With billionaire owner Stan Kroenke watching on, Arsenal鈥檚 players finally got their hands on the as they lifted the biggest prize in English soccer to the backdrop of tickertape and fireworks on Sunday.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard looked up to the sky and back down at the trophy, shaking his head in disbelief, before walking in front of his celebrating teammates and lifting it aloft inside Selhurst Park after a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
a first English league title since 2004 with a game to spare in midweek, .
Kroenke made his way to London for the trophy lift and watched the game against Palace next to his son, Josh. About an hour after the game finished, they walked out onto the field with the trophy ahead of the ceremony.
It marked the latest success in Kroenke鈥檚 sporting empire. The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Championship in 2023, a year after the LA Rams won the Super Bowl and Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in NHL. All three of those teams are in the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment portfolio that also now includes the best soccer team in England.
Josh Kroenke, Arsenal’s co-chairman, said his family is invested 鈥渆motionally, financially, everything.鈥�
鈥淭his club means the world to us,鈥� he told Sky Sports. “I think it took a few people a few years to understand what that meant but now we鈥檝e some great people, great players and great coaches.
鈥淲e鈥檝e just got to continue providing them the resources to go out and do magical things like they did this season.鈥�
He described the Premier League as a 鈥渟lower burn than our championships in the United States.鈥�
鈥淗ere, the cumulative points 鈥� it’s a grind and you start to feel it in December,鈥� he said. 鈥淐redit to our players, the staff, and Mikel for keeping their heads on. They deserve it.鈥�
For Sunday’s big occasion, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his players wore the team鈥檚 classic red-and-white jersey with 鈥淐hampions 2026鈥� on the back. Arteta was thrown up in the air by the squad in joyous scenes.
The season could get even better for Arsenal, which also has reached the Champions League final for the . Paris Saint-Germain will be the opponent in Budapest, Hungary, next Saturday.
鈥淲e鈥檝e achieved one of our goals but we have several others as well,” Josh Kroenke said. “There is still one to be played for next weekend. Today is about enjoying today 鈥� tomorrow, we will get back to work because there is still one more to play.鈥�
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