A wild final few minutes saw Arsenal go from cautious to despondent to joyful as they snatched a 2-1 win against an inform Burnley side. It took a 97th-minute penalty from Alexis Sanchez to get the win, but Arsenal’s victory sees them leapfrog Tottenham in the table.
[link_box id=”23195″ site_id=”158″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]This weekend set up nicely for Arsenal to get back in the heat of the Premier League race. All their chief rivals, apart from Chelsea, dropped points this weekend. Arsenal had to host a Burnley side with only one away point all season. Despite this, Burnley had been in fine form, winning three of their last four league matches.
Burnley spent most of the first half showing why they’ve played so well of late. Their defensive structure frustrated the Gunners for long stretches. Apart from a few long range shots, Arsenal had very little to show for all their possession. Arsene Wenger needed to find a solution in the second half.
Arsenal did manage to find a solution shortly after the restart They eventually broke down the Burnley defense, and their goal came from an unlikely source. German international Shkodran Mustafi scored his first Premier League goal when he got on the end of a corner from his compatriot, Mesut Ozil.
With Burnley’s defensive set up, things looked positive for Arsenal, but a brash challenge by Granit Xhaka resulted in the 24-year-old being shown a straight red. Xhaka, who collected more red cards than anyone in the Bundesliga over the past three seasons, has already been sent off twice this year. Burnley was given a lifeline and they started to control proceedings. Despite this, Arsenal held firm to their 1-0 lead, until stoppage time began at the Emirates.
When seven minutes went up on the fourth official’s board, groans rung out around the ground. Arsenal would have to hold out for a lot longer than they would have wanted. But it only took two minutes into the added time for Arsenal to concede a penalty. Francis Coquelin tripped up Ashley Barnes and Andre Gray stepped up and sent the ball in behind Petr Cech. Wenger was sent to the stands as well for dissent, and he’ll surely get a call from the FA this week after pushing the fourth official as he headed towards the tunnel.
At that point, the seven minutes of extra time turned from an annoyance to a blessing for the Arsenal fans in attendance. The Gunners still had nearly four minutes to grab a winner. That chance would come, for the hosts, but not without controversy.
Sanchez played a cross towards the far post and Laurent Koscielny went for the header. The Frenchman missed but took a boot to the face from Ben Mee, and Arsenal were awarded a penalty. Sanchez would take the penalty and calmly chipped the ball down the middle. Burnley was furious, the visitors felt that Koscielny was offside when Sanchez’s crossed was played to him. Replays showed that Burnley very much had a case, but the linesman’s flag never went up. Sanchez’s penalty would be the last meaningful action of the match.
Arsenal didn’t make it easy on themselves this afternoon, but Burnley deserves plenty of credit for their effort. The Clarets still only have one point away from home, but their performance might give some hope. For Arsenal, the three points earned are far more value than the style in which they were won. The Gunners have struggled in recent weeks and needed a win to strengthen their position in the top four. With nearly everyone around them dropping points, Arsenal did just enough to stay in control of their top-four hopes. And maybe stay in contention for the League. That’s a pretty big maybe, however.
