16/05/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 16, 2026

30

Moment of truth for Gunners Title door wide open for Arsenal to end 22-year wait for Premier League crown T WO GAMES, two wins, one huge north London party. It sounds such a simple scenario for Arsenal as they close in on their first Premier League title for 22 years. next week might feel like an awfully long one for Arsenal fans. They were put through a gut-wrenching after noon at relegation-threatened West Ham United last weekend as Arsenal scraped a 1-0 win that kept their destiny in their own hands. “You have to earn the right to win the game. Obviously, you can make a difference with more goals; that’s even better. “But we’re all playing very tough matches. We had a tough match against West Ham and we managed to win it.”

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

All in Malaysian time (unless stated) SUNDAY (10pm unless stated) Man Utd vs Forest (7.30pm) Brentford vs Palace Everton vs Sunderland Leeds vs Brighton Wolves vs Fulham MONDAY (12.30am) Newcastle vs West Ham TUESDAY (3am) Arsenal vs Burnley WEDNESDAY Bournamouth vs Man City (2.30am) Chelsea vs Tottenham (3.15am)

Had Mikel Arteta been told last August a win at home to relegated Burnley then another one at a Crystal Palace side with their gaze fixed on a first ever European final would seal the deal, he would have signed instantly. Manchester City may have beaten Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to keep Arsenal honest but the fact remains that only a horrendous stumble from Arsenal will stop them finally delivering after three successive runner-up finishes. They have 79 points from 36 games with City, who are in the FA Cup final against Chelsea today, on 77. A win, preferably a commanding one against Burnley would mean City have to win at Bournemouth next Wednesday just to take the race to the wire next Sunday when they host Aston Villa. The Premier League’s data analysts Opta rate Arsenal’s chance of winning the title at 86%. But titles are won on the field, not on spreadsheets and

While the scrap for European qualifying places continues tomorrow with the likes of Brighton, Brentford and Everton all with chances to enhance their claims, all eyes will be on the relega tion battle. West Ham’s misery at being denied a point against Arsenal last week was eased somewhat by Tottenham Hotspur drawing 1-1 with Leeds United on Monday. That left West Ham two points behind 17th placed Tottenham but they have the chance to heap massive pressure on their London rivals by winning at Newcastle United on Monday. Should West Ham achieve that, Tottenham would find themselves back in the bottom three ahead of their visit to Chelsea on Wednesday – a fixture that rarely ends well for Spurs. “We have to finish in the best way possible,” Tottenham defender Pedro Porro said. “Its true

Had Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time goal for West Ham counted, rather than being ruled out after a VAR intervention, the old fears would have resurfaced. While Burnley at home looks a far less onerous task than a derby at a West Ham side fighting for their top-flight survival, Arsenal will be taking nothing for granted. Burnley might be down and without a man ager after Scott Parker’s exit, but there are rarely any free passes in the Premier League and Arsenal will need to be laser-focused. City’s goal difference is one better than Arsenal’s after Wednesday and there is still a sce nario where that could decide the title. Arteta is not getting bogged down in maths though. “We’re not thinking about that type of thing, the only focus is on Burnley and winning that game, that’s the thing that we can control,” Arteta said yesterday.

that right now we’re two points above (West Ham), and they play before us. Now anything goes. We have to consider everything. That’s the reality, and everything counts.” – Reuters All at stake for Bundesliga relegation battlers FOR the first time in Bundesliga history, the bottom three clubs – Wolfsburg, Heidenheim and St. Pauli – are level on points heading into the final round of matches. Wolfsburg sit 16th with a goal difference three better than Heidenheim and St. Pauli. The latter two have an identical goal difference, but Heidenheim are ahead on goals scored. St. Pauli can look their challengers directly in the eyes when they host Wolfsburg, but even a win in that battle may not be enough. Heidenheim host Mainz and can avoid automatic rele gation by winning by more than whoever is victorious in Hamburg, with all games played simultaneously today (9.30pm Malaysian time) . The club finishing 16th takes on the third-placed Bundesliga 2 side in a two-legged relegation playoff, while 17th and 18th are automatically sent down. While St. Pauli have moved between the divisions for much of their history, Wolfsburg, promoted in 1997, have never suffered relegation from the top flight. Heidenheim are in their third Bundesliga season since being promoted in 2023. Wolfsburg’s goal difference means they could fin ish 16th even with a point, but only if Heidenheim fail to win. In excellent form, Heidenheim have lost just one of their past seven games, claiming 12 points in that run. Considered by many as relegation certainties a few weeks ago, they are within touching distance of a great escape. At the other end of the table, one Champions League spot remains up for grabs with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig all already qualified. Fourth-placed Stuttgart are level on points with fifth placed Hoffenheim, but five ahead on goal difference. Stuttgart face a difficult trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, while Hoffenheim play at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Bayer Leverkusen, who lost 3-1 to Stuttgart last week end, sit three points behind the two and need a win at home to Hamburg while hoping both Stuttgart and Hoffenheim are defeated. – AFP Last season’s champions Napoli know a win at already-relegated Pisa would secure their spot, but Antonio Conte’s side are making hard work of the run-in. They lost 3-2 at home to Bologna on Monday and have won one of their last five games. Milan are another side stuttering to the finish line, with one win in six, allowing in-form Juventus and Roma right back into the mix. Milan also suf fered a 3-2 home defeat last time out, to Atalanta, and face an away trip to Genoa. Juventus, on a 10-game unbeaten run, will be expected to take all three points when they host Fiorentina, while Roma host a Lazio side still smart ing from a Italian Cup final loss to Inter. – Reuters

Mbappe booed as Real beat Oviedo

REAL MADRID star Kylian Mbappe was whistled by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in his team’s 2-0 win over Real Oviedo yesterday in La Liga. The Frenchman returned from a thigh injury as a substitute for Los Blancos , who will finish a second straight season without a major trophy after Barcelona were crowned league champi ons last week. Madrid, without Mbappe, lost the Clasico at the Nou Camp last weekend to confirm Hansi Flick’s side as title winners. Their top goalscorer Mbappe has come in for heavy criticism from the club’s fans in recent weeks for a per ceived lack of commitment to the cause. Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring for second-place Madrid before half time and Jude Bellingham added the second in a routine victory over rele gated Oviedo at a stadium with thou sands of empty seats. “The whistles… that’s life, you can’t change the opinion of the people when they are angry,” Mbappe told reporters. “It’s the life of a Real Madrid player and a famous player like me. Footballers don’t always have to understand, they have to accept and look forward and change the situation.” Mbappe added that Arbeloa told him he was the “fourth forward” in the squad before benching him for yesterday’s match.

“I am very good, at 100%, I didn’t play because the coach told me that for him I’m the fourth forward of the squad, behind (Franco) Mastantuono, Vinicius (Junior) and Gonzalo (Garcia),” Mbappe told reporters after the game. “In the end, I accept it (being on the bench) and I play the time I had to play,” continued the striker. Madrid coach Arbeloa said in his post-match press conference that he had not told Mbappe he had dropped down the pecking order. “Maybe he didn’t understand me well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Arbeloa told reporters. “For me it’s very clear that a player who four days ago couldn’t even make the bench for a match, shouldn’t start today, especially because this isn’t a final, it’s not a life-or-death game… “Also because we’ve got a game on Sunday where he’s definitely going to be the first-choice forward, as I told him.” Arbeloa said he could understand Mbappe, who has scored 41 goals this season in 42 appearances, not being pleased. “I can perfectly understand that Kylian Mbappe isn’t happy today about not playing, but it’s a decision based, as I said, on the circumstances and, as I said before, I didn’t want to take any kind of risk from my side,” added the coach. – AFP

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe reacts during the La Liga match against Real Oviedo at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday. – AFPPIC

Serie A serves up fixture chaos

THE penultimate round of the Serie A campaign promises an intriguing fight for places in next sea son’s Champions League, but a fixture scheduling stand-off between the league and local authorities left clubs and supporters in limbo until an agree ment was finally reached. Serie A rules require teams competing for the same objective to play simultaneously on the final two matchdays, and on Monday the organisers scheduled the five decisive fixtures for tomorrow at 6.30pm (Malaysian time). The Rome derby is among them, and with the Italian Tennis Open men’s final taking place tomor row at the Foro Italico, next door to the Stadio

Olimpico, the early kickoff was chosen to avoid security complications. Rome’s Prefect, however, disagreed, and on Tuesday ordered the AS Roma-Lazio game to be moved to Monday night. The Lega Serie A appealed to the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, but they declined to rule, instead inviting the parties to come to an agreement. A decision was made early yesterday to sched ule the games for 6pm tomorrow, with a unified security coordination put in place to cover both the

Rome derby and the tennis. Five points divide five clubs, with three spots available in Europe’s top club competition – cham pions Inter Milan are the only side assured of their place – with those who miss out heading for the Europa League. Napoli are second on 70 points, two ahead of Juventus, with AC Milan and Roma a further point back. Como, sixth on 65 points, have already secured European football for the first time and remain in contention for a top-four finish.