Monday night lights and Premier League title hopes continue to burn bright in N5 as the Gunners go five clear of Manchester City with one game to play, thanks to a Kai Havertz goal in the first half.

Starting XI: Raya, Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Eze, Ødegaard, Saka, Trossard, Havertz
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapié, Jesus, Martinelli, Gyökeres, Madueke, Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

As Arsenal saw off a couple of early Burnley corners, we got the impression that Arsenal’s intention was to set the tone and tempo from the start with Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze both sharing the pitch as a creative attacking duo.

Lots of short exchanges were evident between Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz on the right-hand side. A one-touch Havertz shot went wide. Meanwhile on the left, after a one-two with Eze, Leandro Trossard rattled the Burnley right upright with a shot from the edge of the area.

As Arsenal started to find more space, Burnley knew that they had nothing to lose – and there were glimpses of that physically as the crowd did their best to hold their nerve. The field did continue to open up – albeit for both sides – and from that saw occasional sorties and counters from Burnley, but were thankfully stopped in their tracks. A yellow card for Hannibal at the 28th minute for delaying the restart put paid to Burnley’s stubbornness.

Saka’s looping shot was beyond the reach of the keeper and bounced across the face of the goal.

VAR saw no refereeing error as Havertz cut a pass into the box for Saka, who appeared to have had his heels clipped by Lucas Pires as he was about to put the ball in the back of the net at point-blank range.

Havertz’s head got the Gunners in front when Saka sent his corner into the mixer in the 37th minute: 1-0. The 18th for this season and a Premier League record. Our worries down the drain? Either way, revelry and relief all at the same time.

The Gunners continued to find their groove in the latter stages of the first half, with Saka the standout.

Both teams returned to the pitch unchanged. Both keepers kept on their toes with warning shots from Declan Rice and Jaidon Anthony.

Eze was thwarted twice in just as many minutes, clipping the crossbar with a volley from 12 yards out that bounced off the turf, and a glancing header from a Havertz lofted pass destined for the top corner picked up by Max Weiss.

Although one goal to the good, the air of uncertainty seemed to make a return as Arsenal struggled with replicating the same movement and flow at a similar point seen in the first half. Arsenal’s frustrations with this were laid bare as Kai Havertz was booked for taking down Lesley Ugochukwu from behind. VAR had a look at a potential red card but expressed confidence in the on-field decision.

Myles Lewis-Skelly, Viktor Gyökeres and Piero Hincapie were called into action, replacing Havertz, Eze and Riccardo Calafiori.

A close call for Weiss as he managed to toe the ball away from the pursuing Gyökeres. Loud claims that Weiss fouled the Arsenal striker fell on deaf ears.

The final third of the match was cagey, no real forays into the Burnley box, real bundle of nerves stuff.

One of the loudest cheers of the night came in the 85th minute, with Gyökeres putting his body between Bashir Humphreys and the ball as the latter rolled out of play. And in the 87th minute the loudest oooooooooof from a full-throated Trossard volley from outside the box going across the face of goal.

The longest seven minutes of added time in your life went up on the board. Yellow cards a gogo with Zian Flemming earning an long-overdue booking for knocking the wind out of David Raya in mid-air, and Lucas Pires for a high boot on Saka. Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Zubimendi came on for Trossard and Ødegaard as Arsenal’s final two subs.

The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough.

It’s not going to be easy watching, and other results may or may not go our way, but it’s still all to play for at Palace.

One. Game. To. Go.

Come. On. You. Gunners.