Anatomy of Arsenal's title win - Six defining moments that delivered the first Premier League title in 22 years

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Arsenal are Premier League champions. Mikel Arteta's team had their resilience and ruthlessness tested to the limit at times, but after 22 years of waiting, they have done it.

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For the first time since 2004, The Gunners have won the league title, beating Manchester City to top spot after Pep Guardiola's side drew 1-1 away to Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

Arsenal’s success has been built on their defensive stability, while several summer signings have also played key roles in their first seasons.

There have also been setbacks along the way but Arteta’s side have recovered and got over the line.

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We look back at some of the key moments on Arsenal’s road to winning the Premier League title.

Summer spending pays off

While Liverpool were the biggest spenders of last summer’s transfer window, Arsenal were not far behind.

The Gunners splashed a reported £267 million on eight new signings and almost all have contributed to the title-winning campaign.

Viktor Gyokeres has maybe not been the perfect fix to the striker problem, but he has still netted 21 goals, while Martin Zubimendi is the only outfield player to have featured in all 37 Premier League games for Arsenal this season.

Eberechi Eze has scored some important goals, including winners against Crystal Palace and Newcastle, and FIVE in two games against Tottenham.

Cristhian Mosquera has provided good depth in defence and Noni Madueke has had his moments. Christian Norgaard is the only signing not to have contributed much - he has only played a handful of minutes in the Premier League.

Raya’s brilliance

Arsenal’s defence, marshalled by the formidable central partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba, will rightfully take plenty of the plaudits for their title win.

Across Europe’s big-five leagues this season, Arsenal have allowed opponents the fewest shots per game (8.1), shots on target per game (2.4), and xG per game (0.74).

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But goalkeeper David Raya has a serious case to be named Arsenal’s player of the season.

Raya has notched up 19 clean sheets in 37 appearances and has produced several highlight-reel, match-winning saves.

They include a superb diving stop to deny Brighton's Yankuba Minteh in a 2-1 victory in December, a 92nd-minute save in a 2-1 win over Chelsea, and most recently a close-range block to keep out West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes late in the game with the scores level.

”The moments that he has produced are incredible,” acknowledged Arteta recently.

Showing bottle after Man City loss

When Arsenal lost to Manchester City on April 19, the title race looked to be back on.

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The result saw Man City close the gap on Arsenal to three points, with a game in hand.

But for those fearing that Arsenal might lose their bottle, they have done exactly the opposite.

Since losing to Man City, Arsenal have won all four of their Premier League matches without conceding a goal. They are the only side in the league to take maximum points over the period, with Man City faltering by dropping points against Everton.

Was it just a coincidence that after the win over Burnley, Arteta was spotted drinking from the same bottle that was used by a Man City fan to troll his side?

Thumping win over Spurs

The pressure was on Arsenal when they faced Tottenham for the second time this season in February.

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Arsenal had dropped points in their previous two matches, drawing against Brentford and then blowing a two-goal lead to draw against Wolves.

And with new head coach Igor Tudor in the dugout for the first time, it was expected that Spurs might give their north London rivals a tough test.

The game itself wasn’t without a setback as Arsenal conceded almost immediately after taking the lead.

But Arsenal showed their class with three goals in the second half to pull away and beat Spurs 4-1 for the second time this season.

"It feels like we showed what we are made of," Arteta said after the match.

Man City blow it at Everton

Jeremy Doku has been one of Manchester City's standout players this season and the winger scored twice - including a 97th-minute equaliser - to rescue a point for Guardiola's men at Everton in a 3-3 draw.

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Erling Haaland also scored in the 83rd minute as the away side fought back from 3-1 down, but while it showed some impressive team spirit to come back from two goals down, the damage was done in the title race.

Those two points would have Manchester City on 79 going into their game on Tuesday night against, meaning a win at the Vitality Stadium would have had them level with Arsenal.

Given Arsenal have form for collapsing under pressure in title races, that might have added a new, nervy dimension to the title run-in.

Instead, it has given Arteta’s side a boost, with their slight cushion taking the edge off their remaining fixtures and allowing them to grind out their wins.

After the game, it was clear that Guardiola knew that it was no longer his side’s title to win, as he said: "It's not in our hands. Before it was, now it's not. We have games left. We will see what happens."

Arsenal hold their nerve against Burnley

The pressure was on Arsenal on MondaywWhen they welcomed Burnley to the Emirates knowing three points would keep them in control of their title push.

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Arsenal rode their luck. While Kai Havertz scored just his second league goal of the season, he was fortunate not to have been sent off after a VAR review on his challenge on Lesley Ugochukwu, and that could have invited some serious late pressure.

That single strike was sufficient for all three points, and put them on the cusp of glory, with a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest, Hungary, still to play, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Speaking after the game, Declan Rice refused to take anything for granted when asked about some fans believing the title was all but won.

He said: "Don't say it like that. Jesus. I know how football works. There is a game that is on tomorrow. Anything could happen in that. We can't get ahead of ourselves. I've played in the Premier League for too long to know that things can happen. The only thing we can control is ourselves, going out there on Sunday and winning that match. That is all we want. We know what is at stake for this club.”

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