Unconvincing Arsenal close on Premier League title after Burnley win

LONDON — Arsenal moved to within one win of the Premier League title with a 1-0 win against Burnley at the Emirates. Still, a red card for goalscorer Kai Havertz could have marred a nervous and frustrating performance.

The Gunners will be crowned champions for the first time since 2004 if Manchester City fail to win at Bournemouth on Tuesday.

But Arsenal’s failure to win convincingly against already-relegated Burnley means they will have to win at Crystal Palace on the final day of the season to banish any prospect of City beating them to the title with two wins in their remaining games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

But the good news for Mikel Arteta is that Germany international Havertz, who scored Arsenal’s first-half winner, will be available at Selhurst Park after escaping a red card for a late tackle on Burnley’s Lesley Ugochukwu, despite a VAR review. — Mark Ogden

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Havertz, the hero and very nearly the villain

Havertz put Arsenal on the brink of the title by scoring the only goal of the game to give the Gunners a 1-0 win, but the forward was fortunate to escape a second-half red card that would have reduced Arteta’s team to ten players following a bad challenge on Burnley’s Ugochukwu.

Luckily for Havertz, his goal will be remembered as the decisive moment in this fixture — one that put Arsenal to within one victory of their first title since 2004 — but he should have been sent off and playing the final 20 minutes with a one-man disadvantage could have wrecked Arsenal’s title bid.

VAR reviewed the challenge on Ugochukwu for serious foul play, but referee Paul Tierney was not sent to the pitchside monitor for an on-field review, with VAR official James Bell ultimately deciding that the foul did not merit further escalation.

But it was a bad one — Havertz’s studs caught the Burnley player with force on the calf — yet Arsenal escaped their first Premier League red card of the season at a crucial stage of the game.

The red card escape means that Havertz will be available to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday and, considering he has a track record for goals in big games, it will not go down well at Manchester City if he scores another big goal to deny Pep Guardiola’s side the title on the final day. — Ogden

Toothless Arsenal heap pressure on themselves on final day

Arsenal will be crowned champions on Tuesday night if Manchester City fail to win at Bournemouth, but if City emerge with all three points from the Vitality Stadium, the pressure will be on the Gunners to win at Crystal Palace to seal the title.

Had Arteta’s team enjoyed a comfortable win against relegated Burnley, they could have taken goal difference out of the equation to the extent that a draw at Selhurst Park would be enough to keep City at bay.

But by only winning 1-0 against the Clarets, Arsenal failed to pull clear of City on goal difference and the two sides are now level with each other having a goal difference of 43. This was a game that Arsenal had to win convincingly, but not for the first time this season, they had to rely on a set-piece goal to get them over the line.

There was no flair, no cutting Burnley open and just like the win at West Ham last week, Arsenal won by the narrowest possible margin. If they do that again at Palace, they will be champions regardless of what City do at Bournemouth and against Aston Villa on the final day.

But Arsenal have scraped over the line so often recently that they might be heading for a day when they aren’t so lucky. And if that comes at Palace, it could still cost them the title. — Ogden

Arsenal within touching distance of the title

Ahead of kickoff against Burnley, a banner was held up by supporters at the Emirates which read: “Three games to make history.” One down, two to go. Two more wins and Arsenal will be Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners.

Another three points will be enough to get over the line in the Premier League — regardless of what City do in their last two games.

Win at Crystal Palace on Sunday and it’s done. And while Selhurst Park is a tough place to go, it will be interesting to see what sort of team Oliver Glasner picks. Despite having very little to play for in the league, Palace earned a creditable 2-2 draw at Brentford on Sunday.

Glasner has insisted he won’t make wholesale changes against Arsenal, but it will be hard to ignore their UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano three days later. Not only would it be another trophy, but it’s also a route into the UEFA Europa League and another campaign in Europe.

Ultimately, it’s all in Arsenal’s hands, and if you’d offered Arteta the chance to win the title by winning at Crystal Palace before the season started, he would have bitten your hand off. It’s so close. — Rob Dawson

City set for nervy Bournemouth trip

Arsenal might have already done enough because if Manchester City fail to win at Bournemouth on Tuesday, then the title race is over. It won’t be easy for Pep Guardiola at the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth haven’t lost since January. They need a point to guarantee Europe next season, and City have to negotiate a quick turnaround after playing in the FA Cup final on Saturday. It’s enough to ensure that Arteta and his players will be keeping a close eye on their televisions.

Guardiola wants to take it to the final day — when City play Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium — but he’s already hinted at how difficult the Bournemouth game is.

In a moment of pure honesty in a recent news conference, he conceded that traveling to Bournemouth at this stage of the season, and in the form they’re showing, was perhaps the worst fixture they could have asked for with the title on the line.

It would not be a huge surprise if Arsenal were crowned champions on Tuesday night with a game to spare. — Dawson