James de Ste Croix

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

Bukayo Saka recreated the pic from 2020 when you posted: “You deserve more, Arsenal fans”.

…and he delivered. ❤️🤍🏆

[Arsenal Gentleman @ArsenalGent]

Bottlers.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Arsenal are Premier League champions and they thoroughly deserve to be. They’ve waited so long for this, they’ve worked so hard for this, withstood so much frustration and so many jibes. They’ve put up with 22 years of title hurt, going close, drifting back, fighting back, building the squad, building the team, building the momentum. Believing in the process, believing in Mikel Arteta. And now, to the Gunners, the glory.

So much praise is due Arteta, for gradually shaping this team, for turning them into champions. The football his team plays is not the most breath-taking Arsenal have ever produced, certainly not in the creative class of Arsene Wenger’s champions. Arsenal need to become more expansive. Arteta's artists, one day. It’s not been a great season in the league for quality but it’s certainly been good for the league to have different champions for a change.

For Arsenal, this was about getting over the line and, helped by Nicolas Jover’s honours degree in the set-piece arts from the college of cunning, they did. They also got away with plenty of grappling in getting their grip on the title trophy. Manchester City, a more attractive side, pushed them close but Arsenal showed their resilience. One-nil to the mindset.

And glory for Declan Rice, the best player in the Premier League, the player who defined the destiny of the title with his driving runs, leadership without needing the armband, shielding the back-four, covering back, and also starting attacks from the back. Rice received this reporter's vote for FWA Footballer of the Year, and last night's immense display against Burnley showed why. This title win showed why. The game is about glory.

Glory, too, for Arsenal’s strong spine of David Raya, Gabriel, Rice and Viktor Gyokeres. Glory for Hale End, producing so much talent, not least the wonderful Bukayo Saka. And credit to the Arsenal board who backed Arteta when so many questioned him. Backed him with words of support. Backed him with players, and with time and patience.

And, finally, joy to the fans. When Arteta called on them to greet the coach, to raise the roof, to carry the team home, they delivered. A party 22 years in the making has now broken out, Arsenal fans taking to the streets around the Emirates to celebrate. They are worthy champions. #AFC

[James de Ste Croix @Jimbodsc]

@elspanishgooner @Mo_Arsenal9 Vic is shit in the air. Old money Heskey for a big man.

[Stiff FC @Stiff_FC]

Rival fans use Arsenal hate as a distraction from how terribly their club is doing…

> United have just played their shortest season in 111 years. No European football. Knocked out of every cup in round 1. The only club to gift Tottenham a trophy in the past 20 years.

> Chelsea sacked their cup winning manager, for some BlueCo ‘company man’ fraud that’s just lost 3 on the trot in the hunt for Europe. Half of their best players just went on a mid-season press run criticising the club and flirting with Madrid. Looking set for another season in the Europa Conference League. Seems fitting for a manager of Roseniors calibre.

>Liverpool spent 500m and somehow got worse. Officially the worst Premier League title defence of all time. Had Slot criticise the rest of the league for being ‘anti-football’ and then adopted the very same tactics weeks later because he ironically couldn’t ‘buy’ a win. Salah’s leaving. Robertson’s leaving. But hey, if FSG want another season of Slot ball, at least he might win you a Europa League.

> and Tottenham… I don’t even need to explain it. But I will. Won a cup. Instantly sacked the man that did it. Hired 3 different managers. Fans didn’t want any of them. All have failed miserably. No wins since December. Now 18th in the league. Spent 2 years fighting relegation. Medical staff working against them. Romero is somehow their captain, yet he actively tries to get sent off every game. Genuinely embarrassing.

So actually when I think about it. No wonder you lot just end up supporting Man City every week. Despite the fact that they are the most fraudulent team in the league, still facing 115 charges, and they dunk on your team at every given opportunity. I guess anything is better than supporting your own washed club. 👍

[Not Your Average Liberal @NotAvgLiberal]

The Reason America is at War.

Happy Easter MAGA.

[EBL @EBL2017]

I am beyond calm about Arsenal from here until the end of the season.

Last night's emotional outburst from the masses was predictable, but also predictably illogical.

In moments like this, true analysts comes to the fore and the weak are separated from the chaff. The charlatan's reveal themselves in broad daylight. Unfortunately, they take up 99.9% of the population.

Anybody who complained about Arteta's system, the balance, certain players not succeeding because of the coach, or even those complaining about certain individuals not being up to par are almost all completely mistaken.

We learnt nothing new about Arsenal last night. Not one thing. From a tactical or player-based point of view.

The reality of the situation is that Arsenal came up against the most in-form team in England and played a rotated team due to injuries. This is not an excuse, as Arsenal should still be beating Southampton, but losing to them becomes less of a surprise when considering the context.

Arteta's selection was incredibly balanced. I only saw one other analyst on this platform say this, and he is correct. Completely. Yet he is being 'dragged' for it. The first half performance proved that to be entirely correct, too. Arsenal were dominant against a Southampton team who didn't press.

However, Southampton did have some moments. Why? Because Mosquera, White, and Gabriel all made unforced individual errors which negatively impacted the flow of the game. That's football, and it can happen, but it certainly happened far too often last night which made the game basketball-y.

Then, as the game wore on, Arsenal got weaker due to their injury situation. It was 1-1 at the time and Arsenal had Dowman in the #10 - a role that is instrumental to organising Arsenal's press and exerting control on the game. As good as Dowman is going forwards, his non-existent attempt at a counter-press for the first goal conceded, lack of defensive intensity, and immaturity to organise the press is why he will only be used as a wildcard late on in games against deep-lying defences or when Arsenal need a goal. Right now, he is a total passenger defensively.

Then, to make matters worse, Gabriel came off injured and Havertz came off as well (no doubt to manage his load). Arsenal were simply not as well co-ordinated as they typically are defensively as a consequence of these factors all taken together. Arteta picked a rotated team which got weaker as the game went on.

The second goal summed up their issues. Southampton kicked long from a goal kick down Mosquera's side, he failed to win the initial aerial duel, and instead of Arsenal having one of Rice, Merino, or Havertz to compete for the second ball on the left, they had Zubimendi, who also failed to win the duel. From here, Southampton scored in transition.

Would that have happened if Arsenal didn't have injuries or need to rest Gabriel, Rice, Merino, or Havertz? No. But it did happen, and knockout football is ruthless. One loss and you're out.

But does a rotated and injury-hit Arsenal team losing to Southampton mean that the club are in crisis mode? Or that the system is fundamentally broken? Or that there is genuine concern over the Premier League title race or the Champions League situation?

Not to any attentive viewer, no, and here's why:

In the Carabao Cup final, City surprised Arsenal tactically. Mikel and his staff should have come up with solutions at half-time, but they did not. Players also could have helped on the day, sure, but they suffered too.

But, like I said at the time, would Arsenal rather be surprised tactically in the Carabao Cup final or in the league game against City? The answer is so obviously in the cup final.

Now, when the league game comes around, Arsenal will be prepared to face that likely City set-up. Trust me on that.

Plus, despite losing to Southampton, the balance in the team was excellent. We saw that in the first half. Just because individual errors and a weakened performance as the game went on may skew that notion does not mean that Arteta's system is flawed or that any individuals are not up to par or anything ridiculous like that. Remember, none of Raya, Timber, Saliba, Hincapié, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, and Gyökeres started. That is quite literally Arsenal's XI outside of Gabriel, and he came off injured too!

Realistically, the argument being thrown about regarding the defeat to Southampton is that because Arsenal's second string XI lost, the entire season is in jeopardy.

I mean… come on! What a lot of nonsense!

Remove emotion from the situation. Zoom out. Realise that Arsenal are 9 points clear in the Premier League with 7 games to play. City have a game in hand, sure, but that game in hand is against Chelsea away. Plus, Arsenal have to play first in the Premier League against Bournemouth at home, giving them the opportunity to extend the lead to 12 points with 6 games to go.

Arsenal are also in the quarter finals of the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon. The weakest team left in the competition.

If you said this was the situation to any Arsenal fan at the start of the season, they would have bitten your hand off for it, and rightly so.

Plus, I don't buy into the notion that Arsenal are in bad form as they enter the business end of the season. What a whole load of contextless nonsense that is.

City sprung a tactical surprise in the final. Arsenal will be better prepared for the league game. Plus, against Southampton, Arsenal played their second string XI. They are one off occurrences.

The only legitimate concern Arsenal have at this point is their injury situation. The likes of Timber, Gabriel, Hincapié, Rice, Saka, and Trossard are key figures who Arsenal need to be fit and firing to see out the season.

Plus, knowing the freakish nature of these guys, I don't expect them to miss too much football from here on out. They are almost all athletic freaks and mental giants.

Outside of that, I couldn't be more calm and confident about the situation.

Plus, on a personal level, last night revealed that my mission on this platform is far from complete. I still have so much work to do to educate the masses. So, so much work.

I feel outnumbered in this moment, but I will not waver. I never have. Not since 2017. And I am not about to start now.

Signing out,
EBL.

[Bielsista @pedroelchileno]

Event date: February 24th, sanction date: March 6th

Rodri event date: February 1st, sanction day: 34 days and counting

One speed for every other team, one special speed for City.

It’s the same as the 115 charges. You have dozens of sanctioned teams that happened after the accusations while we still don’t have an answer from that.

It’s embarrassing for the FA and the league.

[Adam @AdamJoseph]

Just a reminder that Rodri was charged with misconduct by the FA on February 13th. He has now played in seven games for City since his post Tottenham tirade, six of which were victories.

How is the world's best league in its biggest sport so incompetently run? This is farcical.

[EMDG @EmanDaGoon]

Contender for Arsenal video of the year, holy shit 🔥🔥

[LE GROVE @LeGrove]

For your Arsenal mate melting down about the club after a draw.

Extended our lead at the top of the Premier League. Improved our goal difference.
Zero shots conceded.
Just poor in front of goal.

Top of the Champions League.
7 clear in Premier League.
Won the semi of the League Cup.
Into the next round of the FA Cup.

Second for big chance creation in the league.
Third for shots per game.
Second for goals.
Second for xG.
Best defence in EPL & CL.

All this without a player with more than 5 PL goals, with no player hitting double digits for all comps.

Quite decent. Room to improve. But Arsenal are brilliant.

[BBC Sport @BBCSport]

"Our superhero friend" ❤️

@andy_murray , @LauraKenny31 , and @JasonKenny107 recall the moment Sir @chrishoy told them about his terminal cancer diagnosis.

▶️ Watch Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage & Me on Thursday, 18 December at 21:00 GMT on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

[Prime Video Sport UK @primevideosport]

Mikel Merino has more goal contributions for club and country in 2025 than some of the most valuable midfielders in the Premier League ⚽️🅰️🔥

[Samuel Luckhurst @samuelluckhurst]

Boos at FT. Utterly uninspiring from #mufc. Amorim's changes to the starting XI didn't work but worse than that were his subs. Opting for four defensive subs in the second half against 18th-placed side at home is inexcusable.

[EPL Bible @EPLBible]

This is absurd.

A league of their own. 😳

[Oliver Holt @OllieHolt22]

Decent

[Football Talk @FootballTalkHQ]

The beauty of this Arsenal video 😍

It's art ❤️

[The Different Knock 🏆 @DiffKnock]

Sack him

[James de Ste Croix @Jimbodsc]

Am I decades late to peanut butter and marmite?? Pengest munch.

[James de Ste Croix @Jimbodsc]

FPL. Literally. Why do I bother 😂