After 22 years of heartbreak, near-misses and “maybe next season” jokes, Arsenal fans in Singapore finally woke up to a dream they had almost stopped believing would happen.
The Gunners were crowned 2025-26 English Premier League champions on May 19 after rivals Manchester City failed to beat AFC Bournemouth, handing Arsenal an unassailable lead at the top of the table with one game remaining.
Even a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser from Erling Haaland could not save City after Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi’s first-half strike stunned Pep Guardiola’s side.
As the final whistle blew in Bournemouth, emotional scenes erupted not only outside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London but also thousands of kilometres away among Arsenal supporters in Singapore.
For many fans here, the triumph represented the end of a painful two-decade wait since Arsenal’s famous “Invincibles” side under Arsène Wenger lifted the title in 2004 without losing a single league match.
Project engineer Jegathishwaran Devarajan, 46, who has supported Arsenal since 1998, described the victory as deeply emotional.
“This is a monumental win after 22 years,” he said. “After the days of Wenger’s Invincibles, we had to watch for many years as the team went close a few times. But I always had faith in the team. It feels amazing to finally see them win the league again.”
Jegathishwaran believes Arsenal’s transformation came down to a shift in mentality and smarter recruitment.
“The management put in a lot of effort to go after the right people. They made good signings and the impact could be seen on the pitch,” he said.
He only discovered Arsenal had officially won the title early on May 20 morning while at home and admitted he had not properly celebrated yet.
“But I will definitely celebrate with friends over the weekend,” he added.
Teacher Amanpreet Singh, 33, said the reality of Arsenal being champions still had not fully sunk in.
“I hardly slept from Tuesday night until I found out the Bournemouth-Man City result on Wednesday morning. I only went to bed at 9am,” he said with a laugh. “Honestly, it still feels unreal.”
Amanpreet was only in Primary 2 the last time Arsenal won the title.
“Since then, I’ve only watched old videos of Arsenal lifting trophies. Every season, they went close but somehow fell short. So this feels very emotional,” he said.
He credited manager Mikel Arteta for rebuilding the club after years of instability following Wenger’s departure.
“It was a broken club when Arteta took over – toxic atmosphere, poor squad balance and no direction. He slowly rebuilt everything and brought back belief and consistency,” Amanpreet said.
Unlike fans heading to pubs or gatherings, Amanpreet plans a quieter celebration.
“I always watch Arsenal matches alone at home, so I want the celebrations to come full circle there too,” he said.
Another fan, J. Jeyaseelan, 37, owner of Jeya Spices and a lifelong Arsenal supporter since 1998, could barely contain his excitement.
“Still in disbelief,” he admitted. “For 22 years, there was no title. So many false dawns. The last three years were painful because we came so close. Finally, we crossed the hurdle.”
To mark the title triumph, Jeyaseelan gave away 82 packets of chicken curry paste worth S$4 each to Arsenal fans wearing club jerseys at his Pasir Ris and Yishun outlets on May 21. The number symbolised Arsenal’s final points tally.
Jeyaseelan said Arteta succeeded by abandoning Arsenal’s traditional obsession with beautiful football.
“This was a very pragmatic Arsenal team. Set-pieces, discipline, defensive organisation — maybe not the most beautiful football, but it brought results,” he said.
“I’m over the moon. But now Arsenal must sustain it. We don’t want to fade away like Leicester City did after winning the title.”
Education worker Vishaal Bhardwaj, 48, experienced Arsenal’s title triumph in particularly dramatic fashion.
A regular visitor to London for Arsenal matches, Vishaal had attended the club’s 1-0 win over Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on May 18 before boarding Singapore Airlines flight SQ317 from Heathrow back to Singapore.
He was anxiously tracking the Manchester City-Bournemouth match while waiting to board.
“The flight was delayed from 11.20am to 4pm, so I kept checking updates,” he recalled.
But there was no live football coverage onboard, and the wi-fi connection proved frustratingly unreliable.
“When the wi-fi finally connected properly, my phone suddenly exploded with messages saying Arsenal were champions,” he laughed.
“I immediately changed into the Arsenal jersey I had packed in my hand luggage and celebrated with other Arsenal fans on the flight.”
Vishaal believes Arsenal’s title-winning formula came down to experience, discipline and squad depth.
“They signed experienced players who covered for each other and knew how to win trophies,” he said. “There were fewer red cards, fewer penalties conceded and much better discipline overall.”
For Arsenal supporters in Singapore, the long wait is finally over.
And after years of disappointment, the red half of north London – and many living rooms, pubs and WhatsApp groups across Singapore – can finally celebrate again.
