Twenty-two years can seem like an eternity, especially in English football, where glory burns quickly and legends risk turning into melancholy pub tales. Yet Arsenal have been able to preserve their identity even in the long years of waiting, remaining faithful to that romantic and spectacular philosophy that has made the "Gunners" one of the most loved and recognizable teams in world football. Today, finally, north London celebrates again: the team led by Mikel Arteta is champion of England, breaking a fast that had lasted since the era of Arsène Wenger's "Invincibles".
It's not just a title. It is the rebirth of an idea of football. Arsenal has never been simply a club: it has been a cultural, aesthetic and even literary symbol. Just say the name "Highbury" to hear the pages of High Fever echo, the novel that told better than anyone else the irrational and all-encompassing love for a football team. From that book the famous film Fever fever was born, which over the years has become a generational manifesto for millions of fans.
A child next to his father in the car who, when pressed on the possibility of doing something other than going to see the Arsenal match, responds with seraphic and disarming punctuality: "we will never get over this phase!"
Because a football fan doesn't foresee alternatives to his love.
For many of us, Arsenal is that of Wenger, Henry, Vieira, Bergkamp and Pires, a team that wasn't just winners: it was poetry in motion, an elegant orchestra capable of transforming football into art.
And this is perhaps Arteta's best victory: having brought the "Gunners" back to being recognisable. After years of confusion, changes of technical leadership and seasons lived in the shadow of Manchester's battleships, the former captain rebuilt the club piece by piece, restoring pride, mentality and ambition. Today's triumph comes at the end of a season almost always lived at the top, with personality and continuity.
Ora il sogno Champions da realizzare
And the feeling is that the journey is not over yet. Because this Arsenal didn't just dominate the Premier League: they also reached the Champions League final, returning to play their last European act twenty years after the night in Paris against Barcelona. Today, London fans dream of something that seemed impossible just a few years ago: completing an unrepeatable season by also conquering Europe. It would be the definitive crowning achievement of Arteta's work, the man who brought the "Gunners" back to where their history claimed to be.
In football there are victories that are worth three points and others that become collective memory. This Arsenal title belongs to the second category. Because it not only tells the end of a twenty-two year long wait, but the return of one of the great romantic souls of European football.