Arsenal took a huge step towards becoming Premier League champions as Kai Havertz’s goal was enough to beat relegated Burnley at Emirates Stadium.
Havertz had an eventful night – as he escaped a red card after a video assistant referee review ruled that a late challenge on Lesley Ugochukwu was not bad enough to be upgraded from a yellow.
Victory means that the Gunners are five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who have two games to play and take on Bournemouth on Tuesday.
And if Pep Guardiola’s side drop points against the Cherries, then Arsenal will be crowned Champions.
Mikel Arteta named an attacking line-up for the match with Championship-bound Burnley and the Gunners had the upper hand from the start, but it took until the 37th minute for Havertz to nod in the opener from a trademark Bukayo Saka corner.
Before taking the lead, Arsenal came close to scoring through Leandro Trossard, whose powerful shot hit the post, while Saka saw an excellent cross roll across the face of the goal after he beat full back Lucas Pires.
The victory means that Arsenal are close to winning their first Premier League title for 22 years.
And even if City beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, Arteta knows that victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday will crown his team champions.
Arsenal analysis: Gunners close to glory
The only thing that mattered for Arsenal here was the result.
In beating Burnley, Arsenal have left City with no room for error now.
Before the match, the Arsenal fans held up a banner that said “three games to make history” – two remaining games in the Premier League, plus the Champions League final against Paris St-Germain in Budapest on 30 May.
As Arsenal have dealt with the title pressure in recent weeks, manager Arteta has said that he has been making some of his big selection decisions based on intuition.
He did that again for this game naming an attacking line-up that contained Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze and Saka.
All of those players are comfortable in possession and alongside the marauding Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal dominated possession and played like a team who know they are close to making history.
With one league game left and the positive feeling at an all-time high, Arsenal are surely set to end their wait for a major trophy – in what could be a historic season.
Burnley analysis: Uphill task for Clarets
It was always going to tough for Burnley, given the disappointing season they have had, to get a result away to the league leaders.
The Clarets, rooted in 19th place since November, have suffered their third Premier League relegation in five seasons and are without a permanent manager following the departure of Scott Parker.
They have won just one of their past 27 league games and managed just two away victories all season.
Winger Loum Tchaouna did provide a bright spark for Burnley, almost helping his side into an unlikely first-half lead when his cross was put wide by Hannibal Mejbri.
Jaidon Anthony also gave Burnley threat down the other wing with his pace but he could only produce a curling effort that went over the bar in the second half.
Burnley reached 100 points the last time they were in the Championship, to earn promotion to the Premier League, and can only hope that they can bounce back again after failing to establish themselves this time around.
