Manchester City have done exactly what everyone expected them to do tonight, beating Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad and turning the pressure right back onto Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
For now the gap at the top has been cut to just two points. Cue the noise. Cue the “Arsenal are wobbling” headlines. Cue the endless reminders that Pep Guardiola’s side know how to hunt down titles in the final weeks of a season.
But while the media narrative will inevitably swing back toward Manchester City tonight, the reality is that Arsenal still hold the advantage, and importantly, their destiny remains completely in their own hands.
After defeating Fulham and West Ham in recent weeks, though the West Ham win was a very hard-fought affair, the Gunners are still in the driving seat.
Arsenal still control the title race
The Gunners now head into their huge clash against Burnley at the Emirates on 18th May knowing exactly what is required, win the game and restore the cushion back to five points.
That would immediately pile the pressure back onto City, who face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on 16th May before travelling away to Bournemouth in the Premier League on 19th May.
Fatigue, injuries and fixture congestion are still very real factors here.
Arsenal, meanwhile, can focus fully on the league before attention turns to the Champions League final on 30th May.
Mikel Arteta’s side have already shown incredible mental resilience this season. Every time people have questioned them, they have responded. Every time City have applied pressure, Arsenal have found another gear.
This title race is not being handed to anyone.
The final day could still be dramatic
The Premier League season concludes on 24th May, and there is every chance this race goes right down to the wire.
Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace, while Manchester City host Aston Villa at the Etihad.
On paper, City’s fixture looks kinder, but football rarely follows scripts in title run-ins, especially when nerves and pressure start creeping in.
And let’s not forget, Arsenal could still end this season with something even bigger than the Premier League title.
Six days after the final league fixtures, the Gunners head to the Champions League final in Budapest knowing they are potentially just one victory away from European immortality.
This is no longer simply about whether Arsenal can handle pressure.
This team are fighting on multiple fronts, carrying the hopes of supporters who have waited years to see the club back at the elite level of European football and genuine Premier League contention.
Manchester City winning tonight changes the maths slightly.
It does not change the fact Arsenal are still top.
And it certainly does not change the belief growing around this football club.
Can Arsenal respond against Burnley and take another giant step toward the Premier League title, Gooners?
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Assuming Arsenal beat Burnley (at odds of about 1/8), a win or draw for Bournemouth v Man City would seal it without having to suffer the mental agony of the final day.
Let’s be clear about one thing. It’s now highly unlikely Arsenal will win the league on goal difference. It only becomes relevant if they finish level on points, eg if Man City win both games and Arsenal have a win and a draw. In this instance, even if City only win each game by 1 goal, Arsenal would still need to beat Burnley by 4 or more goals (assuming they go on to draw with Palace on the final day).
In other words, if it went to the final day, Arsenal would probably have to win and under that kind of pressure, who knows what might happen.
I therefore think the Bournemouth result next Tuesday is absolutely huge.
Hmm-but if we beat Burnley on Monday by, say, a modest 2-0, then surely the pressure is right back on city130?
no Ken if we win 2-0 , we can’t win title on goal difference
in that situation if City beat Cherries and Villa we would have to beat Palace
I know that Dan, what I was thinking was that, if we beat Burnley 2-0 it puts us five points ahead once again and means city130 have to win the game against Bournemouth,
A draw or defeat will not be good enough…. and that’s the point I was trying to get across.
Steve P, not that I want it to go there but we are right in the mix regarding GD. They are one up on us, we play Burnley next, they pay Bournemouth. Only difference is whether MA goes for goals against Burnley or if he plays safe to take the three points given the scenario. I will happily accept the latter at this stage.
Kia, I agree with your consideration of GD. To me it depends on how confident MA is that we can defeat CP one way or the other. If he believes it is a near certainty, then I would not suggest changing anything for Burnley. On the other hand, if he believes that CP will be in any way a difficult task, imo he should sacrifice some of the defensive control and change the style of play against Burnley to maximize GD. I’ve seen the team do so successfully on occasion this season and against Burnley I believe the defense would be able to hold up on its own without as much assistance from the style of play or midfield cover.
I’ve already explained the goal difference. To say “they are one up on us” is a fraction of the full story. They have also scored more goals so they are effectively 1.5 goals ahead at this stage.
For goal difference to even be relevant, they have to finish level on points, meaning City winning both games and Arsenal drawing one.
Even two 1-goal wins for Man City puts them effectively 3.5 goals ahead, meaning Arsenal would need to win by four against Burnley, assuming they draw with Crystal Palace. Obviously if Arsenal win both games, goal difference doesn’t even come into it.
It really isn’t that hard to understand.
I take the win first obviously too. Mind you
as Burnley are horrific at the moment. I can see MA being less cautious taking the sword to Burnley.
If we go 2-0 up and also controling the game I think we see more attacking switch than we would normally. I expect hungry arsenal.
There is a saying that I know Who could pluck out a piece of meat from the jaws of a lion? Title is Arsenal’s!!!
Man City have too much form and fitness at this end of the season, so much for their very difficult run in, they are brushing everyone aside with aplomb, in a way that we just can’t do all season. We couldn’t beat Brentford at theirs, Palace came to ours and took us to penalties – Some of you are expecting too much from Bournemouth. It’s still Bournemouth at the end of the day. We are reliant on Bournemouth to save us from last day chaos? It’s now easy to imagine City winning this on last afternoon. Last day away is always a tough game. Palace will be completely different kettle of fish in sunshine front of their own fans last day of season, In closing stages we will be just a goal up as usual, jittery as heck, 2.1 or something, and this time come a cropper. And no trophy this season, and chokers tag forever.
Where it turned, the moment we may have failed to earn the title, was the 4 points City took off us. We should have gone up there and got the draw, that’s what champions do, that would have killed the contest that evening, it would effectively have been over that evening, we would be 4 points better off this evening, one point away from the title. We threw the kitchen sink at City, yet couldn’t stop them winning. Our inability to go up there and get something from the match plunged our title push into cliff edge jeopardy, taking it to an away game on last day of season.
Both Burnley and Palace games are now nerve wracking monstrosity’s – horrible games for us, full of jeopardy.
whay do you mean so much for their difficult run In ?
most said Everton and Bournemouth would be where they could drop points
so far that’s what has happened
2
1 CL
There is the possibility that Palace may rest some players on the last day as they are playing for nothing, but have a European final 3 days later.
AFC “Just Win Baby”
I dont think we need to be pessimistic about the Burnley and the Palace games. We are quite capable of beating both comfortably, the most important factor will be the mental strength and fortitude. On paper, we have a much better squad than both of these teams and should be able to beat both of them.
Could not agree more but bottom of tge table teams and teams with nothing to play have scuppered our chances for the last 3 seasons. Im hopefull but I wouldn’t bet on it with my own money.
Just play with the same winning mentality and let haters say whatever they want to say. If MA and the players keep this mind, nothing is stopping us from the title.
Let’s go Gunners!
Arsenal would most likely win EPL, because Burnley have been relegated and Palace will have to rest their key players for the Conference Cup final
I’m sure Arteta and the players have already been thinking about PSG
@GotAnIdea: We cannot afford to take both Burnley and Palace lightly.
We don’t underestimate them
I’m just super confident because of our squad depth
If Arsenal can’t defeat a relegated team and the one that have to rest their key players, the Gunners don’t deserve to win UCL
I never expected Palace to do something against City, but I’m still disappointed with the ease they and Brentford have rolled over. Bournemouth are the team that on paper can do something.
With Arsenal nothing comes easy, we’ll have to win our games, which will be more difficult than people imagine, even thought it’s just Burnley and Palace, when the pressure is on us we don’t generally do too well.
Likewise, Konstantin, I never expected much from the Palace game as they have too much riding on their European final. Pep’s team selection was smart after all.
I’m expecting a tense affair at the Emirates. More of the wall to wall sound that accompanied the semi final against Atletico please. The crowd on Monday night can make all the difference.
Bournemouth really do have something to play for and they are at home against a team who were in a final just a few days before.
We know all the permutations. Arsenal just have to win both matches. Gulp
I just can’t get this image out of my head
of us not being able to score at Selhurst Park , then hearing City are thrashing Villa and our players panic .
I just need us to beat Burnley and then 🙏 for the Cherries to do us a favour just to make the anxiety stop
Can’t handle the final day tension.
Amen brother! I’m the biggest advocate of doing the job ourselves, but the PTSD of failure under pressure is so high. Imagine needing a win and it’s 0-0 70th minute at Selhurst park… I’m buying a kilo or cherries on Tuesday and praying they spare us another west ham drama.
That said, we haven’t beaten Burnley and it will be harder than people think!
I’m seeing Palace giving a Guard of Honour to Arsenal. Mid week City will drop pts at Bournemouth.
We are in the same position as a few seasons ago but reverse roles
We had to win last game and so did they, no matter if we won they would be champions if they won and history books tell us they saw out they job
My point is we are good enough to do the same and the history books will say that come a fortnight time
Don’t get me wrong it will be nerve wrenching stuff. No matter what we think these two teams are not as bad as some may think and can cause and inflict an upset if we are not on our game. City have a great.manager and maybe one of the best managers the prem has ever seen so he will not give it up and he would expect his players to do the same right up until the last kick of the season
2 to go for the glory we have been chasing for the past 20 plus seasons
Monday night will be like no other match we have had at the Emirates for the last game of the season in decades so let’s make it count and stand up for the.boys and help them get it over the line
Onwards and upwards
Well said Allan.
I actually preper if we beat Bournemouth and Palace and City also win their remaining games, that way their hope get dashed at the very last moment.
*prefer
Admin, this is 2026. Where is there no edit button for comments?
Just install a spell check on your phone or PC. Timothy.
The pressure will certainly be there and focus will be the most important factor in the last 2 PL matches. On paper, Arsenal’s fixtures are easier than City’s fixtures but nothing can be taken for granted and Arsenal will have to play really well to win and bring the title home.
I wasn’t expecting City to drop points to CP at home. I expect City will beat Villa at home. But Bournemouth away could be close.
For us CP away will be very tough, depending on if they rest players or not..
I expect us to beat Burnley (although nothing is guaranteed in football)
I’m hoping that Bournemouth can take points off City
But it’s more likely that the Title will come down to the Final day
Both CP vs Arsenal and City vs Villa will be close
“although nothing is guaranteed in football…”
rarely any football match turns out the walk in the park we like to imagine before hand…
Arsenal 1 – 2 Burnley
Match Report.
The match was ultimately shaped by the 9th minute sending off of Arsenal’s talismanic defender Gabriel for what the referee deemed a foul when last man, a short VAR check upholding the decision. It was Declan Rice of all people whose back-pass left Flemming through on goal. Arteta argued after the match Flemming had taken a heavy touch and Raya would have got to the ball first if Gabriel hadn’t bundled the Burnley forward over, but there was little argument it more than met the threshold for a foul, and shows how the margins of VAR can save you one week, but find against you the next. Burnley took the lead ten minutes later when the reshuffled Arsenal back line left Jayden Anthony in acres of space space for an easy finish in off the far post. After half time, Arsenal expanded play in search of two goals, but it was Burnley who extended their lead, Tuanzebe’s back header from just their second corner of the match. After this, identical to their loss home to Bournemouth, Arsenals performance on field mirrored the abstracted and jittery nature in the stands, as they were held back by Burnley’s energetic attacking play. Kai Havertz late injury time goal – which had originally been flagged offside – came too late to spark an Arsenal fightback.
What this means for the title race. All Manchester City now need to do is win their last two games to secure the title yet again, which many expect to happen after their confident goal laden performances of late. Haaland, Doku, Silva, Rodri and co proving the better more consistent players than their Arsenal counterparts, and Man City the worthier title winners once everyone completed the full set of fixtures.
I don’t care about last match against palace.
What I want is arsenal to win Sunday game against Burnley.
Please just win a game we have next.
I thought it’s Monday.
It is
What time you turning up Sunday, Rux?
if we can target say a 4-0 we might have the security of a draw being enough at Palace if City don’t beat Villa by two clear goals
let’s cheer for Villa to lose to Liverpool and Europa League Final
first though let’s hope Cherries do us a favour
Today professionally humble Arteta thanked England for trusting and providing Spanish coaches with opportunities to showcase their skills. He also gave credit to EPL players for making Spanish coaches effective. No ego Arteta.
I think everyone expected City to pump Palace, so I don’t really get the narrative of “the pressure is back on Arsenal”.
Arteta has this mantra of enjoying the moment, enjoy the pressure… I think if he can keep the players in that mindset we are all good for the trophy.
As for the fans that are able to attend the game against Burnley at Emirates, don’t just shout for yourselves, add the voices of those who would love to be there but can’t. If you still have a voice on Tuesday morning, you have not done your job!
COYG!
because if they hadn’t the pressure would be off lol
it’s very simple
I’m just saying no one expected a result there so the pressure remains the same, I don’t think it’s piled the pressure on us, is what I’m saying.
no one expects us to not beat Burnely
if we do though it increases the pressure on City for the Cherries game
I’m just saying, City beating Palace doesn’t necessarily shift all the pressure onto us as it is still in our hands.
It would have been the case if we were level on points and fighting on goal difference.
it adds to the pressure
if they had drawn it be less pressures
it’s obvious
I’m feeling the flipping pressure. The next games days away and I’m already pressure the moment I think football.
How come you not feeling pressure? What’s wrong with you?
I remember Southampton at home during the 22/23 season, saints were already relegated and were seconds away from winning until we snatched a 3-3 draw, hopefully the players are super focused and don’t give Burnley a prayer, win this comfortably and finish the job at Selhurst Arsenal, we’re so close now!
Anything less than 4 goals against Burnley is unacceptable as far as I’m concerned . We have our noses in front and we should be going all out.
COYG.
priority is the win
I take a 1-0
To get a 4-0 win against Burnley we have to put a very attacking formation like this:
Raya
Calafiori, Saliba,Gabriel,MLS
Odegaard,Rice’Eze
Saka,Giokeres,Madueke.
And go from the first minute non stop.
G.D. could define the Tittle.
I’ll take a 1-0 too, any other time in the season I’d be looking for 4 or 5-0 all day but the main priority is 3 points, win the game and let’s see what City have to offer at Bournemouth.
No more one nil. The last minutes bombing mission on our goal is bound to go wrong again at some point. And it’s too stressful! What’s the point even winning a league if we are all too dead to enjoy it.
Last week I was of the opinion that if we could get past the Hammers, we would have an easy run in to the title, but it’s crazy that I can now see demons in every fixture. Burnley came from 2-0 down th draw with Villa, proving that they are playing with a fredom they didn’t have when they were battling relegation. I have us down for a 2-0 against them, although anything could happen. Similarly, playing at Crystal Palace three days before their Conference League final, must mean they will field a team of reserves and youngsters, right. But I’m even doubting this. Win on monday, and City will need to beat Bournemouth to take it to the final day, which is our best chance, but I’m thinking that City will beat them by the odd goal. When you can almost touch, smell and taste the trophy, it can stress you out.
Just few weeks ago Burnley made this Man City side, who beat us, look like numpties. They carved City open at will City lucky to escape with the points. Anyone predicting 3-0 4-0 are they nuts? Don’t they follow Premiership football?
And of course the naff sending off, from dropping sent off team mate right in it with crazy pass, is exactly the sort of thing to happen when playing under this crazy last chance saloon no room for error pressure.
When we went to Man City, we should have got a point, that was title winning day, that was handbrake day, but our manager played it like a free hit as if defeat didn’t matter. Now we are right in the gloop, ripe for a pressure mistake.