Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates with the Premier League trophy after ending the Gunners' 22-year league title drought.
Image: AFP
COMMENT
The 2025/26 football season will be remembered as the year the long-suffering pragmatists finally broke the matrix.
From the Betway Premiership to the English Premier League and the unforgiving terrain of continental Africa, three massive football institutions stepped out of the shadows to end painful title exiles. Orlando Pirates, Arsenal, and Mamelodi Sundowns are officially champions of their respective realms. For the neutral, it is a fascinating study in footballing execution.
For me, a thoroughly miserable, deeply envious Tottenham Hotspur fan, it is an absolute modern horror story. To watch your bitterest rivals lift a league title is a unique kind of sporting torture, but for the sake of this column, I can put my tribal biases aside and applaud the blueprint of their success.
Breaking a chronic title drought — 14 long years for the Sea Robbers of Mayfair, more than two decades for the Gunners, and an agonising decade-long obsession with the Holy Grail for Chloorkop — requires a delicate, volatile cocktail of three essential ingredients: unyielding patience, clinical recruitment, and that beautiful dame called “Lady Luck”.
Look at the structural symmetry between these projects. When Abdeslam Ouaddou took the hot seat at Orlando Stadium, he did not just inherit a talented squad, he inherited a stable club that just needed that final push to get over the line during Jose Riveiro’s tenure.
Up in Pretoria, despite completely dominating the local landscape, Sundowns were haunted by the success of 2016, desperately trying to re-conquer the CAF Champions League. Similarly, Mikel Arteta arrived at the Emirates confronted by the massive shadow of Manchester City cast over the Premier League.
The North London hierarchy resisted the urge to pull the trigger during the early days of Arteta’s tenure, when he managed to back to back eighth-placed finishes. They trusted the system. They understood that shifting a club's internal culture from mere participants to absolute continental and domestic contenders cannot be achieved overnight.
The same goes for Sundowns, who stuck with Miguel Cardoso despite pressure from their volatile fans over the last 18 months, who like to throw a few bottles from the stands when things aren’t going their way. But patience is utterly useless without elite recruitment, and this is where these clubs executed a masterclass.
Pirates' football hierarchy masterminded a system that blended prolific youth development with precise domestic acquisitions, unlocking the breakthrough genius of Oswin Appollis. Arsenal did the exact same thing on a global scale, systematically targeting hungry, elite profiles who perfectly fitted Arteta’s system. It hurts my Lilywhite soul to admit it, but their recruitment has been flawless.
Meanwhile, Sundowns spent a decade fine-tuning their squad, adding clinical continental experience and South American flair to ensure they finally possessed the tactical maturity to survive the dark arts of African away legs. They stopped over-indexing on domestic comfort and built a robust machine designed specifically to conquer Africa.
Yet, even with a brilliant tactical system and an immaculate transfer ledger, you still need the footballing gods to smile down upon you. You need that vital, chaotic sprinkle of good fortune to cross the finish line.
Pirates entered their must-win season finale at Mbombela Stadium carrying an immense weight of anxiety, only for two catastrophic own goals to deliver a dramatic 2–0 victory over Orbit College — sealing an historic domestic treble by a single point on 69 points.
Sundowns, having narrowly lost their domestic crown, cashed in their own chips with the footballing gods in the CAF Champions League final, surviving late scares, soft penalties and a hostile away atmosphere to finally hoist their second star, exactly 10 years after Pitso Mosimane first led them to the promised land.
As a Spurs fan, watching Arsenal benefit from similar late-season deflections and tight VAR calls over the past month to seal the Premier League title has driven me to the brink of insanity. But that is the nature of the beast. Luck is simply the residue of design.
When you consistently put yourself in a position to strike, the deflections eventually start going your way. Patience, clinical signings, and a little luck — it is a simple recipe, but one that is incredibly difficult to execute.
Pirates have conquered their hoodoo, Sundowns have reclaimed Africa, Arsenal have ended their exile, and I am left staring at the football landscape just happy to still be able to watch top-flight football.