Arsenal Crown Champions With Comfortable Victory

Arsenal finished their memorable Premier League season with a comfortable 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at a scorching Selhurst Park. With the title already wrapped up in mid-week, the main question was: How heavily would Mikel Arteta rotate his side ahead of the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain next weekend?

And that was answered emphatically. Arteta made nine changes to his Arsenal side, with the inclusion of Max Dowman seeing the midfielder become the youngest player to start a Premier League game. Despite the changes in south London, Arsenal secured a relatively easy 2-1 victory, with goals coming from Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke on either side of half-time.

Opportunity To Rest Key Players

Opportunities to truly rest key players have been scarce for Mikel Arteta this season, so it was not surprising to see him jump at the chance to do so for his side's coronation at Palace.

The Arsenal manager made nine changes to his starting line-up, and while it allowed squad players to get recognition for their efforts this season, keeping his main men fresh for next week's Champions League final had to be done.

Arsenal's opponents for the final, Paris Saint-Germain, have been able to do this throughout the knockout stages of the Champions League. Between PSG's 5-4 semi-final first leg win over Bayern Munich and their 1-0 second-leg victory, Luis Enrique made nine changes for a league match against Lorient.

Speaking ahead of the game, Arteta marveled at the football on display in the first leg, but said: "When I look at the amount of minutes and the freshness of those players, then I'm not surprised. To deliver those moments of quality, you have to be very fresh. And the difference in the league and the way they are competing is night and day. We are competing in two different worlds."

Nine Arsenal players have played 2,000 minutes or over in the league this season, compared to three for PSG. All but three of those Arsenal players (David Raya, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi) have had spells out due to injury while racking up those tallies.

By contrast, while Ousmane Dembele has contended with hamstring and calf injuries, he has completed a full 90 minutes just once in the league this season (a 3-1 win over Toulouse in April). Out wide, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has completed just three full league matches for PSG this season.

Jesus' Full Circle Moment

Even if it was meant for those of a Crystal Palace persuasion, David Bowie's "Heroes" being played in the moments before kick-off at Selhurst Park was quite fitting for Arsenal — and for one player in particular.

Gabriel Jesus was the catalyst behind Arsenal's first title race under Mikel Arteta in the 2022-23 season, and that all began with a spellbinding performance at Selhurst Park that August. That Friday evening, it was the mazy dribbles and ability to create chances out of nothing that gave a clear indication that Arsenal would be a different proposition with the Brazilian leading the line.

Now front of the queue with the captain's armband for Arsenal's guard of honour as champions, a typical Jesus performance followed. He missed big chances, but left with a customary goal against Palace that was statistically significant for two reasons.

Firstly, he equalled his record for most Premier League goal involvements (12) against a particular club (now Palace and Watford): eight goals and four assists. Secondly, no current Premier League player has more goal involvements on the final day than him: six goals and two assists.

The 29-year-old may not be as effective as he was when he first traded Manchester for north London, but his full-circle moment south of the river bookends these chapters in Arsenal's recent history nicely.

Just as fitting as the pre-match music was Arteta's decision to sub Jesus off for Eberechi Eze. The 27-year-old returned to Selhurst Park for the first time since leaving Crystal Palace to join Arsenal last summer, and was applauded by the entire stadium as he entered the pitch.

To lift the Premier League trophy for the club he supports and spent time at as a boy on the ground that gave him his big break in the division, surrounded by so many he would consider friends? It is fair to say that his fairytale worked out.

Enter, Dowman

The most interesting of Arteta's nine changes was the inclusion of Max Dowman in his starting line-up. Aged 16 years and 144 days, the teenager became the youngest player to start a match in the Premier League, and was on for an hour before being replaced by Merino.

"Max needs to be there because he created a moment where something changed," Arteta told Sky Sports ahead of the game.

The moment he is referring to is Dowman's cameo performance in a 2-0 win over Everton in March. With the game goalless in the second half, Arteta turned to the teenager to change the game — and he did. He provided the cross that led to Viktor Gyokeres' opener, and then scored a goal of his own to secure three points for Arsenal on a night where Manchester City would draw to West Ham.

He did not have as eye-catching a game at Selhurst Park, but he still had a meaningful contribution with his first-time flick around the corner in the build-up to Jesus' opener.

Playing in his more natural No 10 position — as he played for his FA Cup start away to Mansfield Town — the teenager got a taste for just how packed the edge of the box can be for Arsenal's central midfielders in the Premier League.

A Premier League champion at 16, who was not even able to train in the week due to exams, this has been quite the week to end an extraordinary Premier League season for Dowman.

What Next For Arsenal?

Palace did try to make a comeback of it, with Jean Philippe-Mateta halving the deficit before Yeremi Pino saw what he thought was a late equaliser ruled out for offside by VAR. Still, with both sides firmly focused on their hunt for silverware in Europe next week, the game was perhaps of little importance for many.

Now, for Arsenal, those celebrations can begin. The Gunners will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 5pm (12pm ET) in Budapest.