MANCHESTER, England — The Premier League title race will go to the final day of the season after Arsenal returned to the highest of the standings with a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard struck within the twentieth minute at Outdated Trafford to make sure Arsenal will take defending champion Manchester Metropolis to the ultimate spherical of video games subsequent Sunday.
Something apart from a win towards United for Mikel Arteta’s crew might have seen Metropolis clinch the title with victory at Tottenham on Tuesday. Arsenal duly delivered and moved one level forward of its title rival in second place.
Defeat for United was a contemporary blow for underneath stress supervisor Erik ten Hag, whose crew misplaced for the 14th time within the league this season and prolonged a harmful run that has seen it win simply certainly one of its final eight video games in England’s high division.
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Arsenal benefited from slack defending from United when makeshift heart again Casemiro was sluggish to push up and performed Kai Havertz onside. The German ahead took benefit and drove into the field earlier than crossing for Trossard to transform from shut vary.
Arsenal will host Everton within the last spherical, when Metropolis is at residence towards West Ham.
For now, Arsenal has achieved all it might to maintain the stress on Pep Guardiola’s crew — bettering on final season when a late collapse by the Gunners allowed Metropolis to wrap up a 3rd successive title with three video games to spare.
Whereas the title continues to be in Metropolis’s palms, it should win the remaining two video games to make sure of a file fourth-straight English league title.
Arsenal is aiming to be topped champion for the primary time since 2004, when Arsene Wenger’s crew went a whole league marketing campaign with out defeat to earn the nickname of the “Invincibles.”
The go to to Outdated Trafford all the time regarded like its largest take a look at throughout the run-in and historical past was not on Arsenal’s aspect, having received solely as soon as in its final 16 video games on the residence of United. Even so, Arsenal was the favourite to beat a United crew that had been ruthlessly uncovered by Crystal Palace earlier within the week when routed 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
Casemiro had acquired heavy criticism for his efficiency towards Palace, however Ten Hag requested the Brazilian to reprise that position towards Arsenal which has one of the crucial deadly assaults within the league.
It shouldn’t have come as a shock that he was culpable as Arsenal took an early lead.
The larger shock was that Arteta’s crew didn’t construct on that benefit and as a substitute ceded lengthy durations of possession to United, with out ever trying more likely to concede.
The second half was additionally wanting openings till substitute Gabriel Martinelli weaved his approach by means of United’s field and compelled Andre Onana to push away an effort that was heading for the highest nook.
The United goalkeeper needed to produce two extra saves in fast succession — first to forestall Aaron Wan-Bissaka from heading into his personal internet after which to palm away Declan Rice’s long-range effort into the underside nook.