At a Glance:
- Manchester City were held by Everton on Monday night.
- This result swings the Premier League title race in Arsenal’s favour.
- The Gunners can still win the title at home against Burnley.
The Premier League title race took another major twist on Tuesday night as Manchester City were held by Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, significantly boosting Mikel Arteta’s side’s chances of lifting the piece of silverware that has eluded Arsenal for over 20 years.
The Gunners beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday evening to move six points clear of City, piling the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men ahead of their trip to Merseyside. The Citizens buckled under this pressure, partaking in a helter-skelter football match under the lights on Monday night.
City were on the cusp of a 3-2 defeat before Jeremy Doku’s outstanding finish in the 97th minute salvaged a point for the away team. This point does little to boost the Manchester-based club’s chance of winning the league, with the odds now heavily stacked in Arsenal’s favour.
With that said, here is a look at some of the ramifications and the potential outcomes in the title race moving forward.
What Arsenal need to win the Premier League
Paul Merson claimed before this weekend’s hectic Premier League action that an Arsenal win over Fulham would essentially settle the title race. He believed City might fold under the pressure at Everton, and from there, the Gunners would waltz to the title.
Merson may have been right. Arsenal are now just three wins from claiming this major honour, with a very favourable set of fixtures to come.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | GD |
| 1 | Arsenal | 76 | 35 | +41 |
| 2 | Man City | 71 | 34 | +37 |
City have four games remaining and currently sit on 71 points. If they win all four of these games, they can finish on 83 points. That means Arsenal need eight points to guarantee the title, or three wins from three.
If the Gunners beat a relegation-threatened West Ham, an already-relegated Burnley and a Crystal Palace side dreaming of European glory, then they are champions.
Of course, Arteta’s men could still claim the league title before their trip to Selhurst Park on May 24th.
How Arsenal can win the Premier League at home vs Burnley
Arsenal fans were outraged when their final home game of the season, against Burnley, was moved to Monday night for broadcast reasons. Not only is this an inconvenient time logistically for both sets of supporters, but this clash has been earmarked as a potential title clincher for some time.
Celebrating winning the title on a Monday night with work the next day doesn’t exactly sound as romantic as a jubilant Saturday night.
After Arsenal lost away at the Etihad, the chances of wrapping up the title in this encounter with the Clarets seemed to evaporate. However, after Monday night’s events in Liverpool, this outcome is very much on the cards again.
All Arsenal need to win the title on home soil is for City to slip up in one of their next two games, as well as a Gunners victory away at West Ham. City face Brentford on Saturday evening, before Arteta’s team play the Hammers on Sunday.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld |
| 1 | Arsenal | 79 | 36 |
| 2 | Man City | 75 | 36 |
The Sky Blue outfit then host Crystal Palace next Wednesday, three days before their FA Cup final against Chelsea. Even if City manage four points in these two games, Arsenal will win the title with a victory over Burnley, if they beat West Ham as well.
While there would be a poetic element to Eberechi Eze walking away from Selhurst Park with a Premier League winners’ medal on the final day of the campaign, fans would no doubt rather see their team lift the title in front of a raucous Emirates crowd. It’s on.
