Arsenal v Burnley: 5 Most influential players from the game | Premier League 2019/20

Arsenal raced to 11 consecutive wins against Burnley in all competitions, a record which stretches back to March 2010, as the Gunners defeated Sean Dyche's men 2-1. Alexandre Lacazette scored in the first half before an Ashley Barnes equalizer in the 43rd minute sent the teams back in the dressing rooms all square at half-time.

In response, Unai Emery brought on Arsenal's most expensive signing Nicolas Pepe at the start of the second half.

Although Pepe did not play a role in Aubameyang's 64th-minute equalizer, he completed the most take-ons in the second half among the two teams, as Arsenal hold the top spot on the Premier League table, albeit temporarily.

Surprisingly, this was the first time in 10 years that Arsenal managed to rack up 6 points in their opening two games of seasons.

So we take a look at 5 players which were most influential in the game and were at the center of the game's progression.

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#5 Alexandre Lacazette (Forward, Arsenal)

Alexander Lacazette celebrates his opener against Burnley at the Emirates Stadium

Alexandre Lacazette started as the sole forward, earning his first start of the season, as Unai Emery set up the North London side in a 4-2-3-1 setup. The Frenchman gave the Gunners the lead in the 13th minute, single-handedly battling against two Burnley defenders off Dani Ceballos' corner, before slotting the ball between Nick Pope's legs.

It was a typical Lacazette goal, a dead ball, a tussle and an unexpected finish at the near post. With the goal, he took his Arsenal tally to 30 goals in all competitions in just 61 games, a goal to the game ratio which is right up there with the best strikers in Europe.

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#4 Ashley Barnes (Forward, Burnley)

Ashley Barnes equalizes for Burnley before the half time

Continuing his goal-scoring form last week, Ashley Barnes clinically tucked in a deflected shot by Dwight McNeil to take his season tally to 3 goals which put him level on top of the goal-scoring charts along with Raheem Sterling.

Interestingly, with his 12 Premier League goals in the calendar year, the Burnley striker is third on the list behind Sadio Mane (14) and Sergio Aguero (13), certainly in a marvelous company. He was also physically dominant creating spaces in the hole for Ashley Westwood and Chris Wood, his strike partner.

#3 Nick Pope (Goalkeeper, Burnley)

Nick Pope made important saves to keep Burnley in the game against Arsenal

Making 7 saves and 1 clearance, Nick Pope made sure that Arsenal did not run away with the game in the second half. The Burnley keeper made the most valuable save in the 90th minute to deny second-half substitute Lucas Torreira from close range.

After returning from injury and securing his position as the number one choice between the sticks, the Englishman looks set to be a wall between the goal for Burnley this season. If you are playing the Fantasy Premier League game, a cheeky tip is to keep an eye on him after Matchday 4, as Pope could turn out to be a bargain buy.

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#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Forward, Arsenal)

Aubameyang slams the winner for Arsenal against Burnely

With seven goals in four Premier League appearences against the Clarets, there was never a doubt about how influential Aubameyang could be at the start of the game. The Gabonese international proved his worth by scoring the winner out of a routine interception by Arsenal as he slotted in a low shot in the near post.

The forward could have ideally scored a second goal late in the game, as he raced forward in a two versus one situation along with Pepe. However, Pepe's through ball fell short of Aubameyang's feet as James Tarkowski rushed in to clear the ball.

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#1 Dani Ceballos (Midfielder, Arsenal)

Dani Ceballos against Burnley on his first Premier League start

Coming from Real Madrid on a season-long loan, Dani Ceballos could not have asked for a better start to his Arsenal career as he registered two assists in his first Premier League start. It took him only 39 minutes to provide his first assist as Lacazette came clutch in the Burnley box.

The Real Madrid loanee had 90% pass accuracy completing 63 out of 70 passes, winning 19 duels and making 7 ball recoveries. These are near perfect numbers for a box-to-box midfielder at any level of professional football.

Dani Ceballos' game by numbers vs. Burnley:100% take-ons completed97 touches90% pass accuracy70 passes19 duels7 recoveries5 crosses4 take-ons completed4 chances created3 fouls won3 shots2 tackles made2 assistsNo one could get near him. 💃 pic.twitter.com/3DwPY1oCkG

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 17, 2019

Dani Ceballos completely deserved the man of the match award as he became only the third Arsenal player to provide 2+ assists on his first Premier League start, a feat achieved only by Ray Parlour and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.