Arsenal grabbed a dramatic late win against Burnley at the Emirates to take them to second place in the Premier League.
After a drab and boring opening half, the Gunners opened the scoring through Shkodran Mustafi’s deft header. It looked like it was going to be a comfortable win for the home side but Granit Xhaka received his marching orders for a poor challenge on Steven Defour and it gave Burnley the impetus to get forward and grab an equaliser.
Also read: Arsenal boss Wenger tenders apology after being sent off against Burnley
The away side then won a penalty in stoppage time, which Andre Gray netted. With a draw looking likely, Arsenal pushed forward and got a penalty of their own in dubious circumstances. Alexis Sanchez stepped up and calmly slotted past Heaton to give his side the three points.
Take a look at how the players fared:
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 7/10
The former Chelsea keeper made a few routine stops in a game in which he made no mistakes. He was also very close to keeping out Gray’s penalty after getting a hand to it.
Gabriel Paulista – 5/10
The Brazilian struggled for a while and looked uncomfortable in his unfamiliar right-back position but was not tested enough by the Burnley wingers.
Laurent Koscielny – 7/10
Koscielny was often bullied off the ball by Gray but nothing threatening came off it. It was the Frenchman who won the late penalty that led to the winner, although he was offside in the first place.
Shkodran Mustafi – 6.5/10
Despite a drab performance in the opening half, the German broke the deadlock with a deft header from a corner. Mustafi was given a tough time against Andre Gray but otherwise had little defending to do.
Nacho Monreal – 6/10
The Spaniard got forward a lot in the opening half but had to stay back to defend after his side were reduced to 10 men. He did well to prevent the Burnley attackers from getting in behind him for the most part.
Aaron Ramsey – 5/10
The Welshman got forward as Xhaka sat back in the opening half but was completely invisible in the second half.
Granit Xhaka – 3/10
The Swiss international failed to keep his cool and was sent off for a lunging tackle in the second half. Other than that, he didn’t have the most constructive of games in the centre of Arsenal’s midfield.
Alex Iwobi – 5/10
Iwobi didn’t do too much to help Arsenal in the final third and he looked lazy and lacked intensity. The youngster was sacrificed for Coquelin following Xhaka’s red card as the Gunners looked to keep hold of their lead.
Mesut Ozil – 5/10
The German international grabbed an assist in what was otherwise a very lazy and lethargic performance from him. He lacked intensity in the final third, despite having a couple of good chances. A surprisingly low-key performance from the Arsenal playmaker.
Alexis Sanchez – 7/10
Sanchez didn’t really have the best of games by his lofty standards but he did score the all-important goal from the spot in the final minutes of the match to give his side a crucial three points.
Olivier Giroud – 5/10
It was a quiet afternoon for the Frenchman who barely had any sight of goal. He failed to even get a meaningful shot on Heaton’s goal which is surprising considering his form over the past few weeks.
Substitutes
Francis Coquelin – 3/10
The midfielder replaced Iwobi following Xhaka’s red card and was forced to drop deep in midfield to help protect the lead. Coquelin gave away the penalty for a poor challenge, which resulted in Burnley’s equaliser.
Danny Welbeck – 4/10
Welbeck came on for Giroud as Wenger looked to freshen up his side in the dying stages of the game.
Hector Bellerin – 4/10
Bellerin returned to the side but did not have enough time to make an impact after coming on in the 89th minute.
Burnley
Tom Heaton – 6.5/10
Like many of Burnley’s previous away games, Heaton was called into action on numerous occasions. However, the saves he made were routine as he was not really threatened by the Gunners attackers. He had no chance to stop either of Arsenal’s goals.
Matthew Lowton – 6/10
The right-back was kept on his toes by Alexis Sanchez but he held his ground well to deal with the Chilean. He wasn’t allowed much freedom to move forward and support the attack as the Burnley defence held a tight backline.
Michael Keane – 7/10
One of the most-wanted centre-back’s in the Premier League showed exactly why he is so highly rated with a rock solid performance at the back. He didn’t allow the dangerous Giroud any time and space on the ball, as he kept a close eye on the Frenchman.
Ben Mee – 6/10
Along with Keane, Mee was equally impressive in the centre of Burnley’s defence. He had to stay tight on Giroud along with the Arsenal attackers when they came forward and he did an excellent job at that but was guilty of conceding a very late penalty for a high-footed challenge on Koscielny.
Stephen Ward – 6/10
Ward had a decent game in the left-back position although he wasn’t really tested by Iwobi. He moved forward towards the end of the game as Burnley pushed up in the hopes of grabbing an equaliser.
Dean Marney – 6.5/10
The tireless midfielder put in a solid shift in midfield, often restricting the Arsenal midfielders to sideways passes. Following a challenge on Ozil, for which he was booked, Marney suffered a blow to the knee, which resulted in him being withdrawn from the game.
Jeff Hendrick – 5/10
Hendrick struggled right from the start to get involved in the game. He didn’t see much of the ball as he was forced to drop deep in midfield while Arsenal pressed forward. Joey Barton replaced the Irishman around the 70-minute mark.
Steven Defour – 6/10
The Belgian was involved in a coming together that led to Xhaka being sent off. The midfielder did well to provided the first real test for Petr Cech with a well-taken free-kick. He was taken off as Sean Dyche threw on an extra striker in the hopes of getting something out of the game.
George Boyd – 5/10
Boyd was one of the quietest of the Burnley attackers, barely enjoying any possession of the football. He didn’t have a single shot that troubled Cech nor did he provide any meaningful attacking threat.
Ashley Barnes – 6/10
Barnes had a few decent efforts at goal in the first half but was invisible in the second. The midfielder has shown in previous weeks that he is capable of much better performances, although he did win a crucial penalty in stoppage time that was subsequently converted by Gray.
Andre Gray – 7/10
Gray bullied the Arsenal centre-backs on more than a few occasions but lacked the cutting edge in front of goal, until he calmly slotted in the penalty in stoppage time that nearly earned his side a crucial point.
Substitutes
Joey Barton – 6/10
Barton operated in a quarter-back role after he came on and he did a very good job at that. Played some pin-point passes from midfield and worked hard to drop back and defend when needed.
James Tarkowski – 4/10
He replaced the injured Marney towards the end of the game but didn’t have a meaningful impact.
Sam Vokes – 4/10
Vokes was brought on for Defour for the final 15 minutes as his side chased an equaliser.
