Arsenal player ratings vs Burnley: One more game! Kai Havertz soars high to put Gunners on cusp of long-awaited Premier League title
It was far from pretty, but Arsenal are one game away from the Premier League title after edging past already-relegated Burnley on Monday night, courtesy of Kai Havertz’s towering header from yet another set piece. The German forward rose to meet Bukayo Saka’s corner shortly before half-time, although he was fortunate not be sent off later in the game. The 1-0 win means the Gunners will be champions if Manchester City drop points at high-flying Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Predictably it was attack vs defence from the outset as the Clarets sat in a low block and tried to stifle the wannabe champions, but it always looked like a matter of time before Arsenal found the net. Leandro Trossard smacked the base of the post after some neat combination with Eberechi Eze after a quarter of an hour, and Saka’s dangerous cross floated right across the face of goal.
The Gunners were convinced they should have had a penalty when Saka went down in the six-yard box when it looked easier to tap in Havertz’s low cross. Replays showed he had kicked Lucas Pires’ leg as he went to shoot, and the VAR didn’t overturn the decision not to award a spot-kick.
Arsenal seemed to lose their way in the second period on what became another tetchy occasion at the Emirates. Eze squandered two big openings in the space of two minutes not long after the restart, including a volley that was feathered onto the crossbar.
Havertz was then at the centre of another flashpoint with around 20 minutes to play, although this time for the wrong reason. He escaped a red card despite lunging in on Lesley Ugochukwu and catching him high on the back of his leg as the referee and VAR deemed that it didn’t represent serious foul play.
Arsenal breathed a sigh of relief and weathered a scrappy conclusion to the game to claim a vital three points. The result means the north Londoners will be champions if City drop points against Bournemouth on Tuesday, otherwise they may well have to beat Crystal Palace on the final day as City face Aston Villa.
GOAL rates Arsenal’s players from the Emirates…
