Patrick Vieira believes Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are capable of 'dominating' the next era of the Premier League after finally winning the title. After three successive second-place finishes, Mikel Arteta ended Arsenal's 22-year wait for a Premier League trophy this season. The Gunners were threatening to fall short once again during a minor blip during the business end of the season but powered towards the finish line, ultimately finishing seven points above title rivals Manchester City.
Vieira was 'really proud and really happy' to see Arsenal become Premier League champions for the first time since 2004 and believes a period of dominance could await the Gunners. 'Like all the Arsenal fans I was really happy and really proud,' the Arsenal legend told Sky Sports. 'It's been a long journey since we lifted the Premier League trophy but now Mikel Arteta and the team has managed to do it. It was emotional because it wasn't the easiest season and the last few years have been challenging. The players have gone through a difficult period so it was a release to lift the trophy, everyone feels really proud.'
Asked whether Arsenal could now retain their Premier League title and perhaps even 'dominate' the division for the next few years, Vieira added: 'I hope they can do that because we couldn't do that in our time. If you look at the current squad they are really quite young but do have experience and talent. There's no reason why they can't dominate the Premier League for the upcoming years. Arsenal's squad, with the stability they have, can dominate the Premier League in the years coming.'
While Vieira praised the entire Arsenal squad for ending the club's long wait for a Premier League trophy, he singled out Declan Rice for special praise. Rice has been arguably Arsenal's most influential player this season and is one of the favourites for the PFA Player of the Year award. 'At West Ham he was a good player, now at Arsenal he is a top player,' Vieira added. 'The fact he's playing with other top players helped to raise his game. He took leadership, he is the voice of the team on the field, I like how he is when things are tough for the team. He's been really impressive since he came to Arsenal, you can see the maturity in his game. I believe there is still more to come from him as well because I think he can score even more goals and make more assists.'
Arsenal could yet secure more silverware this season as attentions turn to this weekend's mouth-watering Champions League final against PSG.
