The fairtytale full circle moment that's been made official for Arsenal fans

Arsenal being Premier League champions frankly has not really sunk in yet. Perhaps that will change once Martin Ødegaard is presented with the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park at around 6:30pm local time on Sunday evening. Of course, the Gunners have been denied the possibility of lifting the trophy at home, not that the 150,000+ of us outside the Emirates on Tuesday really minded.

Nevertheless, even though, officially anyway, only 2,687 Gooners will be in attendance, Selhurst is symbolically a fitting place for Mikel Arteta's team to be presented with the trophy. That's because, back in August 2022, this squad's very first tilt at the title began with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on the opening Friday night of that campaign. The vibes of that pink kit can never be surpassed.

Arsenal XI vs Crystal Palace (5 August 2022): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Ødegaard, Martinelli; Jesus.

That night in Croydon, William Saliba made his Arsenal debut, only doing so because Takehiro Tomiyasu was injured, thereby pushing Benjamin White to right-back, where he has been used ever since. Saliba was truly outstanding, named man of the match, and has remained so since day one.

New signings from Manchester City Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus also debuted and, given how it has ended for both, it is easy to overlook how impactful both were to raising the standards.

In this game, Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock after a well-crafted set-piece routine, a clear sign of what was to come, before Bukayo Saka's late strike deflected in via Marc Guéhi, another key figure in this title race. In their two visits to Selhurst since that night, Arteta's team have ground out a hard-fought 1-0 win and then cruised to a 5-1 demolition last season, despite seeing Saka hobbled off, encapsulating the two sides of this team.

Aside from Crystal Palace and Selhurst, Bournemouth are also symbolically important to Arteta's title triumph. His very first match in charge was a 1-1 draw by the South Coast in December 2019, in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equaliser shortly after the hour mark to salvage a point.

Well, Tuesday's 1-1 draw between the Cherries and Manchester City that crowned Arsenal champions will be more fondly remembered by Gooners, that's for certain. Bournemouth were also present for the high point of the Gunners' first title challenge, as they came from 2-0 down to beat Gary O'Neil's team 3-2 in North London; Reiss Nelson's winner was when we truly believed.

Fast forward three years, Bournemouth were then responsible for the lowest point of this campaign, as Andoni Iraola's team deservedly won 2-1 at the Emirates, the day every fan feared this challenge would unravel. In the end, Bournemouth's contribution to this triumph will go down in Arsenal folklore, while Selhurst will enter the history books as the place the Premier League trophy was finally back in Arsenal hands after 22 long years.

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