Odegaard Lifts the Trophy as Arsenal End Their 22-Year Wait
It Happened. Right There. At Selhurst Park.
At approximately 6 pm BST on Sunday, Martin Odegaard stepped forward on a pitch in South London — and raised the Premier League trophy above his head.
Around him, in red and white, stood the players who had earned it. Declan Rice, who had kissed the trophy moments before, his eyes glistening. Bukayo Saka, who had waited his entire career for this. Gabriel Jesus, whose goal had set the afternoon in motion. Noni Madueke. Kepa Arrizabalaga. Mikel Arteta — wearing a “Champions 26” shirt and embracing the Kroenke family with the kind of warmth that only moments like this produce.
Behind them, thousands of Arsenal supporters packed into the away end at Selhurst Park roared as one.
Twenty-two years. Eight thousand and sixty days. Three consecutive runners-up finishes. One Invincibles comparison that had haunted as much as it had inspired.
All of it — every single second of it — ended the moment that trophy went up.
The Guard of Honour. Then the Business.
Before a ball was even kicked, Crystal Palace did something that set the perfect tone for the afternoon.
As Arsenal walked out onto the Selhurst Park pitch for their final match of the 2025-26 Premier League season, the home side formed a guard of honour — every Palace player lined up and applauded the champions as they made their way through.
It was gracious. It was generous. And it drew warm applause from supporters in all four stands.
Arteta had made sweeping changes to his lineup — resting key players ahead of the Champions League final against PSG in Budapest on May 30. Martin Zubimendi started at right-back. Cristhian Mosquera partnered with Christian Norgaard in central defence. Kepa Arrizabalaga started in goal ahead of David Raya.
Arsenal were playing their final Premier League game of the season. Their manager was already thinking six days ahead.
Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal | Match Report
Jesus Breaks the Deadlock (HT)
For much of the first half, it was Crystal Palace who were the sharper side. They pressed high, moved quickly, and created the afternoon’s best early chance — Daniel Munoz bursting into the box before firing a powerful effort towards goal, only for Kepa Arrizabalaga to produce an excellent save.
Arsenal were patient. Composed. Not the relentless pressing machine of their title-winning peak, but a group of players moving through the motions of a match without losing their professionalism for a single second.
Then, late in the first half, Gabriel Jesus — sharp and willing throughout — opened the scoring. A moment of quality from a player who has fought hard to contribute to this title campaign. His goal was set in the afternoon. Arsenal went into the break ahead and in control.
Half-Time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
Madueke Makes It Two (Shortly After HT)
The second goal arrived quickly after the restart — and, fittingly, it came from a set piece.
Noni Madueke converted Arsenal’s second of the afternoon to double the lead and effectively settle any remaining tension. The assist came from a dead-ball situation — a small personal footnote in a game that will be remembered for what followed rather than what happened on the pitch.
Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal
Mateta Gives Palace a Consolation (Late)
Jean-Philippe Mateta — a Palace player who has caused Arsenal problems before — headed home late to make it 1-2 and set up a tense final few minutes.
It was the kind of goal that had thousands of Arsenal supporters briefly gripping the seat in front of them. Not because the title was in danger — it was not, it was already confirmed — but because the brain, after 22 years of waiting, does not easily trust the idea that everything is going to be fine.
It was fine. Arsenal held on. The final whistle blew.
Full-Time: Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
Then Came the Wait. And Then Came the Moment.
Arsenal beat Palace 2-1, but few will remember the game. Only the party.
After the final whistle, Arsenal’s players made their way back to the dressing room. Crystal Palace conducted their end-of-season awards ceremony and a traditional lap of appreciation — Oliver Glasner thanking the supporters warmly and professionally before turning his attention to the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano next Thursday.
The travelling Arsenal supporters waited. Chanting. Singing. Bouncing in the away end with the kind of energy that only comes when you know something extraordinary is about to happen.
Eventually, Gunners staff filtered back onto the pitch. Wearing Arsenal’s white away kit at first. Then, one by one, the players emerged — dressed in the traditional red. “Champions 26” is emblazoned across the back of every shirt. Across the back of Arteta’s shirt, too.
Each player was called up individually to receive their medal. The crowd roared every name.
Declan Rice. Bukayo Saka. Gabriel Jesus. Noni Madueke. Each one kissed the trophy as it sat waiting on its plinth. Each one took a moment. Each one understood exactly what they were touching and what it meant.
The Lift. The Moment. Forever.
Then Martin Odegaard stepped forward.
The Norwegian captain — who has grown from a quiet, technically gifted signing into the beating heart of this Arsenal squad — reached down, wrapped his hands around the base of the Premier League trophy, and raised it into the London sky.
The roar that followed was immediate, enormous, and completely cathartic.
From Declan Rice’s commanding performances to Bukayo Saka’s brilliance and key contributions across the squad, the Gunners celebrated a memorable campaign before their skipper finally raised the trophy into the London sky.
Behind Odegaard, Arteta watched with the expression of a man who has spent six and a half years building something — and just watched it reach its summit. After years of rebuilding and near misses, this title triumph looked especially emotional and rewarding for the Arsenal manager.
In attendance for the momentous occasion were father-and-son ownership duo Stan and Josh Kroenke, who helped guide the club while in full support of Arteta’s on-pitch vision.
Ian Wright — Arsenal legend, the man whose goals lit up Highbury through a different golden era — spoke to the crowd. The connection between what Arsenal was and what Arsenal has now become, drawn in one human line across the generations.
From forever bottlers, to kings of England, for the 14th time in their illustrious history.
What This Title Means — In Numbers and in Feeling
| Stat | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title number | 14th English top-flight championship |
| Last title | 2003-04 — Wenger’s Invincibles |
| Days since last title | 8,060 |
| Arteta’s tenure began | December 2019 |
| Consecutive runners-up | 3 seasons (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) |
| Final league record | W25 D7 L6 |
| Trophy lifted | Selhurst Park, South London, ~6 pm BST |
The Story Behind the Celebration
There is a detail about how Arsenal found out they had won the title on Tuesday night that has already become part of club folklore.
Mikel Arteta was confirmed to be in his garden building a fire when Arsenal clinched the title — a moment that has already become part of the club’s folklore. The Spaniard who arrived in December 2019 inherited a squad in transition, spent six years rebuilding, and won the biggest prize in English domestic football — found out while sitting quietly at home with a fire he had built with his own hands.
It is the most human possible image for a manager who has never tried to be anything other than real.
The players found out together — gathered at the training ground, watching City’s draw at Bournemouth on screens, erupting the moment the full-time whistle blew. The scenes went viral within minutes.
Street celebrations began across north London that same evening. Arsenal supporters who had waited all their adult lives poured onto the streets of Islington, Highbury, and beyond.
After the impromptu street gatherings in north London and Arsenal’s own in-house watch-along party at their training ground on Tuesday, finally, the club came together as one to lift the trophy away at Crystal Palace.
Sunday was the formal moment. But the celebration had already begun days earlier — and it will continue long into the summer.
The Detail That Made Everyone Smile
Arsenal were forced to wear their white away kit for the match itself — because Crystal Palace play in red and blue, and a kit clash would have been unavoidable.
But before coming back out for the trophy lift, Arsenal’s players returned to the dressing room to swap their away attire for the club’s primary colours — ensuring that all official photography and the iconic images of the trophy lift would feature the club’s trademark red and white aesthetic rather than an alternative strip.
It is a small thing. But it is the kind of small thing that matters.
The images of Odegaard lifting the trophy will be in red and white. The way it should be. The way it always should have been.
What Comes Next: Budapest and PSG
Sunday was not the end of Arsenal’s season. It was the penultimate act.
Six days from now — on Saturday, May 30 — Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Win that, and Mikel Arteta delivers the Premier League and the Champions League in the same season. The domestic and European double. The greatest campaign in Arsenal’s modern history. Possibly the greatest in the club’s history altogether.
Arteta has already made clear that Sunday’s celebrations will be kept in balance with focus. The squad knows what is coming. The squad is ready.
But first — let Sunday be Sunday.
A Word for the Fans Who Waited
This section is for the Arsenal supporter who watched the Invincibles lift the trophy in 2004 and has been waiting ever since.
The one who was there when City took the title on goal difference in 2012. The one who saw Liverpool win it in 2020 and wondered if it would ever be Arsenal’s turn again. The one who watched the three consecutive runners-up finishes with a familiar, aching feeling.
The one who kept buying the shirt. Kept singing the songs. Kept showing up.
The celebration police had no jurisdiction at Selhurst Park on Sunday. And they had no jurisdiction in the streets of north London on Tuesday night either.
This is yours. All of it. Every cheer and every trophy.
Arsenal are the champions of England.
Finally, completely, undeniably — champions.
