Arsenal find solace in set pieces again on another gruelling night of football as pain | Barney Ronay

Whatever Nicolas Jover is being paid, it’s not enough – or so it must have felt for Arsenal fans watching tense title pursuit

The best way out of a corner? A corner, it turns out. Nobody knows how much the dead-ball goal bonus is in Nicolas Jover’s contract. Or indeed, if it exists at all. Although it would definitely explain why Arsenal’s set-piece coach leaps up with such thigh-quivering excitement at every opportunity, presumably seeing the potential rewards whizzing by in front of his eyes, like the conveyor belt in a 1970s gameshow, a corner sofa, a speed boat, an enormous wheel of cheese.

But whatever it is, it isn’t enough. Or so it must have felt for Arsenal’s fans watching another step in this most gruelling of title pursuits, another night of football as pain, sport as trauma, leavened only by the sight with 35 minutes gone of Kai Havertz floating in the soft evening air, as light as a reed, all alone suddenly in front of the Burnley goal as the ball veered gently into his orbit, one of those moments where the day just seems to stop.

There were only ever two things that could happen here for Arsenal. Disaster and non-disaster. There has been something endearingly earnest about Mikel Arteta’s attempts to cope with this pressure, to micro-manage how to be really super cool and relaxed. Get on the fun bus. Burst into flames. Bring your lunch. Soak your overnight oats.

But there was a refreshing sense of clarity here. Score a goal against Burnley and watch the day fall your way. Or don’t, and feel it melt. Even in victory the degree of jeopardy is still absurdly intense. A 1-0 win means Arsenal are now just two games away from either the greatest season in the club’s history, or collapse on a hideous scale; from club montage immortality, or the prospect of giving up four different trophies in the space of 14 games.

The Emirates had been a mild, soft place at kick-off, the sky above the lip of the stand one of those calming north London drawing-room shades. But of course it was never going to be easy. It took half an hour for the first real notes of tension to creep in. Arsenal had one shot on target at that point and endless diffuse possession. This was one of those nights where Martin Ødegaard seems to be constantly jinking inside, then jinking inside again, a man convinced that if he can just jink inside enough times maybe he can jink all the way around the world and end up jinking the other way.

For a while it was hard not to stare as the word “Zilch” scrolled across every lighted advertising board, fanfaring the name of Arsenal’s Official Payment Partner. Given the level of detail here, at a time when the key questions are what can we take from this, how many trophies can we win, would it perhaps be better to avoid having the word Zilch so ominously present? And now a word from our official indigestion partner, Choke.

It was tempting to look for portents. Havertz started at centre-forward. But Havertz also hadn’t scored a league goal on this ground since February last year. Cristhian Mosquera was at right-back, a throw forward to Budapest, but not ideal when you have most of the ball. Mosquera is a fine defender. But he is also unlikely to be mistaken for Garrincha any time soon.

Leandro Trossard hit the foot of the post. A VAR check for a penalty after a trip on Bukayo Saka came and went. But it arrived a few minutes later, the only moment that meant anything at all on the night.

Saka delivered the corner. Havertz nodded it in from three yards out. And this was probably always how this was going to play out. Arsenal have now scored 18 goals from corners, the single most decisive contribution to their title challenge, and four more than the next highest scorer.

It is tempting to be sniffy about this, but managers have been winning titles by finding a tactical edge since the birth of the offside trap. Set-piece goals aren’t luck or cynicism. This is craft, skill, practice, and also bravery, a willingness to repeatedly stick your head in the way of this thing. Defending them is a skill too, one that many teams seem to have sacrificed in favour of other benefits, like ball-playing defenders, sweeper-keepers, a greater facility coming forward with the ball.

Crystal Palace away is the final step for this team now. There has been a theory Arsenal will at some point experience The Freeing Up, the needle will hit the groove, that they will suddenly become a team flying on joy juice as the line approaches. Is this really a good idea? Win it first. Then maybe we can think about all the fizzy, fun stuff later. All that really seems certain is that it’s probably going to hurt a little more either way.