Champions!!

Morning all.

Remember that day, deadline day in 2011. Brazilian left back André Santos, German centre back Per Mertesacker, Israeli attacking midfielder Yossi Benayoun and Spanish central midfielder Mikel Arteta joined the club. It screamed of “panic” back then and to be fair, it probably was. Park Chu-Young, Joel Campbell, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Ryo Miyaichi and Carl Jenkinson had already joined the club but a hefty defeat by Man Utd led to a busy deadline day.

Looking at that list of players, only Mertesacker, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arteta had what I would call a decent Arsenal career during what was a funny old time for the club, and I don’t mean funny ha ha. Top four and the odd FA Cup was as good as it got.

In 2016, Mikel Arteta said goodbye to his playing career and to Arsenal Football Club as off he went to Man City to be Pep Guardiola’s right hand man. To say he was emotional after his last match would be an understatement.

Well, just three years later, Mikel Arteta said hello to Arsenal Football Club once more, only this time, he was manager and here we are in May 2026……

To suggest we here on HH always agree with what Mikel Arteta does or indeed doesn’t do would be a lie, heck we don’t always agree with each other but no one tends to go over the top. It’s simply not what this place is about. Life will always throw up disagreement or as I prefer to call it, debate and quite honestly, the world would be a boring place if it didn’t.

I think one of the hardest things to recognise in football, certainly when talking about our own club, is why Arteta or indeed the players do some of the things they do. They know of course but we don’t and that’s what can be frustrating. I know I’ve flip flopped in my opinion of Mikel Arteta and a number of players more time than Kier Starmer has in number 10 but that’s what the game does to us. One minute we are brilliant, the next, bang average and it’s frustrating.

“Trust the process” we were told but who knew what that process was other than those within the club. Well, that process has brought us to where we are today and I should add, after the first time of having a strong and deep squad under Mikel Arteta. A novice at this management malarkey when he joined Arsenal for a second time.

For the last few years, barring last, the Premier League title battle has been between Man City and Arsenal. In January, no doubt knowing this campaign was looking more challenging, City went out and spent around £90m, something very few other clubs could afford to do but what’s staggering is that they could do this whilst being under investigation for breaching PL rules. Meanwhile, other league clubs have been punished for over spending by either being docked points or receiving a hefty fine. Where’s the fairness in that? Perhaps Guardiola knows what’s coming and wants to get out before the punishment lands.

Arsenal have been no strangers to spending money over the last few years but as said previously, only last summer did Mikel Arteta have strength as well as depth in that strength.

Now, that process we were asked to trust in has produced a Premier League trophy. The big one we have all craved for so long. Right now, the stress, the pain, the emotional rollercoaster we’ve all been through can be put to one side because over the ten months, we’ve done better than any other club in the league.

Congratulations Mikel Arteta, his staff and the players. Congratulations to The Arsenal, 2025/26 Premier League Champions.

Happy Days….