paying massive fees where he felt it was worth it, while also bringing through players from the youth teams.

Yes, this season will stay in our minds not just because we won the league but also because it was the culmination of a progress we have been honoured to track, while around us many were saying “no”. 

8th, 8th, 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st.   There is nothing to be ashamed of in that progress, because it reveals exactly the opposite of what was happening down the road.   It happened under one manager’s vision and guidance, and to my mind, we should all be as pleased with the way the vision was followed as we obviously are with the final result.

Of course, within a day or two, or even less, we will have the old phrases like “next season starts now” and talk about who Arsenal desperately need to sign and all that stuff.   But I would suggest that there is something more important to say.  

We should remember that Arteta did indeed take his own route and follow his own methods.   And we should remember just how much this will hurt ManC who have acted as if breaking the financial rules and doing things in their own way, which led to 110+ rule breaks.   They won’t take this lying down.   They will be back with another load of money and another collection of rule breakages, unless the Premier League finally get down to the business of dealing with them properly.

That story of course, has long since vanished from the media, but it is still there in reality    They broke all the rules, they were found guilty over and over again, and NOTHING HAPPENED.

Let’s all hope that Arsenal players and management get a really good few weeks’ holiday, and continue with the wonderful policy of recognising that we have in the junior teams some great, great players.   And if I may, perhaps I may also say we should continue to have a few jolly chuckles about Tottenham Ho and all their talk about taking them back up to the league top.   And here is a point.   Arsenal took a huge risk in appointing a manager as young as Arteta to be its manager, and he has paid them back.   Although there have been critics of the run of second-place finishes, who is to say now that it was not worth the wait?   We have finally regained the crown.

 

Of course the style of football is different from that which we had under Wenger – because the world of football moves on just like every other world.   But it worked – even when the whole of the media was against us all the wat through until last night when suddenly they all became Arsenal supporters.   It was ever thus.   And there is even a video from Arsene raising a glass of red wine saying, hampions go on when others stop.   “Now go on and enjoy every moment.”

And I feel it is right for Wenger to be in on the celebrations because he was not just the manager who gave us the last  title, but also the man who kept the club stable and profitable during the period after the move from Highbury, and all the massive costs involved in that.

I do hope that those who have spent their time in recent years criticising Arteta will be big enough to admit they were wrong, and to agree that if we had changed managers before now, last night might not have happened.   As it is it did happened, Arsenal are champions, and here’s a thought.    We’ve still got another trophy to play for.

I must admit the thought crossed my mind that if Arsenal had not won the league, going into the Euro final would have been psychologicially so difficult, with all the media saying “they tried for four trophies, now it is down to the last one”.   The pressure would have been impossible.   Now the situation is different.  We are champions.

Thanki you for reading Untold, but far more than that, thank you for your support of Arsenal.

Tony