Bukayo Saka has mocked critics following Arsenal’s Premier League triumph, speaking in the aftermath of a long night of celebrations at the Emirates Stadium after the club ended a 22-year wait for the title.
Arsenal players were pictured outside the stadium at midnight as celebrations continued into the early hours, with Eberechi Eze among those sharing images on Instagram alongside Declan Rice, Saka and Jurrien Timber.
Timber also posted a video featuring Saka beside a blacked-out Premier League trophy at the club’s training ground, designed to light up once Arsenal were confirmed champions.
Saka said, “Light that up. Let me tell you something. Twenty-two years, 22 years. There was laughing, there was joking, they’re not laughing anymore. Look, it is going to be shining, it is going to be shining bright.”
The tone of defiance continued across the squad’s celebrations, with Myles Lewis-Skelly appearing in another clip posted by Saka, holding a champagne bottle and responding directly to criticism of the team.
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“They called us bottlers,” said academy graduate Lewis-Skelly. “And now we’re holding the bottle.”
Eze’s Instagram post also included an Arsenal-branded bottle, a reference to long-running criticism of the side after three consecutive second-place finishes. At the same time, Captain Martin Odegaard was seen in a separate story with a bottle in his mouth.
Former Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, also joined the celebrations online, writing, “Special thanks to this generation – finally now my kids saw us winning the league”.
The title was confirmed after Manchester City failed to beat Bournemouth on Tuesday night, sparking scenes of celebration among fans across north London and inside the club’s training ground.
Supporters gathered outside the Emirates as the final whistle came in, while players and staff later joined in chanting: “Campeones, Campeones, Ole Ole Ole!”
The win comes in Mikel Arteta’s seventh season in charge, a period widely credited with rebuilding the squad and delivering the long-awaited breakthrough.
“Give a good manager time? There’s the proof,” former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson said.
