Overview
After reviewing, West Ham's number 19 player fouled the goalkeeper. The final decision was a direct free kick.
Referee Chris Kavanagh's announcement at the London stadium last weekend may become a turning point in Arsenal's history.
In the final minutes of the match between West Ham and Arsenal, referee Chris Kavanagh and the VAR team led by Darren England had to make a decision that greatly affected the Premier League title race as well as the relegation battle.
Finally, the ruling tilted towards Arsenal. West Ham striker Pablo was determined to have fouled goalkeeper David Raya in a high ball contest from a corner kick. Therefore, Callum Wilson's late equalizer was disallowed.
Arsenal fans celebrated this decision no less passionately than the moment Leandro Trossard scored earlier. The victory helped the "Gunners" overcome one of the last difficult challenges on the journey to conquer the Premier League title, before the confrontations with Burnley and Crystal Palace in the last two rounds.
Manchester City's victory over Crystal Palace makes the gap between the two teams only 2 points. However, if Arsenal defeats Burnley and Man City stumbles against Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta's team can completely end 22 years of waiting for the English championship title.
There was a time when Arsenal worried fans when they only won one of the 6 matches from March 22 to April 19. However, since then, the North London team has won 4 of the last 5 matches, including 3 consecutive clean sheets.
Notably, Arsenal has won all 10 encounters with relegated teams since 1992 - the best record in Premier League history.
Meanwhile, only Wolves have fewer away points than Burnley this season. After 18 away trips, Burnley has conceded 45 goals - the worst away defense record in the league.
Burnley not keeping a clean sheet in any away matches since the beginning of the season is therefore not surprising. However, Mike Jackson's team somewhat regained their spirit after a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, thereby ending a 5-game losing streak.
In the final round, Burnley will face Wolves in a match that could decide the second-to-last position in the rankings. However, ahead of them is a huge challenge at the Emirates.
History is also not on Burnley's side. Arsenal has only lost one of the last 19 encounters between the two teams in the Premier League, while Burnley has never scored more than one goal against the "Gunners" in the modern league era.
Personnel situation
The important victory against West Ham has caused Arsenal to suffer a great loss in force, especially in defense. Ben White suffered a serious knee injury and will be out for the rest of the season, even risking affecting his chances of participating in the World Cup.
Besides, Riccardo Calafiori also had to leave the field in the first half because the issue was not clearly defined.
On the other side, Burnley also had certain personnel problems. Hannibal Mejbri had to leave the field in the 69th minute in the draw against Aston Villa due to an injury of unknown severity.
However, Mike Jackson said that the midfielder is recovering well and may be able to participate in the away match to Emirates in time.
Expected lineup:
Arsenal: Raya, Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Gyokeres.
Burnley: Dubravka, Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Pires, Ugochukwu, Florentino, Tchaouna, Hannibal, Anthony, Flemming.
The match between Arsenal and Burnley takes place at 2:00 a.m. on May 19 (Vietnam time).
