Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy: Why Mikel Arteta's side are worthy champions despite criticism over style of play

A moment of joy. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard got his hands on the Premier League trophy and lifted it in scenes that will define a generation and an era for the football club.

All season, fans, pundits, analysts and experts have put in their tuppence about Mikel Arteta's side this season.

Their style of play has been branded "unwatchable", they have been given the tag 'Set-Piece FC' - yet none of that matters when you get your hands on the trophy.

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Arsenal have faced their so-called critics despite being consistently top of the table since October.

Earlier this year, Paul Scholes said they would be the "worst Premier League title winners ever". The notion that Arsenal do not have a clear enough 'Premier League Player of the Season' winner has been used as a stick to bash the Gunners with.

It follows criticism throughout the season about their style - the comments made by Fabian Hurzeler about Arsenal's time-wasting in March appearing to be the height of those complaints. Arteta sarcastically responded: "What a surprise" - a sign he was getting fed up of the criticism of his team.

Even in the days since their title win was confirmed, there have been plenty of comments on social media about how 'VARsenal' won the title due to fortunate refereeing decisions.

It included Liverpool head coach Arne Slot having a thinly-veiled dig at Arteta's Arsenal this week. "Congratulations to them," he said. "But for me they have been a different champion to the last 10 seasons. It is the first time in 30 years that 40 per cent of goals had come from set-pieces."

None of that will matter to Arteta, his players and staff - nor the Arsenal supporters whose title celebrations will carry on all summer.

Yes, they did not always show the attacking verve of Manchester City, or have the crucial goalscorer at the top of the Golden Boot rankings. But they did enough in front of goal to win the league - especially when criticism about their style of play has not totally been their own fault.

All season, opposition teams have gone - or dropped - to huge lengths to stop Arsenal getting their way in the final third.

The numbers help show how guarded opposition teams have been against Arsenal. This season, Arsenal have taken the most open-play shots in the Premier League where the opposition has nine or more players in the penalty box at the time.

Even Manchester City were forced into this approach. The Gunners forced them into a low block, a back five and a record-low 33.2 per cent possession when Pep Guardiola's team came to the Emirates in September.

And what happens if you open up against Arsenal? The Champions League is a good example of that. Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid have all tried to play 'their way' against Arsenal, and all of them lost.

Those players in the penalty area have not been able to stop the Gunners - they have scored 12 goals from those open-play 112 shots, which is also the most in the league. The last of those goals was Leandro Trossard's vital winner away at West Ham, arguably the most pivotal goal Arsenal scored on the way to the title.

That Trossard goal came via the skill of Odegaard filtering through the bodies and creating space for the Belgian. The Arsenal captain - so vital to the team's creativity and attacking cohesion - has played 45 minutes or more just 12 times in the league this season.

If Arsenal had had Odegaard fit for more games, perhaps their attacking numbers would be higher. And the point on the Norwegian can also be spread on a wider level.

Arsenal have struggled for attacking cohesion due to injuries hampering the team. The longest run of matches an Arsenal front four has managed in all competitions all season is three. Arsenal's most successful front three of Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres and Trossard - which is yet to lose a league game in which all three have started - have begun on the pitch together just 14 times out of 38 matches.

This week, Arteta even referenced two key periods when he thought the title was nearly lost. "One was before Christmas when we had the frontline with a lot of injuries.

"And then in the international break in March" - which was when Arsenal saw a lot of players withdraw from international duty due to injury, including Saka who was ruled out for a month.

With so much attacking fluency lost due to injuries, why shouldn't Arsenal look for every possible marginal gains in other areas?

"I don't think you have to be very smart," Arteta added, addressing this issue about style of play. "Can we score 100 goals? Today? With the resources that we have, the players that have been out? The answer is no.

"Can a player score 35 goals? No. So how are we going to win 40-odd games to achieve what we want?

"That's our biggest strength. This [skill] we need to be the best in the world at this. And the other ones, we have to be very close to be the best in the world. Only with that [original skill], we're not going to do it. our biggest strength, if we do that - the probability of winning the game is so high."

Arteta here could be talking about defensive solidity, but he could also be talking about set-pieces - with the Gunners being branded 'Set-Piece FC' as another criticism, even though they have set new dead-ball records this season.

It includes claims that their 'grappling' and 'shoving' at corners is a form of cheating, although it is hard to bash a team for being 'dirty' via tricks when that same side is the only Premier League team without a red card or a penalty conceded to their name all season.

Of course, some will not sympathise with Arsenal. Their critics will remain. But what Arteta's side have done is win this Premier League title in a classic Arsenal way.

'One-nil' to the Arsenal is seeped into the recent history of the club and that scoreline has been prominent this season.

The Gunners have won by that scoreline seven times - the only result to happen more frequently in the Premier League this season than Arsenal winning 1-0 is Man City winning 3-0.

This harks back to George Graham's time at the club. It created a frustration among opposition and neutral supporters - once Arsenal went 1-0 in front, there was an acceptance that they would win the game.

Just like with corners and defensive solidity, is that a fair stick to beat this current Arsenal with? Or rather, should that be praised?

After all, since losing back-to-back games against Bournemouth and Manchester City in April, no team has scored against Arsenal from open play. That is a run of six games that has included two Champions League semi-finals and matches to see out the title.

A line that is often quoted at this time of year is 'attacks win you games, defence wins you titles'. Arsenal are living proof of that.

Arsenal are not the best Premier League title winners in history. Of course they aren't. But they are not claiming to be.

One of the biggest criticisms thrown at Arteta's Arsenal in recent years is their inability to get over the line. Now they have.

Right now, they are the best team in the country. Their undefeated Champions League campaign and final, when other English teams fell so easily without a fight in this season's competition, is another example of that.

So should they care what the critics think? Absolutely not.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy: Why Mikel Arteta's side are worthy champions despite criticism over style of play