Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side set a pair of club records with their crucial 1-0 win over Manchester United in Sunday's Premier League main event.
Owing to Manchester City's triumph over Fulham on Saturday, the Gunners knew that failure to prevail could allow the champions to retain their title at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Arteta's men had come up trumps 3-1 versus Man United at the Emirates in September, although they had lost their previous two trips to Old Trafford and had not done the double over the Red Devils since 2006-07.
However, in a match largely devoid of star quality in the attacking third, the Gunners capitalised on a defensive lapse from Erik ten Hag's men to nab a pivotal first-half goal through Leandro Trossard.
After Man United cheaply gave away possession from a goal kick, Casemiro failed to catch up to his fellow defenders and played Kai Havertz onside, allowing the German to cut back for Trossard to fire in from close range.
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Arsenal achieve best-ever wins, goals tally
By repelling Man United's futile attacks in the second half, Arsenal reclaimed first place in the table above Man City, and they will be in with a shot of winning the title right until the final day.
In addition, the Gunners have now won 27 top-flight matches this season, their record in a single Premier League season, surpassing the 26 they managed in the 2022-23, 2003-04 and 2001-12 campaigns.
The latter two seasons ended with Arsenal lifting the Premier League crown aloft, and not since achieving 29 victories in the 1970-71 Division One campaign - which featured 42 games - have they recorded more victories in a single campaign.
Furthermore, the Gunners have now found the back of the net 89 times in the 2023-24 season, beating last term's 88 for their most in a Premier League campaign and their most in a top-flight season since registering 90 goals in 1963-64.
Speaking to reporters in his post-game press conference, Arteta said that Arsenal's unprecedented feats represented "history" rather than "progress" when asked about their phenomenal form in 2024.
Arteta offers 'big compliments' to Arsenal players
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"I think it encourages you to win more and to be better equipped and prepared, and more confidence to win in different contexts and to bring results in different ways," the Spaniard said.
"And they just mentioned, it's 27 wins in the Premier League. It's the most in the history of this football club in 130 years. That's not progress, that's history, and that's very, very difficult to do, especially in the league that we are playing now. Big compliment to all the players and the staff for what they have done.
"The focus is just on what we need to do, and we'll analyse the season when we finish, and get everything, all the information together and try to understand why it's happening and try to be better for sure."
Arsenal's clean sheet at the Theatre of Dreams also represented their 11th on the road in the 2023-24 Premier League season, the most since Chelsea achieved an unrivalled 12 on their travels in 2008-09.
However, the Gunners will not have the chance to match the Blues' defensive feat, as they host Everton at the Emirates on May 19, while City take on West Ham United on the final day after their midweek battle with Spurs.
Ben Knapton
