British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took time from dealing with his own messy political situation to congratulate his favorite soccer team, Arsenal, on winning the Premier League.
“It’s been a long 22 years for Arsenal,” Starmer wrote on X shortly after winning the title late on Tuesday. “But finally, we are back where we belong.
“Champions!”
The victory was a rare piece of good news for Starmer, a lifelong Arsenal fan, as he clings to power following Labour’s disastrous results in local elections on May 7.
Dozens of Labor MPs have called for Mr Starmer to resign, one cabinet minister has also resigned and his popular rival, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is standing in Parliament to challenge Mr Starmer for the leadership.
The match saw London defeat Manchester and Arsenal defeat arch-rivals Man City to claim the biggest prize in English football.
The new champions celebrated late into the night, with midfielder Eberechi Eze posting photos on his Instagram account until 5am local time.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was pictured holding an Arsenal-branded bottle in his mouth and tilting his head back, a nod to critics who accused the team, who have finished runners-up in the Premier League for the third year in a row and have not won a major trophy since 2020, of being “bottlers” (a British term for collapsing under pressure).
Odegaard will lift the Premier League trophy after the away game against Crystal Palace on Sunday, the final day of the league season.
Footage was posted on social media showing a number of Arsenal players, including Eze, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Julian Timber, walking around the club’s home ground Emirates Stadium as the sun rose.
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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this article.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
