Mikel Arteta has set a new milestone in the history of English professional football.
Arsenal secured the title on the 20th (Korea time) after second-place Manchester City (hereinafter Man City) drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, making the remaining match results irrelevant. Arsenal finished with 25 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses, totaling 82 points, surpassing Man City (23 wins, 9 draws and 5 losses, 78 points).
Arsenal's league title is the first since the 2003-2004 season during the "King" Thierry Henry era. It returned to the top after a full 22 years since the club went unbeaten to win the title under Arsène Wenger in the so-called "invincible" season. The club's total number of league titles reached 14.
Arteta became the first person to rise to a managerial position and win the title after having been a Premier League player. Since the Premier League began in the 1992-1993 season, many great managers have reached the top, but none had played as a Premier League player during their active careers.
As a player, Arteta played for Everton from 2005 to 2011. After that he appeared in 110 matches for Arsenal until 2016, scoring 14 goals. He experienced the Premier League title as a manager, something he did not achieve as a player.
Having become a coach, Arteta ultimately completed the special feat of bringing his former club Arsenal back to the top. Arsenal also returned to the top of the league for the first time in 22 years since the invincible season of 2003-2004. The manager who led the team then was Arsène Wenger.
At 44 years and 54 days old, Arteta also became the third-youngest manager to win the Premier League in history. The first and second spots in this category are both held by José Mourinho. Mourinho led Chelsea to the title in the 2004-2005 season at the age of 42 years and 94 days, and he won the title again the following season at 43 years and 93 days.
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