From lowest point to historic high, Arteta's Arsenal transformation is complete

This time last year, after a narrow win over Newcastle in the final Arsenal home game of a difficult season, manager Mikel Arteta, deflated but defiant, microphone in hand on the Emirates Stadium pitch, vowed that his side would come back stronger.

"We have to start creating our own history here. There is much more to come. We have to do it all together. It's not going to be easy, but this group of players, I'm telling you, they have the hunger, the quality, the talent, and we are going to make it happen."

Arsenal supporters had of course heard similar before. This was their third straight season as Premier League runners-up. But they were not empty words. As predicted, it was far from straightforward. In fact most fans would agree it was excruciating at times.

A year on, though, Arsenal are champions, the wait over.

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For Arteta, it is the culmination of six-and-a-half years of work.

He inherited a club in a state of drift when he took the job, his first as a head coach, in 2019. The squad was an expensively assembled mess. Supporters were disengaged. Standards had slipped.

The transformation has been exhaustive, with Arteta one of few constants. Arsenal, once soft-centred and easily bullied, are now characterised by steeliness and a fierce will to win, described by Pep Guardiola as one of the most competitive sides he has ever faced.

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Arsenal needed every drop of that competitive spirit this season. Supporters watched in horror as Manchester City ate into their lead at the top of the table after the turn of the year. Was it happening again? Defeat at the Etihad Stadium felt like it could be terminal.

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But Arsenal found a way, their refusal to bow summed up by Declan Rice, who rose from his haunches declaring "it's not done" after the final whistle that afternoon in April, and whose inspirational performances in midfield have helped drag them over the line.

Their title triumph, the club's first in 22 years, provides a crowning moment for Arteta's Arsenal project, and marks the completion of a steady rise to the summit illustrated by their finishing positions across his tenure, from eighth, to fifth, to second, to first.

It has been a triumph of leadership and coaching.

Arteta has not done it on his own, of course. His players have pushed themselves to their limits, never more so than in this gruelling, 63-game season which will only reach its climax in Budapest. The support of the club's owners has been crucial too.

The only frustration, happily forgotten in the blur of their celebrations, is that their time, this time, did not come sooner.

Following four years of incremental improvement under Arteta, Arsenal achieved the second-highest points total in their history in 2023/24, with 89, while also breaking a club record for goals scored, with 91. The underlying data showed they were the Premier League's best-performing team that season. It was not enough.

Falling short of Manchester City for a second year running left Arsenal with psychological baggage and intensified the pressure to finally get over the line. But the bigger issue since then has been getting their best attacking players on the pitch.

Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz contributed a combined 63 goals and assists during the 2023/24 campaign but, due to injuries, have hardly played together since.

Remarkably, Monday's game against Burnley, when Saka and Havertz combined for the decisive goal, was the first the trio have started together in almost a year and half, going back to a 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in December 2024.

It helps to explain why Arteta has come to lean on their defence.

Arsenal might not be as expansive as they once were on the ball but their foundations continue to grow stronger. It is fitting that they secured their crown with a run of four consecutive clean sheets.