Arsenal's long-awaited title – could there be more to come? Plus: Spygate throws play-off final into chaos

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After three consecutive years as runners-up, Arsenal are Premier League champions — Arteta’s first league title as a manager and Arsenal’s first since 2004. Trust in the process has paid off at last. Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth tipped the balance last night, a result and a game which summed up a City side who perennially felt the pace in the foot race. Arteta set out to create an overwhelming force, and this season, his squad weren’t willing to take a backwards step. His faith in them, and Arsenal’s confidence in him, is vindicated by the prize in their hands. Long managerial reigns do occur in the Premier League — a ruthless environment, where coaches are never far from danger — but most are underpinned by regular trophies (such as the 20 major honours on Pep Guardiola’s record). It’s highly unusual for a top-end coach to go six years without one and hang on in, as Arteta did after winning the FA Cup in 2020. Arsenal bucked the trend by allowing the Spaniard to build an empire. There are many facets to this title win, and I cannot speak highly enough of James McNicholas’ definitive read on it this morning. You’ll find details there about pickpockets, the revamp of the scouting department, the admission that working at the Emirates when Arteta took over in 2019 was considered “toxic” by the rank and file — but what grabbed me most was the club’s scientific search for a championship sweet spot. Arsenal did close-up analysis of their rivals, to work out — through metrics such as age, contract length and so on — when sides like City and Liverpool might start to wane or fall away. They estimated that a window of opportunity would open between 2023 and 2027, and they were right. Arteta finished second for the first time in 2023. Three years later, he’s delivered. You hear a lot of talk in football about long-term plans, but this is what a credible one looks like. Here ends Guardiola’s pursuit of a seventh English championship before he exits City in a few days. Arsenal are easy to deride stylistically — too reliant on set pieces, pragmatic in their methods, not always a delight to watch — but they’ve had the measure of the Premier League this season. More than anything, their defensive work has got them here: with 26 goals conceded in 37 games. That’s title-winning solidity. We’re yet to hear Arteta reflect on a watershed moment at length (because Arsenal weren’t playing last night), but this is what Guardiola had to say about his former assistant’s triumph: The sands are shifting in England’s top division. City are in flux, with Guardiola’s reign at an end. Another of his former assistants, the ex-Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, is about to fill his shoes. Liverpool don’t seem to know where they are going with Arne Slot. Manchester United have ground to make up, and a relative rookie in the dugout in Michael Carrick. Xabi Alonso should make Chelsea better, but he’ll be working from a standing start at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal, by a distance, are the most organised, coherent and settled unit in the top flight. Arteta said they would peak in this way, and there’s nothing stopping them from pushing on again. The 44-year-old’s first successful strike at gold doesn’t need to be his last. The Championship play-off final is the closing act of each English second-tier campaign. The English Football League, the organisation which runs the three divisions below the Premier League, would regard it as its showpiece. Winning it is worth somewhere in the region of £200million ($268m). But this season’s edition is in total disarray after an extraordinary disciplinary decision yesterday. Hull City and Southampton were supposed to meet at Wembley Stadium this Saturday for that match — but Southampton have been expelled from the final after they admitted sending an analyst to spy on Middlesbrough, the team they beat in the play-off semi-finals. The EFL has reinstated Middlesbrough in the final. Southampton owned up to sneakily watching training sessions not only before the first leg of their semi-final but also ahead of league meetings with Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April (amusingly, they didn’t actually win any of the games concerned). In addition to losing their final place, they’ll receive a four-point deduction at the start of the 2026-27 season. Certain players, naturally shocked, are considering legal action against the club. They’re appealing the sanctions, though, so we can’t yet count on Hull vs Middlesbrough being the eventual line-up on Saturday (God knows how Hull are preparing themselves). Southampton have fallen foul of rules which came to pass after Leeds United were caught spying on opposition training sessions in 2018-19. In theory, specific regulations should have prevented a repeat of that saga — and, in light of yesterday’s ruling, something tells me no team will be stupid enough to breach them again. Enzo Fernández, what a STRIKE?! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/bQeuiG9TzW — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 19, 2026 With Alonso’s appointment in mind, Chelsea bucked up their ideas last night, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Fernandez’s early goal, above, was a hell of a hit and, much as they let their impetus slide, they got the job done. The result means the final day of Premier League action won’t be a complete washout. The title is done, and the top five is just about settled (City’s 95th-minute equaliser yesterday as good as killed Bournemouth’s tilt at a Champions League spot). A point at Chelsea would have rendered Spurs safe, realistically if not mathematically. As it is, however, they’re in harm’s way, two points above West Ham United with everything riding on Matchday 38. Spurs are at home to Everton on Sunday. West Ham host Leeds, who have injuries galore. The east London side have no choice but to go for broke. Tottenham are in that awkward position of being tempted to play for a draw. The reality is that both teams have earned relegation many times over. Both deserve to go down. My money is on West Ham, but it would be very like football for Arsenal to crack the Premier League in the same week their north London neighbours go down. The sport does love a narrative — often the crueller the better. UEFA Europa League final: Freiburg vs Aston Villa, 3pm ET/8pm UK — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo, DAZN, ViX/TNT Sports. There aren’t many more politically charged fixtures than North Korea vs South Korea. Their national football sides rarely meet, and no sports team from the north have competed in the south since 2018. That’s changing today as Suwon, from the South Korean capital Seoul, host Naegohyang Women, from the North Korean capital Pyongyang, in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. Suwon captain Ji So-yun did her bit for diplomacy by saying: “If they kick us then we will kick right back in response”. Excellent. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms