Arsenal 1-0 Burnley: Havertz goal the difference as Gunners put one hand on trophy

Presuming that Arsenal lay claim to the Premier League title on Championship Sunday, it may turn out that the memory of this Gunners’ run may be one of a stubborn refusal to do two things:

1) Make this easy on themselves
2) Let anyone else into the throne room

In fact, Arsenal fans of a certain age must be feeling like Danny Glover in “Lethal Weapon” after he’s dropped by new partner Mel Gibson — “too old for this (expletive).” It feels like the Gunners have been raising their supporters’ blood pressure every four days for about 10 months (or years).

But they won’t ask how, they’ll ask how many. And Arsenal are now 90 minutes from their 14th top-flight title and the first since the ‘Invincibles’ run of 2003-04.

Burnley’s last Premier League match for at least a year kicks off at 11am ET Sunday at home to Wolves as the division’s 20th- and 19th-place sides try to leave the season outside the basement.

Arsenal go to Palace at the same time, where a win guarantees the PL title. The Gunners will then go to Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary to face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League Final.

Not exactly a brilliant bit of entertainment but who cares — the Gunners are 90 minutes from a long-sought Premier League title and control their own destiny.

Arsenal keeper David Raya is fouled by Zian Flemming at the outset of seven minutes’ stoppage time.

Raya spend just as long on the turf but he does not appear to be leaving the game.

Leandro Trossard will exit with injury as Gabriel Martinelli takes his place, while an uninjured Martin Odegaard is replaced by the more defensive Martin Zubimendi.

The Gunners haven’t put this away and Burnley have not quit the endeavor.

Fresh off plugging James Ward-Prowse into the game for Florentino, Michael Jackson makes two more moves.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Bashir Humphreys replace Loum Tchaouna and Maxime Esteve.

Kai Havertz catches Lesley Ugochukwu on the back of the calf with his studs and VAR is having a look at a possible red card.

VAR decides not to send Havertz off, but he is really lucky. The press box here is stunned by that decision. Havertz should be off but he is only booked.

That was a poor challenge and he caught Ugochukwu in a really dangerous area. Perhaps he wasn’t shown red due to the intensity of the challenge? Anyway, Arsenal get away with one and the home fans are getting a bit nervous.

Twenty minutes to go. 1-0 to the Arsenal, and Gyokeres is on for Havertz as part of a triple sub with Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly also coming on for Calafiori and Eze.

Arteta shutting up shop with a more defensive midfield selection with Odegaard playing as the No. 10.

That is more like it from Arsenal.

The ball drops to Eberechi Eze in the box and he hits it into the ground and it loops up.

Weiss looked to have got a touch on it, as the ball clips the bar and goes over.

Moments later Havertz loops a cross into the box but Eze’s header is blocked superbly by Esteve.

Arsenal well on top now as they push for a crucial second goal.

Burnley are still in this.

Eberechi Eze gives the ball away cheaply in midfield and Burnley break.

Jaidon Anthony gets on the ball and runs towards goal and smashes it just over the bar.

Moments later Anthony whips in a great cross but no Burnley player is there to attack it.

A little bit of a nervous start to the second half from Arsenal.

That was all business from Arsenal in the first half as they got the goal from a set piece (again, ole, ole!) and Kai Havertz’s header was so important.

Arsenal could be up by a few more with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard constant threats and both going close.

But Burnley are in this and had one big chance on the break and have shown they can be dangerous if Arsenal switch off.

Still, Arsenal will want to get the second goal quickly in the second half to put this game beyond doubt.

The nerves are still jangling a little here among the home fans, but they are 45 minutes away from putting the pressure all on Manchester City tomorrow.

Bukayo Saka is really turning on the style now.

He picks the ball up on the edge of the box and drops his shoulder to create some space.

Saka then curls inches wide of the far post.

That looked certain to go in.

Arsenal’s fans are off their seats each and every time Saka gets on the ball. And rightly so. He is a magician.

1-0 to the Arsenal, and that was coming!

Bukayo Saka’s corner is right inside the box and Kai Havertz climbs high to flick home.

‘Set piece again ole, ole!’ sing the home fans.

What a moment for Havertz, who has been so unlucky with injuries.

And what a call from Arteta to start him over Gyokeres today.

‘1-0 to the Arsenal is the chant’ now!

As it stands, Arsenal are five points clear.

Their fans are absolutely buzzing.

Lovely play down the left, again, from Arsenal and Odegaard curls a low shot towards the corner.

It takes a deflection and goes just wide.

Corner for Arsenal and the pressure is building.

VAR check for a possible penalty kick on Bukayo Saka.

A cross comes in from the left and Saka goes down as he kicks the back of Pires’ leg.

VAR checks it and no penalty is given.

Mikel Arteta is furious, and so is Saka, but that is the right decision. Pires was just there and Saka kicked him. Play on.

Bukayo Saka is twisting and turning down the right and clips a cross to the back post.

It misses everyone, including Weiss in Burnley’s goal, and drifts just wide of the back post and all of the advancing Arsenal players.

Time seemed to stand still and the stands were silent here at the Emirates.

Saka needs to get on the ball more. Burnley are doing a good job of doubling up on him.

Burnley connect a few passes on the break and they are in.

Tchaouna is free down the right and his cross finds Hannibal at the back post.

He takes a touch but it bounces up with Declan Rice covering, and the Burnley midfielder lashes it wide. Burnley’s interim boss Mike Jackson wheels away in frustration. That was really good from his team.

That was a big chance and there was a huge intake of breath from the home fans here at the Emirates.

30 minutes in and Burnley are more than holding their own. 0-0. It’s tense.

Well, this is loud and a real party atmosphere here at the Emirates.

Here was the scene as Arsenal and Burnley came out onto the pitch.

How close was that!? Leandro Trossard is taking over this game and this time he finds a pocket of space centrally.

Trossard keeps on going and nobody closes him down, so he has a pop and it spanks the bottom of the post and comes straight back out.

Arsenal’s forwards can’t gather the loose ball and Burnley scramble it clear.

Trossard winds up the crowd and gestures to them to make even more noise. He is properly up for this.

The Belgian has delivered so many big goals in big moments for Arsenal. It seems like he fancies being the hero again tonight...

That is much better from Arsenal, as a corner is cleared and Trossard is played in.

He then crosses and Kai Havertz is there. He takes a touch and prods a shot towards goal but it goes wide.

Havertz should hit the target there. He didn’t have much pressure on him.

Still, good creativity from Arsenal.

Leandro Trossard has pushed Zian Flemming, who goes down very theatrically for a big lad.

It all came after Flemming caught Eberechi Eze a little late.

It was calmed down by the players themselves but an early flashpoint.

Trossard was sticking up for his teammate, but he has to be a bit careful. The last thing Arsenal want is a silly red card.

A spine-tingling rendition of “North London Forever” as the home fans have whipped up a wonderful atmosphere.

Burnley have an early corner in their sky blue kits, but it comes to nothing.

Arsenal are starting to dictate the tempo of the game with Martin Odegaard popping up everywhere and demanding it.

Mosquera has seen plenty of the ball too. Nearly 10 minutes in. 0-0.

How are you nerves, Arsenal fans?

The Arsenal vs Burnley starting lineups are out and there are a few surprises in the Arsenal team news.

Most notably Kai Havertz starting up front ahead of Viktor Gyokeres. Cristhian Mosquera is in at right back with Ben White and Jurrien Timber out injured, while Riccardo Calafiori has shaken off a knock to start at left back.

Martin Odegaard is in for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Arteta has gone for it in a very attacking lineup.

Burnley are unchanged from their draw against Aston Villa and that 4-5-1 system worked well on the counter and to get crosses in to Flemming.

Arsenal lineup

Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Eze, Trossard; Havertz

Burnley lineup

Weiss; Walker, Esteve, Tuanzebe, Pires; Florentino, Ugochukwu; Tchaouna, Hannibal, Anthony; Flemming

What a brilliant atmosphere here at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal’s fans welcome their team to the stadium.

Wonderful noise, color and excitement.

This is what it is all about.

Arsenal’s fans have welcome their team the same way they did for the huge UEFA Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid.

It worked that night and how can this not inspire you as a player?

Arsenal host Burnley in a huge game on Monday in north London, and here’s all of the information you need to watch the action in the USA.

Can Mikel Arteta’s side hold their nerve and take care of business against already-relegated Burnley? Will they pile the pressure on Man City, who head to Bournemouth on Tuesday in their penultimate game of the season?

This is absolutely must-watch.

How to watch Arsenal vs Burnley live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 3pm ET Monday (May 18)
Venue: Emirates Stadium — North London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch on USA

Burnley have been down and out for a while have just one win in their last 27 Premier League games. They have become the ultimate yo-yo club with three relegations and two promotions in the last five years.

But they have shown against the big boys this season that they can frustrate them and pick up results.

The Clarets drew at home against Aston Villa last weekend and have drawn against Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs this season.

They won’t be a pushover and caretaker boss Mike Jackson will set them up in a 4-5-1 formation and try to whip in crosses for Zian Flemming as often as possible.

Burnley have absolutely nothing to lose and even though everyone expects them to lose, teams in this kind of situation are tough to predict.

They will want to pick up one more big result before heading back to the Championship next season.

Mikel Arteta has become more cautious over the years but this is not the time to set up Arsenal with more defensive personnel and be tentative.

Arsenal have blown teams away in recent weeks by starting the fluid front four of Trossard, Eze, Saka and Gyokeres and there is a beautiful combination of trickery, speed, power and precision among that quartet.

The Gunners simply have to go for it and none of their fans will blame Arteta if they create chance after chance and don’t put the ball away and Burnley somehow hang on and hit them on the counter.

They will be pretty unhappy with Arteta if he decides to go too defensive and the Gunners end up drawing a game they should win easily. This is all about bravery and Arsenal seizing the moment.

They’ve worked so hard to be in this position. Now, they must grasp it with both hands.

This is going to be quite the occasion at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal will be hoping the score early, and often, to put the result beyond doubt as early as possible.

How many times have we seen Mikel Arteta’s team come flying out of the traps early in recent years?

Bukayo Saka looks to be on a mission to get this title over the line and everything will run through him early.

Burnley will sit deep and do their best to be dangerous on the counter, but nobody really believes the Clarets will get anything from this game. But you never know...

In terms of a score prediction, I’ve gone for 4-1 to Arsenal. They just have too much quality in attack and their intensity has been spot on in recent weeks.

With the added factor of the home fans being right behind them to push closer to the title, Arsenal’s players will deliver.