Arsenal 'crowned' Premier League winners with title in touching distance for Mikel Arteta's side

Arsenal have been 'crowned' Premier League champions by bookmaker Paddy Power

Paddy Power have declared Arsenal as this season's Premier League champions, settling bets early on the title race despite more than a third of the 2025/26 campaign still remaining.

Mikel Arteta's side delivered a commanding 3-0 victory over Sunderland AFC at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, extending their advantage over Manchester City to nine points at the summit.

Even with City still due to travel to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon - and with 13 match weeks left to play - Paddy Power have already settled wagers on Arsenal claiming the title in a bold move.

The north London club were available at 5/2 to lift the trophy before the campaign began, whilst Liverpool were 15/8 favourites and City were priced at 2/1 ahead of kick-off.

With a nine-point buffer at present, Paddy Power believe neither City nor any other side can overtake the Gunners this term, and have consequently decided to pay out those who backed Arsenal to claim their first league championship in over 20 years ahead of schedule.

Commenting on the decision, Paddy Power stated: "We can't promise this will stop Arsenal fans from fretting online about every single referee decision that doesn't go their way being part of some great big conspiracy, but hopefully it will put a few minds at rest in north London at least."

They added: "It would take a c**k-up of Tottenham-esque levels for the Gunners not to win the Premier League title from here. Surely nothing can possibly go wrong now, right?"

Despite a challenging first half, Arsenal secured a well-deserved six points at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with Sunderland applying pressure early on but ultimately faltering in the second half as they sought to claw back into the match.

Martin Zubimendi broke the deadlock just three minutes before half-time with a powerful low drive past Robin Roefs, followed by a second-half double from substitute Viktor Gyokeres.

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This victory sees Arsenal sitting comfortably nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table for the first time since their 'Invincibles' title-winning season in 2003/04.

While Paddy Power may already be crowning Arsenal as the Premier League champions, the reality is that there's still a significant push needed if Mikel Arteta harbours any ambitions of lifting the trophy.

That's because there are still 13 matches left to play until the end of the season in May, not to mention upcoming Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup fixtures.