Bukayo Saka sends a friendly message to Arsenal’s rivals after winning the Premier League
Bukayo Saka shared a clear message with Arsenal’s rivals after finally winning the Premier League on Tuesday night. Manchester City’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth meant they couldn’t catch Arsenal, ending the club’s 22-year wait for the title.
Mikel Arteta’s team had been criticized after finishing second three times in a row, but this year they secured the win with a game to spare. Big celebrations are planned for their final match against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Arsenal players gathered at their London Colney training ground when they were confirmed champions and partied late into the night. Declan Rice posted a picture of the team celebrating with the caption, “I told you all.. it’s done,” referring to his earlier comment after losing to Manchester City.
On Instagram, vice-captain Saka also shared the excitement, posting a video of the team singing Queen’s “We are the Champions” and celebrating joyfully. He posted a clip of teammate Myles-Lewis Skelly holding champagne, joking, “They call us bottlers.” Both Lewis-Skelly and Saka replied to the critics by saying, “And now we’re holding the bottles.”
Saka scored seven goals in 31 games as Arsenal won their 14th league title and helped the team reach the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest. He and his teammates will get their Premier League trophy and medals on Sunday at Selhurst Park—though not every player will receive a medal.
Premier League rules say players must appear in at least five games to get a medal. Because of this, 16-year-old Max Dowman became the youngest player to win the league after playing five times. Ethan Nwaneri also qualified with six appearances before going on loan to Marseille.
However, backup goalkeepers Kepa Arrizabalaga and Tommy Setford didn’t play any Premier League games, so they won’t get medals. Meanwhile, Golden Glove winner David Raya played every minute of every game this season.
Arsenal will receive 40 medals from the league and can give them out however they want.