Arsenal will end a 22-year wait for a top-flight title when captain Martin Odegaard lifts the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park after the final fixture on May 24, 2026. They had already clinched the 2025-26 crown earlier in the week by beating Burnley, with confirmation coming when Manchester City dropped points at Bournemouth. Mikel Arteta used the Selhurst Park match to rotate his side, giving a first Premier League start to 16-year-old Max Dowman as the club balanced celebration with player management ahead of the Champions League final. Crystal Palace also managed minutes carefully with a Europa Conference League final on May 27 to come.

Arsenal arrived at Selhurst Park with the league wrapped up and the business of celebration scheduled for after the final whistle. The club secured the title by beating Burnley on Monday and then watched confirmation arrive when Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth the following day. The club was due a guard of honour before kick-off, and the presentation would mark the Gunners' first top-flight crown since 2004, the end point of a long domestic wait.

Selection and ceremony at Selhurst Park

With the title decided, Mikel Arteta took the chance to rotate his squad. The manager handed a first Premier League start to 16-year-old Max Dowman, a rare teenage inclusion in the matchday eleven. Arteta defended that approach and framed it as a season-long collective effort. "We had a big talk at the start of the season about each individual roles and how this is going to change and how we're going to have to adapt and and be humble and be ready to to help and impact the team and I think we've been incredible at doing that," he said.

Those enforced absences and rotation underpinned Arteta's selection problem on a day when the win mattered less than the ceremony and the physical management of players ahead of the Champions League final.

Martin Odegaard, as captain, was set to receive the trophy in front of the Selhurst Park crowd. For Odegaard and the squad it's the result of a season that was sealed across two results: Arsenal’s own win at Turf Moor and a slip elsewhere that proved decisive. The club's travelling plans were already in place, with Arsenal expected to travel to Budapest for the Champions League final on May 30, 2026.

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Crystal Palace's priorities and the immediate calendar

Crystal Palace approached the day with their own balance of pride and pragmatism. Palace had gone winless in their last six league matches, a run that made selection a delicate exercise.

Still, Selhurst Park had been a friendlier venue: the home side arrived unbeaten in five at Selhurst Park, and manager Oliver Glasner welcomed the chance to host the new champions.

Palace's season carried a historic high note of its own, having reached their first ever Europa Conference League final. That final, against Rayo Vallecano, was scheduled just three days after the Selhurst Park fixture, on May 27, 2026. Glasner managed fitness across the squad while allowing his players to savour the occasion of welcoming Arsenal to south London.

On the day, both teams struck a cautious tone in selection and pre-match build up. Arsenal's rotated starting XI reflected the dual aim of marking the title and preserving legs for a Champions League showpiece. Palace's choices reflected a view toward the European final in a matter of days, where their resources would be tested on a different stage.

The match itself provided the backdrop for Arsenal's formal acknowledgement as champions and for Palace to ready themselves for a continental decider. The usual final-day rituals, combined with a guarded approach from both managers, turned Selhurst Park into a stage for celebration and preparation at the same time. For supporters inside the ground the sight of Odegaard with the trophy will be the image that closes a long domestic chapter for Arsenal.

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Arsenal head to Budapest for the Champions League final on May 30, 2026, while Crystal Palace travel to face Rayo Vallecano in the Europa Conference League final on May 27, 2026. Originally reported by BBC.

This article was created with AI assistance.