Arsenal beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday and moved six points clear of Manchester City, a lead that puts the club on the brink of its first Premier League title since 2004.
The victory extended Arsenal’s goal difference advantage over Manchester City to four and came after a run of close games this season — the Gunners have won 10 matches by a one-goal margin. Opta listed Arsenal’s title odds at 79.7% after the Fulham result.
That cushion is important but incomplete. Manchester City have five league games left and have played two games fewer than Arsenal, meaning City still have the chance to make up ground with fixtures in hand. Arsenal, by contrast, have three Premier League games left: they will visit West Ham next Saturday, host Burnley on 18 May and travel to Crystal Palace on 24 May. Those Arsenal remaining premier league fixtures are straightforward on paper but carry enormous weight.
Manager Mikel Arteta was unambiguous in his appraisal: "I think the team played incredibly well," he said, adding the performance "showed the kind of team we are." After a taxing midweek trip to Spain, Arteta also warned of the strain on his squad: "I'm extremely happy. It was a really tough match to play. We came back to Madrid very late on Thursday. We gave so much in that match and had to play a team in good form." He praised his players' energy and focus, saying, "We dominated and showed the hunger we discussed before the game."
Two weeks before the Fulham win Arsenal were knocked off the top spot for the first time in 209 days after defeats by Bournemouth and Manchester City and a City victory at Burnley. The pendulum has swung back, but the math remains tight: City not only have more games to play, they could alter the standings through results and goal difference. The title race can, per the available figures, be decided on goal difference or goals scored.
Arsenal’s remaining fixtures present a simple roadmap: West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, then Burnley at the Emirates on 18 May and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 24 May. Between now and the West Ham game, Arsenal must negotiate a Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, May 5 — a fixture that compressed the schedule and, by Arteta’s account, left the squad fatigued for Fulham.
The tension is clear. Arsenal have built a lead and a small goal cushion, but their season contains two immediate tests that do not fit the tidy narrative of three manageable league games: an arduous Champions League tie and the statistical fragility suggested by a high number of narrow victories. Ten one-goal wins shows a team that knows how to grind out results, but also one that could be vulnerable to a single off day.
For now the evidence leans toward Arsenal ending a 22-year wait for the title. They sit six points clear, have extended the goal difference to four, and face only three league opponents before the season closes. Yet Manchester City’s two-game advantage and five remaining league fixtures mean Arsenal cannot afford complacency. Arteta’s team must now convert the momentum from the Fulham win into clean results across the Arsenal Remaining Premier League Fixtures while navigating the Champions League semi that immediately precedes them.
