Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions on Tuesday (May 19) as a draw between Bournemouth and Manchester City mathematically handed them the top spot. Needing Man City to drop points in their penultimate clash of the season, it was Bournemouth who made the favour. The clash between Man City and Bournemouth ended in a 1-1 draw, handing Arsenal their first Premier League title in 22 years.
Arsenal win Premier League title
Heading into the match, Man City had 77 points from 36 matches while Arsenal had 82 points from 37 matches. This meant that if City’s contest ended in a draw or defeat, this would keep them away from the Premier League title. After the 1-1 draw, Man City’s tally of 78 points from 37 matches meant the four-point deficit was too much.
🏆 ARSENAL ARE CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/l5GrveCpZg
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 19, 2026
Needing victory to keep alive the race ahead of Sunday’s season finale, City were undone by Eli Junior Kroupi’s brilliant first-half strike at Vitality Stadium, extinguishing City’s hopes of a seventh league title for Pep Guardiola in what is expected to be his final season after a glittering decade as manager.
The draw left City on 78 points, four behind Arsenal. Bournemouth, unbeaten in 17 league games and sixth on 56 points, secured European qualification for the first time.
Kroupi fired Bournemouth in front in the 39th minute when Adrien Truffert was played through down the left and he picked out the 19-year-old Frenchman, who took a touch before unleashing a brilliant curving shot just inside the far post past Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was rooted to the spot.
City’s Erling Haaland pulled back a goal deep in injury time, when Rodri’s shot bounced off the post and dropped to the Norwegian, but the final whistle sounded seconds later to seal City’s fate.
Raya’s contribution
“David Raya, for me, has to be the player of the season,” former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira told Sky Sports. “I think he was outstanding from the first game until the end of the season, I think he was really impressive.”
The decision to invest heavily in bulking out Arteta’s squad paid off despite injuries to Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.
