Piero Hincapie took a playful dig at Manchester City fans as Arsenal clinched the Premier League title on Tuesday night. Manchester City needed a win at Bournemouth to keep the title race alive but were held to a 1-1 draw, handing the Gunners their first league title since 2004. With a four-point lead heading into the final weekend, Mikel Arteta's squad gathered at their training center to watch the match at the Vitality Stadium, erupting in celebration at the final whistle.
Bottle Celebration Sparks Controversy
Beer bottles were opened to mark the triumph, but one particular bottle drew attention as Hincapie aimed a jab at Arsenal's title rivals. During Manchester City's 3-0 win over Chelsea in April, a City fan was caught on Sky Sports cameras drinking from an Arsenal bottle, implying the Gunners were 'bottling' the title race. Hincapie seized the moment to suggest the opposite by swigging from a similar bottle during the celebrations.
Social Media Reactions
Bukayo Saka shared a video on social media showing Myles Lewis-Skelly holding a bottle of bubbly and exclaiming, 'They called us bottlers. They called us bottlers. And now we’re holding the bottle!' The players will receive the actual Premier League trophy on Sunday at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace, but on Tuesday they celebrated with a cardboard cutout of the trophy.
Declan Rice posted on Instagram a selfie with Kai Havertz, Eberechi Eze, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, and William Saliba, captioned 'I told you all, it’s done.' This referenced a viral clip of Rice mouthing 'it’s not done' after Arsenal's defeat at Manchester City in April, when City seemed to take the upper hand.
Fan and Legend Reactions
Thousands of fans gathered outside the Emirates to celebrate, including club legend Ian Wright, who joined the supporters. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola congratulated his former colleague Arteta, saying, 'On behalf of Man City, congratulations to Arsenal, Mikel and all the backroom staff on the Premier League that they deserve. He put a lot of effort and work. Congratulations to him.'
