Arsenal's Premier League Crown: Six Tables That Tell the Story of Title Glory

Arsenal have finally reached the Premier League's summit for the first time since 2004 – and in doing so, they've thoroughly silenced a few doubters along the way.

The Gunners clinched their maiden title in 22 years when Manchester City drew at Bournemouth, with reports suggesting Pep Guardiola's departure from the Etihad looming. The north Londoners have faced no shortage of criticism for their methods this season, though frankly they couldn't care less. Besides, no Premier League champion has ever been undeserving of their crown.

While the league table itself will make for pleasant viewing in the Arsenal dressing room, the underlying numbers paint an even more compelling picture of Mikel Arteta's achievement.

Late-season form tells the tale

Perhaps the most striking element of Arsenal's triumph lies in their ability to deliver precisely when the pressure mounted. Just weeks ago, all seemed lost. Following their defeat at the Etihad on April 19, the title appeared to have slipped through their fingers entirely.

The narrative was familiar: Arsenal's reputation for bottling it, City's ruthless finishing touches come springtime. But Arteta's men had other ideas.

From the moment Declan Rice declared "it's not over" when most observers believed the race had run its course, Arsenal have been faultless. Four consecutive victories, not a single goal conceded – that's the mark of true champions when the stakes are highest.

Set-pieces: The secret weapon

Here's where Arsenal's blueprint becomes genuinely intriguing. The Gunners rank fourth for open-play goals, trailing City by 22. On the surface, that's hardly the hallmark of a title-winning side.

Yet this is precisely where Arsenal's meticulous approach reveals its genius. No Premier League club has ever scored more corner goals in a single season than this Arsenal outfit. It's a statistic that's drawn considerable stick from critics, but here's the rub – a goal from a set-piece counts exactly the same as any other.

Arteta views set-pieces as the ultimate expression of control. They're moments the Gunners engineer and dominate through superior organisation and execution. The irony? Arteta himself expressed frustration that Arsenal haven't capitalised on even more corners this term.

Compare that to Guardiola's March declaration that City's relative set-piece drought was actually "good" for his side. Had City been more clinical from dead-ball situations, they might not be waking up to rather different circumstances this morning.

Defence wins titles

If offence captures hearts and defence secures silverware, Arsenal have got their priorities precisely right.

David Raya's clean sheet against Burnley on Monday marked his 19th of the campaign – equalling the club record established by David Seaman across 1993-94 and 1998-99. The Spanish goalkeeper is on course for his third consecutive Golden Glove, having kept clean sheets in more than half his appearances.

The defensive excellence runs deeper than individual brilliance, though. Arsenal's rearguard has proven the Premier League's stingiest, conceding seven fewer goals than City and a staggering 17 fewer than third-placed Brighton. The Gunners have also recorded more victories without conceding a goal – more than double any side except City themselves, and rather bizarrely, Everton.

Consistency against the pretenders

Throughout their years of near-misses, Arsenal had developed an unfortunate habit: they'd handle the elite reasonably well, then stumble against the league's also-rans. This season has been entirely different.

Arteta has transformed his squad into ruthless operators against bottom-half opposition. In an unusually congested campaign, that ruthlessness has proven decisive. The path hasn't always been smooth – that narrow corner-kick victory over relegated Burnley on Monday felt suitably emblematic – but Arsenal have navigated the entire season unbeaten against lower-placed sides.

It's worth noting that Gary Neville spent considerable portions of the season insisting Arsenal simply couldn't win the title without consistently beating their closest rivals. Perhaps a reassessment is in order.

The long game

This triumph represents the culmination of a lengthy process that few believed in when Arteta arrived in December 2019. Though this marks his first managerial title, the groundwork has been evident throughout his tenure.

Across that entire period, Arsenal have tracked City and Liverpool's pace remarkably closely. Liverpool have won two titles since Arteta's appointment while accumulating only 10 additional points across 248 games. The Gunners required patience, particularly when it was tested severely in early 2021-22.

Under Nuno, Tottenham sat top while Arsenal languished winless and goalless after three games – the nadir coming via a 5-0 demolition at Manchester City. That represented rock-bottom for Arteta's project, as subsequent events would confirm.

In the 186 matches since that humiliation, Arsenal have accumulated only 18 points fewer than City. Yet during that same span, City won three titles, Liverpool claimed one, and Arsenal won nothing. Until now.