Arsenal took on Burnley at the Emirates in a fixture that both teams started in a very lively fashion. The hosts dominated early proceedings with free flowing good spells while Burnley were trying to hit back on the counter.
The North London club lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Petr Cech, Gabriel at RB, Mustafi and Koscienly at Centre back, Monreal, Ramsey, Özil, Iwobi, Sanchez, and Giroud starting.
There was a moment of scare at the end of first half as Petr Cech was caught by Andre Gray’s boots as he tried to parry out a deflected cross.
Considering it has only been 10 years since Cech suffered that horrific head injury against Reading, there was a lot of concern.
Eventually, the first half ended in a goalless draw but there was never a doubt in my mind that there will be goals in this one, especially as Sanchez looked as hungry as ever.With 5 attempts alone in the first half and Olivier Giroud not yet on the scoreboard, the 2nd half certainly looked like it couldn’t come sooner during the break. Surely enough the second half came and the Gunners picked up from
Surely enough the second half came and the Gunners picked up from where they left off before the break. Barely 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Shkodran Mustafi turned in a Mesut Özil corner kick in what seemed a goal scored in England but made in Germany.
Just as I was getting comfortable, Granit Xhaka loses possession in the Burnley half and then lunges in to stop Defour from making progress.
De ja vu occurred as a yellow card offense saw Jon Moss produce a red card to Xhaka for the second time this season. Suddenly, the game became tense as Iwobi is subbed off for Francis Coquelin.
It is really good to have depth in one’s squad. Özil came off for Bellerin and Welbeck came on for Giroud before that. Seven minutes was the time added to the frustration of all Arsenal fans.
Balls just kept dropping into the Arsenal box in spots where Cech could do nothing about and then Barnes goes down in a leg flick from Coquelin which was similar to the Gray challenge on Mustafi earlier on in the match. Gray sends the ball down the middle to level the scores.
Anyway, this time around, Jon Moss pointed to the spot instantly to the anger of all concerned with Arsenal. Mustafi even picks up a yellow for dissent.
Arsene Wenger got sent down the tunnel due to his involvement in line with dissent too. The Boss will be expecting a call from the FA as he seemed to shove the 4th official back.
Anyway, Koscielny earned a penalty in the final seconds after getting caught across the face by a Burnley player and calmly as you can imagine, Alexis Sanchez puts Arsenal 2-1 up to win the game and take us to 2nd.
Phew what a game!
