Ayo Oyoze Baje
“My oldest son started to cry. He hugged me and said, ‘We are champions! “My job now… is going to be to live those standards and achieve more and more”.- Mikel Artera ( Manager of Arsenal F.C. )
From London to Lagos, from Beijing to Berlin, from Dakar to Dodona, down to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, the indisputable football-loving country, that epochal and momentous occasion of Arsenal Football Club of London clinching the Premier League championship trophy for the 2025/2026 Season remains memorable. With the official presentation of the cup on May 24, 2026, the victory sparked off an instantaneous and wild celebration. That included hundreds of millions of passionate and faithful Arsenal fans as well as football lovers across the globe. That included Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, UBA business mogul, Tony Elumelu, Atiku Abubakar and celebrities such as Davido, Patoranking, Pasuma and Banky W. Others include Falz, M.I. Abaga, Timi Dakolo, Kizz Daniel, Wasiu Ayinde and comedian AY.
Interestingly, President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia and the First Lady, Mrs Mutinta Hichilema, led a parade of fellow citizens who are fans to celebrate the historic victory..
Here in Lagos, several fans, including yours truly, danced to hit songs on Arsenal’s Victory by Beyonce, Rihàna, Pasuma and Wasiu with the fervour and dexterity of a teenage prize-winner. At last, the waves of the recurring, mordant mockery of Arsenal fans by the unrelenting traducers and supporters of other PL clubs have come to a stop, at least for now. That was after 22 odd years of doubts, don’ts and debilitating delays with the club coming second behind Manchester City for three consecutive seasons. But as aptly captured by the great golfer, Walter Hagen, ” No one remembers who came in second”. None!
The profound message was for the Arteta-led club to keep scaling over the high hurdles placed on its path to glory. Eventually, it was a jinx broken!
Another fascinating factor that makes the feat unique is that the club went through the entire Season without any of its players being given a red card or conceding a penalty kick! That is the hallmark of professional discipline, which added to the team, making its way to the UEFA Champions League final stands without a defeat. Arsenal, therefore, stands tall, head and shoulders above its peers. Remarkable, is it not? Of course, it is. Not left out, of course, was that of featuring the 16- year old wonderkid, Max Dowman, who became the youngest PL player to score a goal and went on to win the League title.
Beyond the outstanding leadership pedigree demonstrated by the coach, Arteta, the players deserve full commendation. And who do we begin with if not the outstanding shot-stopper of a goalkeeper, David Raya? The man who joined the club on
loan from Brentford for the 2023/24 Season on August 15, 2023, has become the
Premier League title-winning number one keeper in 2025/26.
He kept 19 clean sheets in 37 games, equalling David Seaman’s Arsenal club record. He also won a 3rd consecutive Golden Glove, a feat that only Reina, Hart and Ederson have achieved. Raya conceded only 26 goals all season, with Arsenal’s defence posting the best record.
Why it matters is because of consistency, which is the secret of success in any human endeavour. He is, therefore, worthy of the reputation as” the best keeper in the PL right now.”
From the defensive stalwarts such as the irrepressible Gabriel Magalhães (No. 6) –
through the ever dependable William Saliba (No. 2) to the Centre-Back, Ben White (No. 4), the brick wall of the defence remains solid and stable.
With the iconic midfielder, Declan Rice (No 41), riding the horse of courage and confidence, others know exactly what the tactical mantra means.
These include the likes of Jurriën Timber (No. 12), Riccardo Calafiori (No. 33), Myles Lewis-Skelly (No. 49), and Martin Ødegaard (No. 8). Not left out are Eberechi Eze (No. 10), Christian Nørgaard (No. 16) , Mikel Merino (No. 23) and Martín Zubimendi (No. 36). They are there to pilot the dream forward to the harbour of victory. And so they do.
With wonderful wingers and skillful strikers such as Gabriel Jesus (No. 9), Gabriel Martinelli (No. 11), Viktor Gyökeres (No. 14), Leandro Trossard (No. 19), Noni Madueke (No. 20) Kai Havertz (No. 29) and the amazing Bukayo Saka (No. 7) at the right place at the right time, the opposition defenders are usually left in disarray to keep the goals coming in.
Oh yes, skilful Saka is, to me, a fitting brand ambassador for Arsenal FC. His professional trajectory as the game-changer at the club is described as a “Hale End to superstar” success story, “evolving from an academy prospect into the team’s talismanic winger and a key leader under Mikel Arteta.
According to records, since joining the club’s academy at the age of seven back in 2010, Saka has spent his entire career at Arsenal, becoming a pivotal figure in their exemplary attacking strategies and a central part of their recent resurgence
His fervent dream to succeed at Arsenal was evidenced in an incident
back in 2020. That was after another painful Arsenal defeat. He posted on social media saying that Arsenal fans deserved more.
At the time, the club was struggling, far from title races and nowhere near the level the fans expected. But even as a young academy player, Saka understood what this club meant to the supporters. But right now, in 2026, he has fulfilled those promises
From a talented “teenager carrying hope alive during difficult times to becoming one of the best players in the world and the face of Arsenal’s new generation…Saka’s journey is incredible.https://urbanexpresslive.com/benfica-vs-real-madrid-you-have-taken-wrong-direction-for-justifying-racial-abuse-seedorf-on-mourinho/
He did not just speak about change. He became the change,” an analyst has described the journey so far. So, what lessons should we all learn from the zero-to-hero story?
That reminds us of the book title, ‘ Succeeding Against the Odds, ‘ as the publisher of Ebony Magazine, John Harold Johnson (of blessed memory), rightly noted. The higher the obstacles we overcome, the greater the victory and the glory. That is precisely what Arsenal has achieved against all manner of players’injuries, and
open hatred from fans by other PL dreams demonstrated against the team.
As we advance, as stated by the co-chairman of the club, 𝙹𝚘𝚜𝚑 𝙺𝚛𝚘𝚎𝚗𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛: “𝚆𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.” And with Arsenal’s prize money exceeding £300m after Premier League title victory amid Josh Kroenke’s promise, there is enough to do the needfulhttps://urbanexpresslive.com/ucl-youre-weak-for-covering-your-mouth-with-a-shirt-vinicius-slams-prestianni-over-racist-comment/
That perhaps explains Arteta’s assertion that:
“We are the champions, and that brings a lot of confidence and a different kind of presence and energy to it. The 𝙼𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 is 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛… 𝙰𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚎 not going to 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗.
Big kudos to all the stakeholders!
