Arsenal closes to Premier League title

LONDON — Arsenal can move within touching distance of the English Premier League crown before title rivals Manchester City next play as a gripping race enters its final stretch. The Gunners will be fancied to beat relegated Burnley on Monday and move five points clear of second-placed City, who travel to Bournemouth the following day. Tottenham and West Ham remain locked in a desperate battle to avoid relegation, while European places are still up for grabs. AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the action: Manchester City is on a 14-game unbeaten run in the Premier League but it may not be enough to overhaul Arsenal. City appeared to have the upper hand after they beat the Gunners last month, but a 3-3 draw at Everton last week could ultimately prove fatal. Pep Guardiola, whose team face Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, admits all City can do is stay alive in the title race and hope the leaders slip up. City is two points behind Arsenal with two games left but has a marginally better goal difference and has scored seven more goals. Coach Mikel Arteta said Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at City had proved to be a “reset moment” for his team, who has won all three of their league matches since without conceding a goal. “We used that as fuel to be even more convinced and to understand that what we’ve done up to now is fine, let’s learn every bit of it,” he said. With the lessons learnt Arsenal hope to move to the brink of their first Premier League title since 2004. Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi believes the battle to avoid the drop will go to the final day despite the club’s recent uptick in form. The north London side was on track for victory against Leeds earlier this week, but was left clinging on, grateful to goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky for a late wonder save in a 1-1 draw. Tottenham is still favourites to stay up, with a priceless two-point advantage over 18th-placed West Ham. But if West Ham beat Newcastle on Sunday, Tottenham would be back in the bottom three when they kick off at Chelsea on Tuesday. Although Nuno Espirito Santo’s side suffered the agony of a disallowed stoppage-time equaliser in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, Hammers midfielder Mateus Fernandes said they would take confidence from their performance. “We can do it,” he said. “There are still games to play and points to take and we need to believe until the end.” Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United have already qualified for Europe’s elite club competition, with fourth-placed Liverpool and fifth-placed Villa on course to take the final two spots. Both clubs are four points clear of sixth-placed Bournemouth, with only six points available. But the sixth-placed team will also qualify for the Champions League – if Villa beat Freiburg in next week’s Europa League final and finish fifth in the Premier League. Bournemouth, seventh-placed Brighton and eighth-placed Brentford all harbour ambitions of playing in the Champions League for the first time. FIXTURES (all times GMT) Sunday Manchester United v Nottingham Forest (11:30am), Brentford v Crystal Palace, Everton v Sunderland, Leeds v Brighton, Wolves v Fulham, Newcastle v West Ham (4:30pm) Monday Arsenal v Burnley (7pm) Tuesday Bournemouth v Manchester City (6:30pm), Chelsea v Tottenham (7:15pm) The post Arsenal closes to Premier League title appeared first on Egyptian Gazette.