Arsenal players celebrate outside Emirates at 5am after ending 22-year title wait

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Arsenal players were spotted celebrating outside Emirates Stadium at 5:00 BST on Wednesday morning as the club’s title celebrations extended into the early hours, marking their first Premier League triumph in 22 years.

Eberechi Eze shared pictures on Instagram of himself alongside Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber standing outside the north London stadium in the early hours. The scenes captured the raw emotion and relief of finally securing the title that had eluded the club since the Invincibles season of 2003-04.

Trophy celebration videos emerge

Dutch defender Timber posted a video alongside Saka at the club’s training ground, standing by a specially designed blacked-out Premier League trophy that was programmed to light up once Arsenal secured the title.

“Light that up,” Saka says in the footage. “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.”

Academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly, just 19, also featured in the celebrations. Holding a champagne bottle, the defender made reference to years of criticism: “They called us bottlers. And now we’re holding the bottle.”

Club legends and fans react

The title was confirmed when Manchester City could only draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side could no longer catch Arsenal at the top of the table. The moment sparked wild celebrations across north London, with fans gathering outside the Emirates and in nearby pubs.

Arsenal record goalscorer Thierry Henry wrote on Instagram: “Special thanks to this generation – finally now my kids saw us winning the league.” Club legend Ian Wright was mobbed by supporters as he celebrated outside the Emirates.

The triumph comes in Mikel Arteta’s seventh season in charge, underlining the value of giving a manager time to build his vision. Arsenal had finished second in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons before finally getting over the line.

Captain Declan Rice, who last month insisted “it’s not done” after a defeat to City, posted a picture of the celebrations with the simple caption: “It’s done.”

The club will hold a trophy parade around Islington on Sunday, May 31 at 14:00 BST. The timing is particularly poignant, coming the day after Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest, keeping alive hopes of a historic double.