The Arsenal manager spoke ahead of Sunday's Premier League finale at Crystal Palace — a match that will serve as a title celebration even though the championship itself was confirmed on Tuesday night when Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bournemouth.
Arteta revealed he had intended to be at the training ground watching the game with his players and staff but felt he could not bring the right energy to the room and left before kick-off.
"You probably don't realise it. It's one of the best feelings I've ever had. I was supposed to be here, at the training ground, watching the game with the boys and the staff because that's what they wanted — but I couldn't. I think 20 minutes before the game I had to leave. I couldn't bring the energy that I wanted, and ultimately it was their moment to watch it together and be themselves."
He described what followed as a moment he will carry for the rest of his life.
"I went home, I went outside to the garden and had a barbecue and I didn't watch any of it. I was just hearing some noises in the living room and suddenly the magic happened. My eldest son opened the garden door, started to run towards me, gave me a hug and said: 'We are Champions, daddy!' It was beautiful."
Arteta also placed the achievement in its proper context — 22 years of near-misses, of runner-up finishes, of moments when Arsenal were close enough to taste it and still came away empty.
"It's incredible to hear those words, especially when you consider the journey they've been on, the way they've done it, and how many people have been involved and waiting so long to achieve that goal. Your phone is a bit different when you finish second and when you win it. That's sport. It's a big lesson in life as well because the margins are so small, it can go either way. When you accomplish it, you realise how immense it is, how big it is for so many people."
He paid tribute to Pep Guardiola and the standard that City set across his own tenure at Arsenal, framing the title not as a gift but as something earned against the highest possible opposition.
"Pep has been a huge part of my journey. First of all because I started my career with him and then — not only Pep and Man City — but all the other opponents in the Premier League. They continue to raise the standards to crazy levels. The only thing it has provoked in myself, the players, the staff and the club is to be obligated to try and raise the standards and be better than that. In the last few years, we have been very, very close and this time, thankfully, we managed to win it."
He also called Andoni Iraola the morning after to thank the Bournemouth manager whose side held City to the draw that sealed it.
"I didn't message him, I rang him. I called him yesterday, firstly to congratulate him on the incredible job he has done with Bournemouth. I told him he almost took the Premier League away from us and then helped us win it on the last week. I rang him to show my admiration towards him and wish him the best in the next chapter of his career."
On what defined the season, Arteta returned to a meeting he called with the squad after pre-season.
"I got all the players together and told them: 'Look at each other and the squad we have built over the summer. I think we are capable of everything and we can be very, very good but that only depends on us and our behaviours and everyone understanding the role we have.' Once they realised that, I think we went to a different level."
He also addressed the criticism Arsenal attracted at various points during the campaign, drawing a sharp distinction between the feedback that helps and the noise that harms.
"You have to respect every opinion in our job. The difficulty is placing those opinions where they belong. Some of them can be extremely useful and help you improve. But others can be damaging, and I think they have to be kept really far away from you. Otherwise, they can affect you in a way that will transmit to the team, and you can't let that happen."
Arsenal travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday to face Crystal Palace where they will lift the Premier League trophy for the first time since the Invincibles season. They then face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30 — the chance, as Arteta put it, to sustain what has been started.