Arsenal went into today’s game in the knowledge that a win would see them go just two points behind fast starters Manchester City, but you wouldn’t have guessed that based on the first half. Slow, disjointed, sluggish and lackadaisical are some of the words that come to mind.
Arsenal struggled to find any sort of rhythm and Burnley were as resolute as everyone expected going into the game. Burnley in fact had the best chance of the first 45 minutes through Sam Vokes’ header. The Gunners had no answer to the Northerners stubborn defending and were reduced to a few half chances. Theo Walcott flashed a shot past the post and Alex Iwobi fired wildly over the bar early on; apart from that, there was very little to speak about.
The second half saw the boys from London improve slightly, creating more genuine chances. Alexis Sanchez hit the post, Mesut Ozil saw a goal-bound shot blocked and Theo Walcott saw his cleverly crafted right-footed shot drift just wide. In general, the game opened up and Burnley even had a sniff at goal – Centre half Keane saw his header bounce off the bar.
It was all petering out, until Arsenal managed to win a late, late corner. It was played short to Alexis, who swung a delicious ball in – flicked on by Walcott and bundled over the line by a combination of Chamberlain and Koscielny. There was a question of handball, but the Gunners will be delighted with the three points.
With all that said, let’s take a look at how the Gunners fared in the player ratings…
