Arsenal beat Burnley 5-0 on Saturday to continue its excellent form since the turn of the year, with Mikel Arteta’s side two points off Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal continued its excellent recent run against Burnley on Saturday to narrow the gap on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League. The Reds had briefly gone five points clear by beating Brentford thanks to goals from Darwin Núñez, Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
The Gunners though responded with another dominant display on the road to put five past struggling Burnley after last week’s thrashing of West Ham. The Gunners have five wins on the spin in 2024, scoring a staggering 21 goals in the process.
Mikel Arteta saw his side go close in the title race last season but Arsenal appears to be benefiting from being the chasing team this season. It has now scored 58 goals this season, a tally only better by one goal by Liverpool.
Arsenal does just lead the way in goal difference now, and Arteta believes that may ultimately be decisive ahead of the battle with Liverpool and Manchester City.
“We want more and we know how important it is to be up there in the goal difference,” Arteta said in his press conference, as reported by football.london. “Every player that you bring [on], whether it is one minute or 30 minutes, the contribution they are willing to give to the team is really positive. Let’s keep doing it.”
Liverpool’s win over Brentford by three goals helped it get a plus-35 goal difference. But Arsenal now has a plus-36 goal difference. Manchester City, meanwhile, missed its chance to maintain its advantage in the title race with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola’s team is now four points behind Liverpool with a game in hand against Brentford in midweek, and has a goal difference of +31. Liverpool takes on Luton ahead of the Carabao Cup final, while Arsenal faces Newcastle next weekend.
Arteta added: “We are showing a high efficiency in front of goal at the minute. You see the purpose when we’re playing that we always want to play forwards and be a threat. The players up front feel really connected at the moment. That’s a different story because it gives us much more tranquillity to finish the games off.”
Arsenal has really clicked into gear in recent weeks and its goalscoring form has pushed it right back into the title picture. Liverpool and Manchester City hardly have any issues with finding the net either and have been able to welcome the top two scorers in the Premier League back in Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
There is very little to split the three sides at the moment and Arteta may be right that goal difference could ultimately come into play. It is sure to be a thrilling end to the season!
