BREAKING: Arsenal crowned Premier League champions after Man City held by Bournemouth | OneFootball

Rhys Webb, Chief Spanish football reporter | Oliver Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Arsenal have been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years, following Manchester City’s 1-1 draw to Bournemouth on Tuesday.

A hard-fought victory against Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Monday put Mikel Arteta within touching distance of the title, needing just three points at Selhurst Park on the final day of the season to be crowned as Premier League champions.

But the celebrations have been brought forward in North London, with Manchester City now mathematically out of the title race after dropping points at Bournemouth.

It has been a nervy season for Arsenal, who have managed to avoid a fourth consecutive second-place finish in the English top flight and could yet lift more silverware this season when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final.

Speaking after Monday’s win against Burnley, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told BBC Sport that he feels the Gunners “deserve to be champions.

“This season has been our season but Man City have been incredible. Under Pep [Guardiola], you can never rule them out, the ruthlessness of them. But we have put ourselves in a really good position and all I have been saying is that we have to keep going.”

Asked if he’d be tuning in to see how City fared on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta laughed in his post-match press conference: “I will be there in front of the TV, but I don’t know how much I’ll be able to watch, I think. That’s the reality.”

The reality now is that, for the first time in more than two decades, Arsenal are Premier League champions and will lift the trophy at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

Is this the start of a new dynasty for Arsenal?

For the past three seasons, Arsenal have come close but have never quite managed to pry the Premier League trophy out of the hands of Manchester City and the formidable Pep Guardiola.

Yet the Catalan manager is set to bring his time in Manchester to an end this summer, with his former assistant Enzo Maresca tipped as the favourite to replace him.

Arsenal know better than anyone that appointing a Guardiola protégé doesn’t equal instantaneous success. It has been over six years since Arteta was handed the reins in North London – but patience has paid off, and now the Gunners are reaping the rewards.

Now, they will look to build upon their first Premier League title in 22 years and kickstart an era of dominance, which could be made easier by Maresca’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester United’s woes in recent years, Chelsea’s continued blunders in the transfer market and Liverpool’s apparent insistence on sticking with a manager who currently has them more than 20 points adrift of the top spot.