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Arsenal center back William Saliba took great satisfaction in silencing the club's critics this season, pledging to stick with the controversial tactics that drove them to glory.
After years of falling short in the Premier League title race, Arsenal finally got their hands on the trophy this season, though the manner in which they achieved it was not without controversy.
While it would be reductive to say Arsenal's success was built entirely on set-pieces, the Gunners made no secret of their willingness to exploit corners, free kicks and long throws, executing them with clinical precision and rarely being neutralized.
"This season ... I don't agree with everything they say, like there was only one team that was playing," he told L'Équipe. "We were playing football.
"Except it's true that sometimes we score a lot more from set pieces. That was crazy. Now you see, in the Premier League, everyone does long throw-ins, everyone focuses on corners ... it's not just us. We just do it better than the others.
"So, that's life, and we're going to continue like this."
Saliba: No More 'Bottle' Taunts
Although the season ended in agony with a penalty shoot-out loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, the campaign was overwhelmingly a positive one as Arsenal brought an end to their lengthy wait for Premier League glory.
The Gunners had repeatedly been accused of "bottling" title challenges, having spent extended periods at the summit of the table only to fade in the closing stages. Similar fears emerged this year when a 2–1 loss to Manchester City in April temporarily swung the momentum toward Pep Guardiola's side, but Arsenal's relentless drive ultimately delivered the title.
"There were a lot of jokes, people made fun of us," Saliba reflected. "Even when we were top of the league, they were saying that at some point we were going to bottle it and drop back to second place.
"That's football banter, it's like that. If you want to change that, you just have to win. Now that we've won it, they can't say anything anymore.
"The first season I arrived, we were playing incredible football. That was the season where I said we deserved the title.
"As usual, people made fun of us—we finished second. The second season too, we were playing good football, finished second. People made fun of us, they said, 'bottle, bottle...'
"Last season too, we were playing pretty well, even if we weren't playing as well as the first two seasons—we still finished second."