EPL title race going down to the wire

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

It’s going down to the wire. Arsenal ensured the English Premier League (EPL) title race will go to the last day of the season after returning to the top of the standings with a 1-0 win at Manchester United yesterday.

Leandro Trossard’s 20th minute winner at Old Trafford means the Londoners will take defending champions Manchester City to the final round of games next Sunday.

“Today we wanted to really knock (at) that door and open that box of dreams and live the last and final day of the season in front of our people with the opportunity to win the Premier League,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “Everything is at stake. We have had no margin for error since January.”

Anything other than a win for Arsenal against United could have seen City clinch the title with victory at Tottenham on Tuesday. Arteta’s team duly delivered and moved one point clear at the top.

Arsenal will host Everton in the final round, when City are at home against West Ham after Tuesday’s game at Spurs.

For now, Arsenal have done all they could to keep the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s team – improving on last season when they suffered a late collapse to allow City to wrap up a third successive title with three games to spare.

While the title is still in City’s hands, they will have to win their remaining two games to be certain of a record fourth-straight English league title.

Arsenal are aiming to be crowned champions for the first time since 2004, when Arsene Wenger’s team went an entire league campaign without defeat to earn the nickname of the ‘Invincibles’.

The current class cannot match that feat, but with 27 wins and 89 goals it has set two new club records in the Premier League era.

The visit to Old Trafford always looked like Arsenal’s biggest test during the run-in, and history was not on their side, having won only once in their last 16 league games at the home of United. Despite that record, they were still the favourites to overcome a United team that had been ruthlessly exposed by Crystal Palace earlier in the week when routed 4-0 at Selhurst Park.

Casemiro, who had received heavy criticism for his performance as a makeshift centre back against Palace, was culpable again for Arsenal’s winner when he was slow to push up and played Kai Havertz onside. The Germany forward took advantage and drove into the box before crossing for Trossard to convert from close range.

UNITED SLUMP

Defeat for United was a latest blow for under-pressure manager Ten Hag, whose team lost for the 14th time in the league this season and extended a damaging run that has seen them win just one of their last eight games in England’s top division.

While Ten Hag has the FA Cup final against City to look forward to at the end of the season, there was little to encourage co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, who was in the crowd along with Keir Starmer, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party.

With two games remaining in the league, United are eighth in the standings and in danger of missing out on European soccer next season. United have never finished lower than seventh in the Premier League era.