Arsenal's North London parade could be one for the ages

Arsenal's North London parade on May 31 is already shaping up to be one of the biggest football celebrations the capital has seen in years.

The club's first Premier League title in 22 years was confirmed after Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, sparking huge scenes around the Emirates Stadium and across Islington. Supporters flooded the streets outside the stadium, with fireworks, flares and chants continuing deep into the night. Even without Arsenal playing at home, and even without the trophy being lifted, thousands still made their way to the Emirates simply to be close to the club at the moment history was made.

That is why the official parade could be enormous.

Arsenal's parade is scheduled for Sunday, May 31, starting at 2pm in Islington. The route is expected to begin and end around the Emirates, moving through familiar north London streets including Drayton Park, Aubert Park, Highbury Grove, St Paul's Road and Upper Street. It is the traditional Arsenal heartland, and on a Sunday afternoon, with schools and many workplaces closed, the conditions are set for a massive turnout.

The key question is how many people will attend.

There is no official estimate yet, but the evidence points towards a crowd well into the hundreds of thousands. Arsenal's 2004 Invincibles parade drew more than 250,000 supporters through north London, while the 2014 FA Cup parade was also estimated at around 250,000. Those numbers came after historic but very different moments: one an unbeaten title season, the other the end of a nine-year trophy drought. This time, Arsenal are celebrating a first league title since 2004, the end of a 22-year wait, and possibly much more.

Based on those previous parades, a realistic estimate for May 31 should start at 250,000. But there is a serious case that it could go higher, perhaps towards 300,000 or even beyond, depending on transport, police planning, weather and what happens in Budapest the night before.

That Champions League factor is what makes this parade potentially extraordinary. Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30, one day before the parade. It is the biggest European match in the club's history for years, and the timing could hardly be more dramatic.

If Arsenal win, the May 31 parade stops being just a Premier League title celebration. It becomes a double parade. The Premier League trophy would be there, but the Champions League trophy could be on display too. That would take the whole event from historic to generational. Arsenal have never won the Champions League. To bring that trophy back to north London alongside the league title would create the kind of turnout that stretches beyond normal football celebration.

Even if Arsenal lose in Budapest, the parade will still be huge. The league title alone guarantees that. This is the release of two decades of frustration: the move from Highbury to the Emirates, the years of financial restraint, the top-four battles, the late-Wenger decline, the rebuild, the near-misses under Mikel Arteta, and then finally the breakthrough. Supporters who were children in 2004 are now adults. Many younger fans have never seen Arsenal win the league at all. That makes May 31 feel less like a parade and more like a family pilgrimage.

The scenes after the title was confirmed are the best guide. Yesterday's celebrations were spontaneous. There was little time to plan. It was a midweek night. The players were not even at the stadium for most of it, although several were later seen outside the Emirates in the early hours. Yet still the area filled up. That tells us demand is massive. Give supporters ten days to prepare, make it official, put the team on an open-top bus, and the scale changes completely.

Islington should expect a red wall from the Emirates to Upper Street. Pubs will be packed from the morning. Families will claim spots along the route early. Shirts from every era will come out: Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Fabregas, Saka, Odegaard, Rice. North London Forever will be sung all afternoon, and if the Champions League trophy is on that bus too, the noise may be unlike anything the Emirates era has seen.

The record question is difficult because crowd estimates are always imperfect. But compared with the 250,000 reported in 2004 and 2014, this parade has every chance to match or beat those numbers. A league title after 22 years already makes it one of the biggest days in modern Arsenal history. Add a possible Champions League trophy from the night before, and May 31 could become the biggest Arsenal gathering north London has ever witnessed.

For Arteta's team, the football has already delivered the title. Now the city gets its moment. And judging by what happened outside the Emirates when the job was merely confirmed, the official parade could be absolutely colossal.