Saka to critics: ‘They’re not laughing any more’ after Arsenal title win

Arsenal celebrated their first Premier League title in 22 years on Tuesday as a jubilant Bukayo Saka hit back at the club’s critics, declaring: “They’re not laughing at us any more.”

The Gunners secured their championship, their first since 2004, after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, a result that guaranteed Arsenal the title with two matches to spare.

Wild scenes erupted at Arsenal’s London Colney training base, where players and staff gathered to watch City’s draw, and outside the Emirates Stadium, where thousands of fans lit fireworks and flares to toast the club’s success. Ian Wright, the former Arsenal striker who scored 185 goals and won the title in 1998, joined the party and was mobbed by supporters.

Arsenal, who had finished as runners-up for the previous three seasons, faced accusations of “bottling” their title push after a 19 April loss at City. But City subsequently drew with Everton and Bournemouth, while Arsenal bounced back with four consecutive wins without conceding a goal to finish top of the table.

Mikel Arteta, who rejoined the club as manager in December 2019 when Arsenal were in disarray, had installed a blacked-out Premier League trophy at the training base that would light up only when the club became champions.

“Light that up,” Saka said in footage posted by teammate Jurriën Timber on Instagram. “Let me tell you something. Twenty-two years, 22 years. There was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing any more. Look, it is going to be shining, it is going to be shining bright.”

In another Instagram story, on Saka’s channel, Myles Lewis-Skelly appeared holding a champagne bottle. “They called us bottlers,” Lewis-Skelly said. “And now we’re holding the bottle.”

Some players took their celebration to the Emirates Stadium, with Eberechi Eze posting a picture on Instagram alongside Declan Rice, Timber and Saka in the early hours of Wednesday. Eze’s three slides included a photo of an Arsenal-branded bottle, another jibe at the club’s detractors.