How Mikel Arteta banished the banter era to bring glory back to Arsenal

After a few minutes of hugging and celebrating at London Colney on Tuesday, when Arsenal had finally been confirmed as champions again , the players just let go. There had already been a few guttural roars from the pure relief of winning. They then all jumped into the swimming pool.

Bukayo Saka of course had an inflatable, if not this time a unicorn . Some older staff members were chuckling that this was rather different to how the Premier League -winning squad of 1998 to 2004 celebrated. The point, however, was that they were actually celebrating again.

The players did end up going to a club in central London. They’ve very much come of age in other ways, but so has the manager. Mikel Arteta’s obsession over detail paid dividends in the end (Reuters) Some of the popular jibes about Mikel Arteta won’t work any more.

And the story of Arsenal’s 14th title is really the story of how their former captain, through a deliberate long-term plan, turned the club from a joke to a serious team again. He ended Arsenal’s “banter era”. If Arteta himself can often seem overly serious, too, those who know the 44-year-old stress that one point should always be acknowledged: he is a phenomenally hard worker.