Arsenal have a huge opportunity in Premier League title race that Mikel Arteta must take | OneFootball

Gunners have experienced difficulties dealing with pressure during the title race

The Premier League title has been for so long a distant prize, one that has at times bobbed closer but too often has then been pushed away again by dropped points.

However, the waiting is almost over, one way or another. Arsenal are guaranteed to know their fate this time next week. Victory over Burnley tonight the champagne could be popped on Tuesday night.

That is when Manchester City face Bournemouth away from home and any dropped points for Pep Guardiola's side would end the title race.

Unsurprisingly, Mikel Arteta was not tempted to take the bait at his pre-match press conference. Asked if Arsenal would gather to watch that City match and potentially celebrate together, he replied: "We prefer just to beat Burnley, that's it."

Albeit with two games in hand, Arsenal would have gone 12 points above City had they beaten Bournemouth at home last month.

Arsenal should really have put the title race to bed weeks ago. Failing to do so almost eased some of the pressure, though, and put it equally on City's shoulders after the Gunners were beaten at the Etihad Stadium.

That match served as a reset of sorts for Arsenal and there has been a freedom to how they have approached the matches since then. Being hunted appeared to be a burden but a fresh start on equal footing was a welcome release.

"It's not over": Declan Rice’s message after Arsenal were beaten by Man City

Sky Sports

Since that defeat to City, Arsenal have won all three league matches and reached a Champions League final.

The most nervy of those wins came last weekend against West Ham. That was a difficult game on paper, with West Ham fighting for their lives in the relegation battle, but it was perhaps no coincidence the edginess hit again once the title race back in Arsenal's hands.

City's draw with Everton returned a familiar kind of pressure to Arsenal, the kind they have not always dealt with convincingly since the turn of the year.

The kind that comes with having to convert a position of strength into a title win, knowing anything else would be an unforgivable failure.

It is why there can be no complacency against Burnley tonight - at this stage of the season there are no sure things.

The Arsenal supporters plan to treat the match with the same significant as a Champions League semi-final, lining up to greet the team coach when it arrives at the stadium as they did before the Atletico Madrid second leg.

Arteta believes that match helped turn a corner in terms of the atmosphere inside the stadium, accepting that nerves are inevitable but not letting that manifest itself as crippling tension.

"I think it's supposed to be like this and especially when you haven't won for that long, it's going to be edgy and it's going to be those moments of doubt," Arteta said.

I think it's supposed to be like this and especially when you haven't won for that long, it's going to be edgy

Mikel Arteta

"And I'm very glad that now we've turned that point and we are very optimistic, but being very, very present as well."

At times this season it has felt as though Arsenal are not just playing the opposition but also themselves, unable to shake the memory of three successive seasons of finishing second and the 22-year wait for a league title.

It would be easy for the occasion to weigh heavy again tonight. Arsenal must beat that as well as Burnley.