Arteta proved himself to himself and others: I wondered if I was good enough to manage these players

Arsenal succeeded - after three years of being runners-up, a curse that had lasted 24 years was finally lifted.

The Gunners won the English championship, helped by Bournemouth, which held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, so the final round was devoid of uncertainty when it came to the fight for the title.

Arsenal's season-to-season progress has finally paid off, but the season is not over yet as the north London club has a chance to make history with a Champions League title, with the final against Paris Saint-Germain still to come.

The pillar of the Arsenal project is manager Mikel Arteta, a man who has often been criticized by the public this season for the way his team has played.

"We won the title, but I'm most proud of how we won it. We showed very important values ​​not only in sport, but in life. Perseverance, to be resilient, calm in moments when people doubt. But also to be vulnerable, so I asked myself am I good enough to lead these players to a trophy? Until you do that, you can't prove to yourself that you can," Arteta said ahead of Sunday's match against Crystal Palace.

Arsenal had long been secure at the top of the table, in April City came close to catching them with a derby win, but stumbled themselves with a draw against Everton.

"There's a big lesson from this - to stay humble and focus on the goal you want to achieve. If you give your all, you have a good chance. We've given ourselves a good chance three years in a row. This season we've done that. And now we want more," Arteta is clear.

Now the goal is - the European crown.

"The biggest game is ahead of us. We are rewarded, we know we went step by step. The process is like that, when we didn't reach the goal someone else was better... But you have to say: 'I won't stop, I will improve'. That will be the theme of this season. If we haven't done enough, there are things we need to do to take that step. We have been very creative in our process to achieve that," said Arteta.

The players are at the training camp watching the Bournemouth - City match, Arteta was not with them.

"I was supposed to be there with the players because they wanted me to. I couldn't, I had to leave 20 minutes before kick-off. I went home, went out into the garden, lit a fire and started making a barbecue. I didn't watch anything. I just heard sounds from the living room - that's when the magic happened. My eldest son ran to me, started crying, hugged me and said: 'Dad, we are champions'. A minute later, Martin Odegaard called me on a video call, they asked me to come, but I told them to enjoy themselves and to see me in a few hours somewhere in London," concluded Arteta.