Arsenal on the verge of Premier League title after beating Burnley

LONDON (AP) — Arsenal closed in on a first Premier League title in 22 years by seeing out a tense 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday in its penultimate game of the campaign, thanks to Kai Havertz's first-half goal.

The result means second-placed Manchester City must end Bournemouth's 16-game unbeaten run on Tuesday to take the title fight into the final weekend. Even so, Arsenal will be crowned champion if it beats Crystal Palace away on Sunday.

It would be Arsenal's first league title since 2004, when the “Invincibles” went unbeaten under Arsene Wenger.

Current manager Mikel Arteta is two wins away from delivering the club's greatest ever season as Arsenal also plays Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30.

“It’s been an amazing season so far. We’ve got one big one left here (in the league) and then the Champions League final," Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard told the Emirates crowd in an on-field interview. “Just a little bit to go now and we’re going to give it all. We have to keep going.”

Fittingly, the goal against already relegated Burnley came from a corner — the source of so many crucial Arsenal goals this season — as Havertz rose highest to head in a delivery from Bukayo Saka in the 37th.

It was only Havertz's second league goal of an injury-ravaged season, but he was given the start up front ahead of Viktor Gyökeres by Arteta.

“I had a feeling that he had to start," Arteta said. "The way they set up, I think he could be really difficult to handle. And he's shown that.”

Havertz was fortunate not to be sent off when he received only a yellow card in the 67th for a lunging studs-up tackle from behind on Lesley Ugochukwu, a decision that was upheld after a VAR review.

While Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya never had a save to make against a toothless Burnley side, the lead never felt completely comfortable as a second goal never came for the host.

But Arsenal held on through nearly 10 minutes of added time to take another step toward ending its decades-long title drought.

“There is one to go unless something beautiful happens tomorrow night,” Arteta said, adding he will be “the biggest ever” Bournemouth fan during the game against Man City.

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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, left, and Burnley's Maxime Esteve battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, Monday May 18, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gives instructions during a Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's Kai Havertz celebrates scoring their side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, Monday May 18, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Kai Havertz, left, scores their side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Burnley in London, Monday May 18, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes on Monday, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the Civil Rights-era law.

The justices ordered lower courts to take another look at the decision that went against the tribes and undercut a key enforcement mechanism: lawsuits from voters and advocacy groups.

They've been key to enforcement, bringing most of the lawsuits filed under the provision of the Voting Rights Act known as Section 2.

But in a North Dakota case brought by two Native American tribes, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the federal government can sue to enforce the law.

The decision conflicted with decades of case law. The Supreme Court blocked it in July, allowing the tribes’ preferred maps to temporarily stay in place.

An attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, Lenny Powell, said sending the case back was the right call, and vowed to “keep fighting to ensure that Native voters have the ability to vote and effect change in their communities."

The appeals court’s finding has nevertheless been cited elsewhere, with Mississippi making a similar argument in another appeal over its state legislative map. The court also sent that case back for reconsideration on Monday. The decision jeopardizes three new majority-Black state legislative districts, though the effects likely won't be felt until 2027, said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from both decisions.

The conservative majority, meanwhile, has already diluted enforcement power with their April decision that struck down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana and made future cases much harder to win.

In that case, the high court’s conservative majority ruled that map relied too heavily on race with a district aimed at giving Black voters a chance to elect a candidate of their choice. The decision effectively limited Voting Rights claims to maps that are intentionally designed to discriminate, a very high standard.

Associated Press writers Gary Fields and Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this report.

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)