On the Brink of Glory: Arsenal One Step Away After 22 Years

Following a narrow 1-0 victory over relegated Burnley, Arsenal now sit five points clear at the top of the table. Even if their rivals Manchester City triumph in Bournemouth on Tuesday, the Gunners will maintain a psychological advantage heading into the final Premier League matchday. They are set to face Crystal Palace away on Sunday.

Against Burnley, who were without Slovakian international goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, Arsenal dominated possession throughout the match. However, they managed to beat German goalkeeper Max Weiss only once. The goal once again highlighted their prowess from set-pieces this season. In the 38th minute, Kai Havertz headed home from a Bukayo Saka corner to secure the win for the "Gunners." Burnley, meanwhile, offered little threat upfront and failed to trouble the opposition's goal.

"We're just one final step away. We've done our job and put ourselves in a position where everything is in our hands going into the last round. We'll see if City can end Bournemouth's unbeaten run. If they do, we'll dedicate everything to preparing for the Crystal Palace match, which we absolutely must win," stated Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to accredited media.

The Gunners suffered a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in a crucial match in April, but since then, they have kept four clean sheets in the league. "Against Burnley, we wanted to win by a more significant margin and improve our goal difference, but we couldn't. The positive, however, is that we played very responsibly in defense again and practically gave the opponent nothing," added the Spanish tactician.

Arsenal fans held their breath in the second half after a foul by Havertz, who caught Lesley Ugochukwu from behind in the calf area. The VAR system reviewed the incident, and the main referee ultimately decided to issue only a yellow card to the German international.

"It wasn't a malicious foul; a red card for Kai would have been too harsh," emphasized Arteta, who subsequently substituted Havertz and brought on Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres.