🏆 Arsenal champions after 22 years! Longest ever droughts? 👀 | OneFootball

A moment a lifetime in the making. With Manchester City’s draw against Bournemouth on Tuesday night, Arsenal have lifted the Premier League again after twenty-two years. An eternity.

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It had started to feel like the title was cursed for the Gunners, to the point that people were already talking about Arteta as the eternal runner-up, Guardiola’s disciple but without Pep’s winning edge. After years of disappointment, though, the student has finally beaten the master, at the end of a campaign they dominated, only partly called into question in the final stretch of the season.

Twenty-two years, as we were saying. A long time, especially for a fanbase that, up until 2004, was used to winning. In football, though, when cycles come to an end, it’s not automatic that you pick up where you left off. And Arsenal are only the latest example.

🏴 Tottenham and United...

If the Gunners have ended their curse, the same certainly cannot be said for their number one rivals, Tottenham. Spurs, who in fact still have to secure safety this year, have not finished top for a staggering 65 years! 

Manchester United’s drought is shorter, although Ferguson had set the bar incredibly high for the club’s fans. Since Sir Alex stepped away from management in 2013, however, Premier League titles have been nowhere to be seen: 13 years of suffering around Old Trafford...

Similar to Arsenal’s was the run endured by Liverpool, who before winning the league in 2019/20 had gone almost 30 years without doing so (their previous title came in 1989/90).

The droughts continue, meanwhile, for Everton (39 years), Leeds (44), Nottingham Forest (48) and Aston Villa (45). Villa, however, have plenty of reason not to dwell on it after winning the Europa League last night...

🇮🇹 The Rome clubs and then... Napoli!

In Italy, as we know, the three big clubs have often dominated. Juve, Inter and Milan have won the vast majority of Italian league titles, albeit with alternating periods of difficulty. Perhaps the toughest of all is what Milan are going through, having won only twice in the last 22 years, in 2011 and 2022. 

Still, that is nothing compared to the 25 years since Roma last won the Scudetto, or the 26 for Lazio. Napoli, meanwhile, have been crowned champions twice in the last three years, but before that their tally had been stuck all the way back in 1990!

🇫🇷 Who still remembers Lyon?

And in France? It goes without saying that PSG’s dominance is now unquestioned, but the French league used to be far more balanced. Lyon, Monaco, Marseille... Every year a different club could win it.

While Lille and Monaco have managed to partially interrupt PSG’s run of success, the same cannot be said for Lyon and OM, clubs that have now been waiting 19 and 17 years respectively for a league title. The problem here is not so much that, but rather the fact that the drought looks destined to get even longer in the future!

🇪🇸 Tough when you’re up against Barça and Real...

In Spain, La Liga is often a matter between the two giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Two clubs that hardly know what the word drought means, something they have experienced at most for a handful of seasons.

So how tough must life be for an colchonero fan? Eleven league titles, compared to Barça’s 29 and Real’s 36. With Simeone’s arrival in 2011, Atlético ended an 18-year Liga curse three years later.

🌍 The others

In Germany, the lack of trophies for Borussia Dortmund is starting to make headlines, with their last Bundesliga title dating back to 2011. Schalke, meanwhile, have not triumphed since 1958!

In Scotland, this year we almost witnessed the end of the Celtic-Rangers duopoly, as the two have shared every title since 1984/85. The last time that did not happen, the winners were Aberdeen, managed by... Sir Alex Ferguson!

Finally, in Turkey, Fenerbahçe have been without a title since 2013, while in Greece Panathinaikos have been waiting 16 years. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 BROOK MITCHELL - AFP or licensors