Three straight runner-up finishes had turned into a running joke among rival fans, and another Manchester City masterclass in 2023/24 — losing the title by just two points — left Arsenal supporters wondering if this generation would ever get over the line. The Arsenal 2025/26 Premier League season answered that question emphatically: Mikel Arteta’s side finished top with 85 points, ending a 22-year wait for the trophy and delivering the club’s fourth Premier League title. What follows covers how the title was won, which records fell along the way, and where this squad now sits among Arsenal’s greatest sides.
A tough opening and a slow build
The fixture list didn’t do Arsenal any favors. The campaign opened away at Manchester United on August 17, followed by home games against newly-promoted Leeds United and a trip to Anfield to face defending champions Liverpool — three of the toughest opening assignments possible. Arsenal beat Leeds 5-0 at home in their first Emirates fixture of the season, with Riccardo Calafiori among the scorers in the opening weeks. By Gameweek 13, Arsenal led the table by only five points after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a result that briefly reopened the title race with Manchester City closing in.
The defining stretch: eight games, zero goals conceded
What separated this Arsenal side from previous near-misses was defensive consistency, and nowhere was that clearer than an eight-game unbeaten run without conceding a goal across October and November, spanning all competitions. Arsenal shut out Olympiacos, West Ham, Fulham, Atlético Madrid, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Burnley and Slavia Prague in succession — the first time an English top-flight side had achieved eight consecutive clean sheets in 106 years, with the feat previously managed only by Preston North End in 1889 and Liverpool in 1920.
Arsenal didn’t concede a single penalty or pick up a red card across the entire 2025/26 campaign — a combination no Premier League club had ever managed before.
David Raya and the meanest defense in the league
Arsenal conceded just 27 goals in 38 games, eight fewer than second-placed Manchester City’s 35, comfortably the best defensive record in the division. Goalkeeper David Raya kept 19 clean sheets in 37 appearances — sitting out only the final day — to win the Golden Glove for the third consecutive season, joining Pepe Reina, Joe Hart and Ederson as the only goalkeepers to achieve that run. City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma finished as runner-up with 15 clean sheets in his debut Premier League campaign.
Corners as a weapon
Set pieces became a genuine tactical identity rather than a bonus. Arsenal scored 19 goals from corners during the season, smashing the previous Premier League record of 16, and set pieces produced both their opening goal of the campaign and their final one. Across the entire league season, 18 different Arsenal players found the net excluding own goals — the club’s highest tally of scorers in a title-winning season, ahead of 13 in both 1997/98 and 2001/02.
Attack without a talisman
Unlike most title-winning sides, Arsenal didn’t have a 20-goal striker carrying the team. Viktor Gyökeres finished as the club’s top league scorer with 14 goals in 36 appearances — the joint-second lowest tally by a title-winning side’s top scorer in Premier League history, behind only Frank Lampard’s 13 goals for Chelsea in 2004-05. Compare that to Thierry Henry’s 30 goals during the Invincibles’ 2003/04 title run, and the shift in approach is obvious: this Arsenal team won through distributed goalscoring and defensive control rather than one dominant forward.
Elsewhere in the squad, the summer signing of Martín Zubimendi alongside Declan Rice gave the England international license to push further forward, and Rice finished the season as Arsenal’s highest-rated outfield player with a 7.32 average match rating across all 38 league games.
How the title was won and lost by City
Arsenal were confirmed champions with a game to spare after Manchester City could only draw 1-1 at Bournemouth on May 19, 2026, leaving City four points adrift with one round remaining. Arteta’s side then closed out the campaign with a 2-1 win away at Crystal Palace, lifting the trophy at Selhurst Park. The final winning margin of seven points — 85 to City’s 78 — was the club’s second-biggest title-winning gap, behind only the 11-point margin over Chelsea in the 2003/04 Invincibles season.
Season by the numbers
| Metric | Arsenal 2025/26 | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Final points | 85 | 7 clear of Man City (78) |
| Goals conceded | 27 | Best defense in the league |
| Clean sheets | 19 | David Raya, Golden Glove winner |
| Goals from corners | 19 | New Premier League record |
| Top league scorer | Viktor Gyökeres, 14 goals | 2nd-lowest ever for a champion’s top scorer |
Where this title sits in Arsenal’s history
The 2025/26 crown is Arsenal’s fourth Premier League title and 14th English top-flight championship overall, moving them two clear of Liverpool’s tally in the Premier League era and level in the wider historical count only behind Liverpool and Manchester United, who have each won the English title 20 times. Manchester City finished second on 78 points in what turned out to be Pep Guardiola’s final season in charge at the Etihad, while the Champions League places went to Arsenal, City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool — the fifth spot secured through UEFA’s European Performance criteria. At the other end of the table, West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated, with West Ham’s drop ending a run stretching back to the 2012/13 season.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many points did Arsenal finish with in the 2025/26 Premier League?
Arsenal finished with 85 points, seven points ahead of second-placed Manchester City on 78.
Who was Arsenal’s top scorer in the 2025/26 Premier League season?
Viktor Gyökeres led the club with 14 league goals in 36 appearances — a modest tally for a title-winning side’s top scorer, but one built on a squad where 18 different players scored across the season.
How long had Arsenal gone without winning the Premier League before 2025/26?
Arsenal’s previous title came in the 2003/04 Invincibles season, meaning the 2025/26 triumph ended a 22-year wait.
What records did Arsenal set during the 2025/26 season?
Arsenal set a new Premier League record for goals scored from corners (19), went eight consecutive games without conceding across all competitions — the first such run by an English top-flight club in 106 years — and became the first Premier League team to finish a season without conceding a penalty or receiving a red card.
When was Arsenal confirmed as Premier League champions?
Arsenal secured the title on May 19, 2026, after Manchester City could only draw 1-1 away at Bournemouth, leaving City unable to catch them with one round of fixtures remaining.
Sources: Arsenal.com, SkySports.com/arsenal, Pacz.pl