Arsenal are closer to a league and European double than at any point in the club’s 138-year history. A deflected Leandro Trossard effort in the 83rd minute and a controversial VAR intervention that ruled out Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time equaliser secured a 1–0 win at West Ham on Sunday, and the significance of those three points can scarcely be overstated. The Gunners now sit five points clear of Manchester City with just two Premier League games left to play, while City still have three fixtures remaining.
Arteta’s side control their own destiny. Win their remaining games, and the league is theirs, ending a 22-year wait since the Invincibles era of 2003/04.
The VAR Controversy That Could Define a Season
The win was not without drama. Callum Wilson rose to meet a late cross and appeared to have rescued a point for West Ham, only for VAR to intervene and rule the effort out. The decision sparked fury among the home supporters and furious debate on social media, but Arsenal will care little for the noise. They have benefited from VAR calls before and had them go against them, too. What matters is the five-point cushion it preserved.
Trossard’s winner was fortuitous in its execution, a strike that took a wicked deflection on its way past Alphonse Areola, but the Belgian has been anything but lucky in his contributions this season. Deployed with increasing regularity in high-pressure moments, the 29-year-old has quietly become one of the most reliable performers in Arteta’s squad, a player capable of the decisive moment when the stakes are highest.
The Title Run-In: Arsenal Hold Every Advantage
The remaining fixtures could hardly be kinder on paper. Arsenal host relegated Burnley at the Emirates on Monday 18 May before travelling to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Sunday 24 May. According to the Premier League’s own title race analysis, the earliest Arsenal could mathematically be confirmed as champions is that Burnley fixture, should Manchester City drop points at home to Crystal Palace this coming Tuesday.
City can still catch Arsenal in theory. As NBC Sports’ Premier League title race tracker illustrates, City would need to win all three of their remaining games and hope the Gunners slip in at least one of theirs. The arithmetic remains possible, but the momentum is firmly in north London. Pep Guardiola’s side have shown signs of vulnerability in recent weeks, and the psychological weight of chasing rather than leading is a burden City are not accustomed to carrying. With the title race reaching its climax and the summer of football showing no sign of slowing down, the World Cup kicks off on 11 June, just days after the Champions League final in Budapest, Arsenal fans already looking ahead can check out the latest World Cup free bets and offers from over 46 UK bookmakers ahead of the tournament.
Arteta summed up the mood after the final whistle in east London: “We have two finals in the Premier League and one more after that. We have to go and win them.”
The Players Driving Arsenal’s Historic Run
Much of Arsenal’s success this season can be traced to the collective — a squad built on tactical cohesion, relentless pressing, and an extraordinary defensive record. As we detailed in our deep dive into Arsenal’s record-breaking 2025/26 statistics, this is not a team riding its luck: they are outperforming their expected goals at both ends of the pitch simultaneously, a rare feat that speaks to genuine depth of quality.
Bukayo Saka has been the creative heartbeat all season, drawing fouls, creating chances, and chipping in with goals at vital junctures. Gabriel Martinelli has rediscovered his electric early-career form on the left, while Martin Ødegaard, finally fit and firing after an injury-disrupted autumn, has orchestrated much of Arsenal’s best football in the second half of the season.
At the back, David Raya has been outstanding between the sticks, his sweeping and distribution a cornerstone of Arteta’s high defensive line. The numbers back up the eye test: 30 clean sheets across all competitions, the most since 1993/94, and a Champions League campaign in which Arsenal have not conceded in six of their 14 unbeaten games in the competition. The injury news that Ben White has been ruled out of the final and the remaining league games after suffering a knee injury at West Ham adds a sobering note, but the squad’s depth has been tested all season and has not found its limit yet.
Budapest Beckons: A First European Cup in 138 Years
Then comes the grandest stage of all. Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on 30 May, an occasion that felt like a fantasy just 12 months ago and is now just weeks away. As we covered after the semi-final victory over Atletico Madrid, the Gunners arrived in Hungary unbeaten in all 14 of their Champions League matches this season, a new club record, having dismantled some of Europe’s elite en route to a first continental final in the club’s history.
Their 41 wins across all competitions this term equal the club record for a single campaign, set in a different era under very different conditions. What Arteta has built is something genuinely new,a team that combines the defensive solidity of Arsenal’s most disciplined sides with an attacking fluency that feels entirely modern.
The scale of what the next three weeks could bring is almost difficult to process for supporters who have endured so many near-misses -the 2023 title race that slipped away, the 2024 heartbreak, the years of rebuilding that preceded them. A first league championship since the Invincibles. A first European Cup, full stop. The Double — a feat only two English clubs have achieved in the modern era- is within arm’s reach.
Nothing is guaranteed. Champions League finals have a habit of humbling favourites, and PSG will arrive in Budapest with their own sense of destiny. But Arsenal have earned the right to dream. Three games. Three chances to make history. This is what it has all been building towards.
