Mikel Arteta has revealed he did not watch any of Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth and only discovered Arsenal were Premier League champions when his son ran into the garden, where he was barbecuing, with the news.

The Spaniard had initially planned to watch the match with his squad and coaching staff at London Colney, but decided shortly before kick-off that he “couldn’t bring the energy” he wanted to the occasion and felt it was better to let the players experience the moment on their own terms.

Having soaked up the news with his family, Arteta later joined the squad at Tape nightclub in central London, where celebrations carried on into the early hours.

After six years spent rebuilding Arsenal into title winners, and so many near misses along the way, it is entirely understandable that Arteta, like so many supporters on Tuesday night, was a bundle of nerves.

“I was supposed to be here at Colney watching the game with the boys and certain staff, because that’s what they wanted. But I couldn’t. I think 20 minutes before the game, I had to leave.

“I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted and I think it was their moment as well to watch it together, to be themselves and just see what the outcome would be.

“I went home, I went outside to the garden, I started to build some fire and I started to do some barbecue. I didn’t watch any of it.

“I was just hearing some noises in the background, in the living room. And suddenly the magic happened. My oldest son opened the garden door, he started to run towards me, he started to cry.

“He gave me a hug and said, we are champions, Daddy. And then my other two boys and my wife came over, and it was beautiful. Just to see that joy on them as well, as they are always with me. It was magical.

“I had a missed call, and, I think, a minute later, Martin [Odegaard] was with the video [call asking], where are you?

“I said, guys enjoy for a while and see you in a few hours somewhere in London. It was beautiful.”

Asked if he had any regrets about experiencing such a pivotal moment away from his players, Arteta reiterated that he wanted the squad to enjoy it without the manager looming over proceedings.

“After watching the videos, it was their moment, and they have to be themselves in that moment. If I’m there, I think it was not going to be the same. And yeah, I’m glad I did it that way.

“They enjoyed it so much, and the staff were all over the place. And yeah, we had our moment together a few hours later.”

As you might expect, Arteta’s phone was flooded with congratulatory messages from friends, family and colleagues across football.

“To be fair, it’s a bit different when you finish second and when you win it with your phone,” he smiled.

“That’s sport, it’s a big lesson in life as well because the margins are so small and it can go either way.

“And when you just accomplish it, you realise how immense it is, how big it is for so many people.

“Just to witness the happiness and the enjoyment, all the things that I’ve seen from our supporters, families in different countries, it’s just so, so good.”

Back in April, Bournemouth looked to have dealt Arsenal’s title hopes a fatal blow, especially when the Gunners followed that defeat with another loss to Manchester City a week later. But a run of four consecutive league wins piled the pressure back on Pep Guardiola’s side, who travelled to the Vitality Stadium needing victory to force the race to the final day.

Eli Junior Kroupi’s superb first-half finish put City on the back foot and, although Erling Haaland equalised late on, the damage had already been done. Arteta, who has known Andoni Iraola since childhood, felt compelled to call his fellow Basque after Bournemouth secured European qualification for the first time in their history.

“I didn’t message him, I called him. I called him yesterday, first of all, to congratulate him on the incredible job that he’s done with Bournemouth.

“Obviously, I said, you almost took the Premier League away from us, and now you help us to win it on the last day.

“A quick call to say thank you, as well to show my admiration towards him and wishing him the best in the next chapter of his career, which I’m sure is going to be very, very successful.”

As Arsenal’s players celebrated in each other’s arms, supporters from across London descended on Islington for an impromptu street party. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people gathered around Emirates Stadium, where flares and fireworks lit up the night as fans danced until dawn. A lucky few who stayed to the very end even bumped into members of the first team, including Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, who swung by to take in what remained of a remarkable evening.

Reflecting on the scenes, Arteta said:

“We all are responsible because, and I really want to make that clear, there’s been so many people in this journey throughout the years, not only since I’ve been here, but as well everything that obviously Arsene built, even though we didn’t achieve the Premier League.

“And it was an explosion, an emotional explosion, because everybody’s been just keeping emotions [in check] and lifting those emotions, but not being able to really express them.

“So when we opened that bottle, I think everybody had so much to release and it’s been incredible to witness.”

As for the standout moments of a long and, at times, gruelling campaign, Arteta pointed to a meeting held beside the 150-year-old olive tree he had planted at the training ground, a symbol of the importance of protecting the club’s roots.

“Probably I need a bit more time to reflect on that,” he said.

“We have so much footage that probably it will explain a little bit the story of the season.

“One of the main ones, it was a meeting that we had here next to the tree when I got all the players together and I told them, look at each other, look at the squad that we built over the summer. I think we are capable of everything and we can be very, very good. But it only depends on us and on our behaviours and everybody understanding the role that it’s going to have daily or on the day to give the best for the team.

“And once they realised that, I think we went to a different level because you’ve seen the impact that everybody’s had in different moments of games through the season and the capacity that we have shown to adapt to very, very tough circumstances throughout the season.”

Pressed on why that meeting resonated so strongly, he added:

“The location and the topic because normally we have a lot of people and staff there. It was the players and myself. And we talk about their role, what is my role, how I feel about them. And then every decision I’m going to make is to try to impact their lives in a positive way. And any decision that I make is because it’s my job to make it. So don’t take it personally and just try to sum up and impact the team in the manner that we can.

“It was one of the [most important moments], but I think to extract the best qualities of the players and all the resources that we had in the squad, I think that one was very important.”

From a quiet moment beside an olive tree at London Colney to 100,000 supporters flooding the streets around Emirates Stadium, this title win has been built on connection, belief and resilience. On Tuesday night, all of it came pouring out at once.

And who knows, with a Champions League final coming up in nine days, there could be more to come.