{"id":954,"date":"2026-05-25T11:28:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/saka-arsenals-title-has-ended-the-doubts-after-a-painful-2020-moment\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T11:28:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T08:28:49","slug":"saka-arsenals-title-has-ended-the-doubts-after-a-painful-2020-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/saka-arsenals-title-has-ended-the-doubts-after-a-painful-2020-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Saka: Arsenal\u2019s title has ended the doubts after a painful 2020 moment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal\u2019s Premier League title has finally silenced the skeptics, reflecting on how the club\u2019s turnaround began from a \u201cdark place\u201d that left him moved enough to share an emotional message online in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The forward, now 24, shared a post that included the caption \u201cYou deserve more Arsenal fans,\u201d paired with an image from six years ago showing him as a teenager, looking dejected on X. At the time, Arsenal were sitting 15th in the league table in December, having managed only four wins.<\/p>\n<p>With the trophy now secured after a 22-year wait, Saka said the achievement has brought an end to years of mockery aimed at the North London club.<\/p>\n<h3>What Saka said<\/h3>\n<p>Saka told former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on Sky Sports: \u201cI was in a dark place.\u201d He added that he understood the work people have put into the club and how far Arsenal had to go after difficult stretches.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that, at that point, the team felt \u201cvery low\u201d and far from the standard he believes Arsenal should meet. Saka referenced the daily ridicule\u2014schoolyard talk, social media banter and the way some people laughed at the club.<\/p>\n<p>In his words, it was that moment of frustration that pushed him to publish the post. \u201cThat\u2019s what I felt at that moment. But it\u2019s done now. No more jokes, it\u2019s our time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saka also described lifting the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park as \u201csurreal,\u201d following Arsenal\u2019s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the final match of the season.<\/p>\n<p>He added that he spoke with Jurrien Timber at the time, saying, \u201cWe are standing in our dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Saka said Arsenal\u2019s Premier League win has shut down the doubters.<\/li>\n<li>His 2020 post was prompted by Arsenal\u2019s tough period, when the club were 15th in December with four league wins.<\/li>\n<li>He described the trophy moment at Selhurst Park after a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace as \u201csurreal.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Declan Rice said he told teammates, \u201cIt\u2019s not done,\u201d after Arsenal\u2019s defeat to Manchester City.<\/li>\n<li>Arsenal then won their remaining matches, while Manchester City finished seven points behind Arsenal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Declan Rice, meanwhile, recounted the viral incident in which he urged his teammates to stay on course after Arsenal\u2019s loss to Manchester City. He revealed that the setback proved to be the key turning point in the title race.<\/p>\n<p>Rice\u2019s firm message came after the defeat gave their title rivals a chance to narrow the gap. However, Arsenal responded in the strongest possible way, winning every fixture left on the calendar while City faltered, ultimately finishing seven points behind Mikel Arteta\u2019s side.<\/p>\n<p>Rice said he still believed, \u201c100%,\u201d because he took confidence from the City match. Still, the message was meant to steady the dressing room and keep everyone calm with five games remaining.<\/p>\n<p>He stressed that it was not a final-day situation, and that once that City encounter was out of the way, the squad began to play with a freer mindset. \u201cThere was a little bit less pressure on us,\u201d Rice said, adding that you could feel pressure had been present in their performances.<\/p>\n<p>Rice concluded by saying Arsenal tried to block outside noise, but after the City game they reminded themselves there were five matches left and they could not afford to throw it away. \u201cIt was a strong message and it\u2019s paid off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal\u2019s Premier League title has finally silenced the skeptics, reflecting on how the club\u2019s turnaround began from a \u201cdark place\u201d that left him moved enough to share an emotional message online in 2020. The forward, now 24, shared a post that included the caption \u201cYou deserve more Arsenal fans,\u201d paired with an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Saka Reflects as Arsenal Title Ends Premier League Doubts","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Bukayo Saka says Arsenal\u2019s Premier League title has shut out doubts, recalling his 2020 \u201cdark place\u201d moment and an emotional messa","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Saka Reflects as Arsenal Title Ends Premier League 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