Arsenal lift first Premier League trophy in 22 years as Arteta admits to title ‘doubts’ – live reaction

Mikel Arteta will be quick to shift attention to Saturday’s Champions League final against holders Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.

“This shirt represents something else,” he said. “Now we have the opportunity to create new history in our club. I am convinced we are going to do it.”

Mikel Arteta has suggested that external doubts around his ability to complete the “final job” at Arsenal had led to him questioning whether he was the right fit to remain as manager.

Speaking moments after getting his hands on the Premier League trophy, Arteta said that he felt both joy and relief to have ended the Gunners’ 22-year wait to become champions of England.

Arteta praised his inner circle for maintaining belief when even he was pondering whether external noises around his ability to take Arsenal over the threshold following a succession of second-placed finishes were correct.

“We had a great celebration on on Tuesday. The vibes are unreal. Everyone is so happy, but we have another big final in just a week, so we’ll wait to party for after that, I think.

“It would be unreal. We’re living the dream, you know, winning a Premier League, being in a Champions League final.

“I was speaking to my mates about growing up, dreaming about this and now we’re there, so we’ve gotta enjoy it and make sure we’re ready and go for it and hopefully we can do it.”

Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke: “The family invested in Arsenal Football Club. Emotionally, financially, everything, this club means the world to us, and I think it took a few people a few years to really understand what that meant.

“ But now we’ve got some great people, we’ve got some great players, and great coaches, and I’ve just got to continue providing them the resources they can to go out and do magical things like they did this season.

“We’ve achieved one of our goals, but we have several other as well, and there’s still one to be played for next weekend. So I think today is about enjoying today and tomorrow we’ll get back to work because there’s still one more to play.”

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“I believed it 100 per cent because I took a lot from that game, but also to comfort my team-mates as well and calm everyone down because there were still five games to go. It weren’t like it was the last game of the season.

“I think after that we started to just be a bit more free in our game, didn’t we? Like we started to play a bit better, it was a little bit less pressure off us because in April, end of March, you could sense there was a bit of pressure with the performances.

“We were not trying to let any outside noise come in, but once that City game was over, I think we actually said, look, boys, it’s five games, we’ve got this whole way top, like we can’t throw this away. It was a strong message and it’s paid off.”

“It’s crazy. I don’t know how to describe it, you know. It’s like when you’re that age, you look at the players in the first team, it’s like heroes, like untouchable. You don’t actually believe you can get there.

“But now I’m here, I’m just like… I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say. I’m just over the moon, man. This is everything to me and my family. We’ve worked years for this, so I’m just so happy.”

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“I was in a dark place, obviously I know what you guys have done for the club and where this club has been in the past. At that very moment we very, very low and very far from the level that I believed Arsenal should be.

“Obviously I know from school, from social media…. what people say about Arsenal, how they laugh about Arsenal, in that moment I was just so sad. I just wanted to put it all out in a post, and that’s just what I felt at the moment.

“But it’s done, man. It’s no more jokes, man. It’s our time.”

In the giddy days between Arsenal being confirmed as English champions and actually getting to lift the Premier League trophy, there was a little line that the players had been talking about.

They wouldn’t actually believe they’d done it until they actually got to hold it; to feel how heavy it was.

It had been weighing over them for so long, after all. This proved it was real. Every part of its 25.4kg testament to that, nothing left to waste.

That’s a bit like Arsenal themselves, given how much went into this arduous title win. Nothing was left on the training ground.

This Premier League season demanded everything from them.

If there has been some commentary on how the Premier League also needed a different winner to underline its vaunted competitiveness, that touches on one of the key themes of the campaign.

Mikel Arteta, speaking to Sky Sports, admits there were doubts over whether he was the right man to lead Arsenal and help them take the final step…

“I think we showed an incredible connection, an incredible commitment, and an incredible courage. Everything that was around us has fueled the desire that we have to go and do it and look at that.

“There are doubts… I think doubts and an understanding that maybe… OK, I’ve been able to take them all the way here, but maybe somebody else has to come and do the final job. But thank God. I feel a lot of joy and honestly a little bit of relief.

“I can control certain things, but there are many things that are out of your hands, and that’s why you need the best people around you. Sometimes when you doubt yourself, to have people as well next to you to say, no, we’re going to do it and we’re going to do it with you.”