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Arsenal win English Premier League after Man City draw at Bournemouth

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Arsenal Football Club were crowned English Premier League champions on Tuesday for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s men needed to win on England’s south coast to keep the title race alive but fell short.

Following three runners-up finishes, the Gunners have sealed top spot after Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

The trophy lift is set to take place at Selhurst Park on Sunday when the North London club play the final game of the season on May 24.

The draw left the North London side mathematically unreachable at the top of the table and triggered historic celebrations among Arsenal supporters, who had not experienced a league triumph since the “Invincibles” season of 2003-04 under legendary manager Arsène Wenger.

A general view of Arsenal Emirates Stadium in London, United Kingdom, on December 2025 (Photo by Mairo Cinquetti/NurPhoto). (Photo by Mairo Cinquetti / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

Arsenal have topped the table for much of the season, but their title bid looked to have hit shaky ground in April as Man City started to breathe down their necks.

A 2-1 defeat at the Etihad seemed to hand the title advantage to City but the Gunners rallied and have held off Pep Guardiola’s side to win the league for the first time since the Invincibles in the 2003/04 season.

It ends a six-year period without a trophy and is Arteta’s second major honour as manager at the Emirates Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Arsenal football website has also celebrated the new feat.

A Tuesday night release titled, “Arsenal crowned 2025/26 Premier League champions,” disclosed this.

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“We have been crowned 2025/26 Premier League champions with a game to spare, after an incredible campaign in N5 has ended with us claiming our 14th top-flight championship.

“Following our 1-0 success against Burnley last night, our nearest challengers Manchester City had to beat Bournemouth to force us into a final-day showdown for the title. However, a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium saw us crowned champions.

Arteta
Arsenal Manager, Mikel Arteta

“The silverware sees Mikel Arteta become the first Gunners boss to land English football’s top prize in 22 years, following in the footsteps of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles who were our last side to win the Premier League after going unbeaten during the 2003/04 campaign,” it read.

Arsenal won 25 of our 37 league games so far, drawing seven and losing just five times to top the pile, having finished runners-up in each of the previous three seasons.

“But a solid defensive platform, which has seen us keep 19 clean sheets and David Raya claim the Golden Glove for the third successive season, has led us to the best defensive record this term, while only City can better our tally of 69 goals scored to this point,” the release further read.

Season’s campaign began at Old Trafford

The North London club began its English league record 100th consecutive campaign with a 1-0 success at Manchester United, and won nine of our first 10 games to hit top spot for the first time at the start of October.

“We led the league for 200 days before Manchester City nudged us off on goals scored late last month. However, we won four successive matches without conceding to reclaim top spot and pave our way to the championship.

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“It is the 14th time we have been crowned champions of England, only behind Manchester United and Liverpool in the all-time rankings, and the 32nd major trophy we’ve claimed.

“We now have the chance to cap one of the greatest seasons in our 140-year history by adding one more to that total when we head to Budapest next week to contest our second-ever Champions League final.

“We will face holders Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, May 30 as we aim to claim our first European Cup triumph in our 139-year history,” the club wrote.

Bournemouth in Europe

Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth also “penned a new chapter in the club record books by securing a place in Europe for the first time in their 127-year history,” a post-match release on the club’s website as obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday night stated.

“Junior Kroupi’s superbly-executed first-half goal appeared to have put Andoni Iraola’s team on course for victory, only for Erling Haaland to grab an injury-time equaliser for the visitors.

“Haaland’s dramatic late strike failed to take the gloss off another memorable game under head coach Iraola who will leave the club in the summer following three glorious seasons.

“A share of the points extended the Cherries’ unbeaten run to 17 matches, equalling the club record for a single season which has stood since 1981/82 in Division Four,” the club wrote.

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Man United fine Martínez after hierarchy criticism in EPL

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Manchester United have fined defender Lisandro Martínez and consider the matter closed after the Argentina international publicly criticised the club’s hierarchy following Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid.

Martínez, 28, spoke out in post-match interviews, claiming the club had failed to adequately strengthen the squad in the summer transfer window and left head coach Michael Carrick short of resources.

He specifically said he “expected more from our technical director” Jason Wilcox and suggested the board needed to look beyond players and the manager when assessing the team’s struggles.

As reported by football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano on X on Friday, his post read, “Manchester United have fined Lisandro Martínez as punishment and consider the case now closed.

“Lisandro spoke to Carrick and the directors to clarify the situation, apologize then now moving on.”

PUNCH Online had reported that Martínez held clear-the-air talks at the club’s Carrington training ground with Carrick, director of football Jason Wilcox, chief executive Omar Berrada and other senior figures. Sources described the meeting as positive.

Afterwards, Martínez issued a public apology on social media. “Today I met with the club’s leadership and the manager. It was a very positive conversation, where we were able to exchange views and speak openly about what happened after Tuesday’s game,” he wrote.

“Everyone knows that I am a passionate person and that I live football with great intensity. The frustration of the defeat led me to express how I felt at a time and place that perhaps were not the right ones, and for that I want to apologise.

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“Our club is at its best when we are all united, and I recognise that my words in that moment did not help with that. I know that every single person at Manchester United is doing everything possible to achieve our shared ambition: bringing the success that this club and its supporters deserve. With this situation now behind us, we are fully focused on winning together.”

United have imposed a fine as formal punishment, according to multiple reports, though the club has not confirmed the exact amount.

Martínez’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, with United holding an option to extend it by a further year.

While the immediate disciplinary issue has been resolved, questions remain over his longer-term future at Old Trafford.

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Players like me, Yamal, Álvarez need more protection from referees – Vini Jr

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Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr. has called for greater protection for attacking players, naming himself, Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal and Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez as players who need better protection from referees.

The Brazilian expressed frustration over what he believes is unfair treatment on the pitch, claiming that defenders can foul him repeatedly while he ends up being the player booked by the referee.

As reported by football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano on X on Thursday, Vini Jr was quoted as saying, “I feel like defenders can always kick me, yet I am the one who gets booked.”

The Real Madrid star also stressed the importance of protecting players capable of making a difference in matches, pointing to Yamal and Álvarez alongside himself.

“I think we need to protect players who can make a difference like me, Lamine Yamal and Julián Álvarez,” he added.

Vinícius also questioned the severity of disciplinary punishments in certain situations, referring to a four-match suspension for pulling an opponent’s hair.

“I do not remember any player being banned for four games for pulling the opponent’s hair,” he said.

The Brazilian believes he often faces criticism from rival clubs and the media, suggesting that similar incidents involving him are sometimes treated differently.

Reflecting on his journey at Real Madrid, Vinícius also reminded his critics of the progress he has made since arriving at the club as an 18-year-old.

“Remember, I arrived at 18 years old and many people laughed at me. They said I can’t score, then I had more than 100 goals for Madrid,” he stated.

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The forward insisted that his achievements at the Spanish giants speak for themselves, pointing to the numerous titles he has won during his time at the club.

He ended with a defiant message to those who continue to doubt him: “Vini always comes back, remember.”

Source: punchng.com

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Maradona family divided over jail terms for medical team

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Diego Maradona’s family on Wednesday called for his medical team to be given stiff prison terms over what two of his daughters called his “murder.”

Seven medical professionals have been on trial since April over Maradona’s death on November 25, 2020, while convalescing after surgery for a brain clot.

The star of the 1986 World Cup died aged 60 of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, two weeks after going under the knife.

His medical team is accused of providing grossly inadequate care in the lead-up to his death at a private home rented for his convalescence.

They deny the charges.

Maradona’s family are divided on the severity of the punishment they believe his carers should face.

A lawyer for two of his daughters, Dalma and Gianinna, on Wednesday accused his carers of “murder” and asked that six of the seven accused be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

“They killed a mythological hero,” lawyer Fernando Burlando said, accusing the defendants of “brutal indifference” to the icon’s fate.

Counsel for the champion’s three sisters, Rita, Claudia and Ana, sought terms of up to 10 years for five of the seven defendants.

Their lawyer Pablo Jurado called for medical coordinator Nancy Forlini to receive the harshest punishment.

On Tuesday, a lawyer for Maradona’s youngest son, 13-year-old Diego Fernando Maradona, had called for the player’s personal physician Leopoldo Luque and Forlini to be each given 16-year sentences.

State prosecutors kicked off the closing arguments last week with a call for guilty findings against six of the seven accused and prison sentences ranging from four to 12 years.

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They added that Luque should receive the stiffest punishment.

The closing arguments are set to continue until the end of October.

The court in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro, near where Maradona died, is then expected to reserve its judgment to a later date.

AFP

Source: punchng.com

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