On a wall at Arsenal's training ground is a large silhouette of the Premier League trophy alongside a message which reads: "Together We Make History." It was installed earlier in Mikel Arteta's reign as manager, ready to be illuminated when the Gunners eventually won the title. And now, finally, Arteta has dragged Arsenal from the darkness back into the light.
Manchester City's 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday sealed the Gunners' 14th championship, their first in 22 years. Players and staff assembled to watch the game not too far from that silhouette, and the final whistle sparked euphoric celebrations, running into the early hours of Wednesday. Several players including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were pictured outside Emirates Stadium at 5 a.m. The club dog, Win, was given a stuffed toy in the shape of a champagne bottle.
It is both a landmark moment in the club's history and the culmination of a plan hatched in 2019. Football is awash with strategies for success, but so few come to fruition. It is why those who deliver on these blueprints are written into folklore: think Jürgen Klopp ending Liverpool's 30-year wait for a league title, as he predicted in his opening news conference, or José Mourinho proving he really was "a special one" upon arriving at Chelsea in 2004.
Arteta can now join this list of clairvoyants, the select few who backed up their talk with tangible returns. Not that he was ever outspoken about his approach.
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The "five-phase plan" Arteta proposed alongside then-technical director Edu Gaspar six years ago has been shrouded in secrecy. Whenever he was asked about it, the Spaniard would usually offer up the briefest glimpse into his thinking. Less than two weeks ago, before Arsenal edged past West Ham United 1-0 at London Stadium, he dodged questions about it entirely.
However, for the first time, ESPN can reveal the methodology by which Arsenal transformed themselves from a broken club in 10th place into title winners who are now one game away from their first UEFA Champions League crown.
Edu is steeped in Arsenal history, having won two Premier League titles as a player between 2001 and 2005 -- including the fabled "Invincibles" season when the Gunners won the 2003-04 title without losing a league game -- before rejoining the club as their first-ever technical director in July 2019. At that time, Unai Emery was beginning his second season as head coach after succeeding Arsène Wenger. But the dressing room fractured, results suffered and Emery was sacked in November of that year. Arteta was appointed a month later.