Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday to move within touching distance of a first Premier League title in 22 years, with Kai Havertz scoring the only goal in the first half.
The win kept Arsenal on course for a title race that could end before the final weekend. Anything but a Manchester City win at Bournemouth on Tuesday would hand Arsenal the trophy before Sunday’s league finale. Even if City win, Arsenal would still need only victory at Crystal Palace on Sunday to clinch the championship themselves.
The margin over Burnley was narrow, but the overall run has been far more convincing. Arsenal have won their past four league matches, and three of those victories finished 1-0. That stretch has pushed Mikel Arteta’s side into a position they have not reached since the club’s last league crown two decades ago, and the numbers behind the season help explain why.
Arsenal have finished second in the Premier League in each of the past three seasons, a sequence that has tested the patience of supporters and the resolve of the squad. This time, the difference has been in the back line. Arsenal have conceded the fewest goals in the league with 26, and Burnley’s defeat was their 32nd clean sheet in all competitions this season. Before that, their last open-play goal conceded came in the loss to Manchester City on 19 April, a sign of how difficult they have become to break down.
Declan Rice, who has helped anchor the team’s midfield push, said Arsenal believe they have done enough to deserve the title. “I think we deserve to be champions, 100% speaking honestly,” he said. Rice added that this has felt like Arsenal’s year, while acknowledging City’s standard under Pep Guardiola. “This season has been our season but Man City have been incredible. Under Pep, you can never rule them out, the ruthlessness of them. But we have put ourselves in a really good position and all I have been saying is that we have to keep going.”
Rice said there is still one step left. “There is one more. Thirty-eight games nearly completed and at the end you can say you are a champion, but you have to go out there on Sunday and perform because Palace is not going to be easy.”
Arteta, meanwhile, has not tried to hide the strain of a run-in that could end with silverware or another near miss. “I thought that the amount of hair that I have is never going to go away but in this job it is going to test it to the limit,” he said.
Manchester City remain the only team standing between Arsenal and an early celebration, but the equation is now simple. One result in Bournemouth could finish the race for them. If not, Sunday in south London may decide it anyway.
