They Mocked Us For 22 years… Not Anymore, Says Saka As Arsenal Win EPL Title

ENGLAND international and Arsenal Football Club player, Bukayo Saka, heaved a long-awaited sigh of relief on Tuesday night, May 19, and slammed the club’s hecklers after it won the English Premier League (EPL) title.
The Gunners were confirmed champions of England after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, a stumble that handed Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead, with just one match remaining in the season.
It was Arsenal’s win of the EPL title for the first time in 22 years since the side won it in the 2003/04 season.
It was a tense wait as Arsenal players stayed behind at the club’s training centre, where a watch party was held for City’s match.
Speaking after the title confirmation, 24-year-old Saka recalled that the club’s fans had endured insults and mockery for 22 years.
The English international of Nigerian descent, a lifelong Arsenal fan and a product of the team’s academy, added that the club’s detractors are “not laughing anymore.
“Light that up! Twenty-two years, they were laughing and joking, but they’re not laughing anymore. It’s going to be shining bright.”
Arsenal’s season is not over, as the Gunners set sight on the UEFA Champions League final against PSG in Budapest on May 30, which could be their first-ever UCL title.
Arsenal players posted their celebrations on social media, including Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard, Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Rice, Saka, Eze and Jurrien Timber were filmed outside the Emirates Stadium at 5am, where a smattering of fans were also still celebrating.
The four players were spotted walking around the outside of the ground, taking pictures of themselves and with fans.
There had been huge numbers at the north London ground as news of the Premier League win came through, with Ian Wright and Jeremy Corbyn among the famous faces involved in the scenes, with Corbyn saying: “Incredible scenes outside the Emirates. A moment I will never forget.”
It came after another early morning post on Eze’s Instagram page at around 3am of Arsenal captain, Odegaard, drinking from an Arsenal water bottle, a response to a viral moment in April of a Manchester City fan drinking from a similar water bottle in the crowd as Pep Guardiola’s side beat Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, the day after Arsenal themselves had slipped to defeat against Bournemouth.
At the time, Man City had closed the gap to six points with a game in hand and a match against the Gunners to come. However, they just fell short of taking the title race to the final day.
There were also plenty of references to ‘bottles,’ with Arsenal having been accused in the past of ‘bottling’ their Premier League title challenges, having finished second in the last three seasons.
In an Instagram story from Saka, he films Lewis-Skelly with a champagne bottle. The midfielder, who has enjoyed a recent resurgence in form, said: “They called us bottlers, but now we’ve got the bottle in our hands.”