Summary
So Arsenal win it with the final kick of the game, the second time this season that they have beaten Burnley with a controversial goal in injury-time. This one was EIGHT minutes into time added on. The composure that Sanchez showed in crossing for Koscielny to win the penalty, plus dinking the spot-kick down the middle of the goal was remarkable, but that’s what makes him a truly world-class player. It’s no wonder they made him a banner of his dogs.
YESSSSSSS YESSSS YESSSSS YESSS YESSSSS GET IN THEREEEEE
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 22, 2017
THAT'S WHY WE ❤️️ YOU, @ALEXIS_SANCHEZ#ELNINOMARAVILLA #AFCvBFC 🔴2-1🔵 (90) pic.twitter.com/meTQUOrgky
Without Sanchez, Arsenal aren’t good enough to win this league. Xhaka deserved to see red, sent off at a time when the Gunners were in total control. When Burnley changed their system, bringing on Vokes, Arsenal’s defence looked in disarray. Coquelin was deservedly penalised for his wild hack on Barnes. There are lots of reasons why Arsenal shouldn’t have won this game. But they did, thanks to Sanchez, and a poor decision from Ben Mee.
Arsenal up to second then, five points behind Chelsea, who kick off against Hull City in about five minutes. You can follow that here, with Rob Smyth. He is currently digging me out for not making more of Koscielny being offside. It was marginal. Rob, I’m coming for you.
Thanks for reading, and for your emails and tweets. Bye!
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Full-time: Arsenal 2-1 Burnley
What an end to the game. Arsenal up to second place!
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Burnley (Sanchez 90+8)
The Chilean scores with a panenka down the middle, as Heaton dives to his right. The cheek! What drama.
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Penalty to Arsenal!
90+7 min: Mee penalised for a high ball on Koscielny! Sanchez lumped a cross into the box, Mee missed the ball and caught the Arsenal defender with his studs. There were suspicions of offside but once the ball is crossed, it is another excellent decision from the referee. Burnley are furious. Obviously.
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90+5 min: Arsenal have nobody to blame but themselves, but Wenger is doing a good job of letting Jon Moss what he thinks of that decision. But the referee is having none of it, and sends Wenger to the stands! Wenger only goes to the edge of the tunnel and pushes the fourth official (!!!) when he is instructed to go further down the tunnel.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Burnley (Gray 90+3 pen)
Gray smashes it down the middle, Cech dives left, gets a hand to it, but can’t keep it out! Burnley are level!
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Penalty to Burnley!
90+2 min: Coquelin hacks down Barnes in the area. Correct decision, that was so clumsy by the substitute!
90 min: Seven minutes added on!
89 min: Bellerin makes an instant impact, sprinting to the byline and cutting back towards Welbeck, whose shot is blocked by Keane. Goal-saving tackle, that. From the rebound, Coquelin lashes a fierce volley, but Heaton beats it away!
88 min: Burnley not creating an awful lot, as Lowton smashes a shot well over the bar from 30 yards. Arsenal make their final change: Bellerin on for Ozil. Sensible decision that, although I bet Wenger would prefer to bring on a fit Mertesacker at this point.
86 min: Welbeck comes on, for Giroud. What a strange substitution that, surely Arsenal could do with Giroud’s aerial presence? The Frenchman must be injured.
85 min: Somebody needs to drag Ozil off. He’s a liability in this situation, and promptly gives the ball away to Ward.
83 min: Dyche has given his side one brief: box it. At every opportunity, Burnley’s players are bombarding Arsenal’s penalty area. Lowton, Ward and Mee all launch missiles towards Vokes and co, but Arsenal’s defence repel the danger, for now at least.
80 min: Both Koscielny and Mustafi are grimacing. Vokes has only been on for four minutes.
79 min: Every player behind the ball for Arsenal now, as Burnley start to bypass the midfield by launching balls towards the forehead of Vokes. What a handful he is, the Welshman, who twice wins knockdowns inside the Arsenal penalty box. Panic reigns, but twice Arsenal get lucky as the ball breaks kindly to Cech with Barnes lurking.
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76 min: Burnley make a double change: once enforced, one tactical. Tarkowski on for Marney, Vokes comes on for Defour.
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73 min: Arsenal defend the corner well, and set off on their counter-attack - Ozil latching onto a brilliant ball from Sanchez. Ozil takes a touch beyond Marney, who unceremoniously brings him down. Clear foul, yellow card for Marney, who remains on the turf, as the referee dishes out the card. Marney is going to have to go off, it looks as though he’s twisted his knee badly and the stretcher is called on. Marney looks in serious pain, grimacing and holding his head in his hands as he is carried off. Not good to see.
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70 min: Burnley are already growing in confidence, and win a free-kick in a dangerous area. Joey Barton, after his free-kick winner against Southampton, is readying himself on the bench, but it is Defour that steps up, curling his free-kick over the wall, and forcing Cech to tip the ball over the bar! Barton is now on, in place of Hendrick.
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68 min: Arsenal make a change to compensate for the loss of Xhaka in midfield: Coquelin on, Iwobi off.
66 min: That’s Xhaka’s ninth red card in three years, and second of the season after also seeing red against Swansea. Arsenal won 3-2 that day, but will this come back to bite Arsenal today.
I spoke to Wenger a couple of weeks ago about Xhaka’s discipline, and he had this to say.
You can see in his game he is not a dirty player. Overall I am quite happy with his defensive evolution. He is less spectacular in his tackling and he stays more on his feet. He uses his body better to win the challenges and his recovery runs are stronger when the ball goes behind him. Before he was a little bit in the moon.
RED CARD! Xhaka is dismissed for a tackle on Defour!
64 min: Xhaka gave the ball away cheaply and then went in two-footed on Defour. Whether he won the ball or not is immaterial. A poor challenge, and after consulting with his linesman, Jon Moss reached for the red. What a lifeline for Burnley!
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62 min: Lowton is booked for a cynical challenge of the ball. He tripped Sanchez when Arsenal were breaking dangerously.
61 min: After a bright first 20 minutes, Burnley have really posed no threat going forward. They are going to have to change their system, or some personnel.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Burnley (Mustafi 59)
The German glances a header just inside the far post from a corner! That is such an infuriating goal for Burnley to concede. Set pieces are the area where they should be strongest, but Stephen Ward is second best to Ozil’s delivery, and with no defender on Burnley’s far post, they find themselves 1-0 behind.
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55 min: Penalty appeal from Mustafi!!! Jon Moss shakes his head. Ooooo, that was close, the Arsenal defender getting to a loose ball first, before he is tripped by Gray. Looked like the Burnley forward got away with one there.
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53 min: Update: Michael Keane is a good defender. He’s headed everything today, and seems the only Burnley player not entirely petrified when faced with tackling Sanchez.
51 min: Ozil really does look as fit as a flea at the moment, he’s covered a lot of ground down that right-hand side, making a lot of un-Ozil-like runs beyond in behind. It is Sanchez that remains the chief threat for Arsenal, though.
49 min: So close from Sanchez! Burnley are really struggling with Arsenal’s tempo at the beginning of this half. Ozil makes a break, well supported by Iwobi, the ball eventually falling to Sanchez on the edge of the box. The Chilean cuts inside on his right and crashes his shot a yard over the bar. You really expected to see the net bulge there. Burnley looked stretched.
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47 min: Sanchez has started this half like a man possessed, twisting and turning Lowton inside out on this left flank. He gets to the byline, floats a cross to Giroud who knocks down to Ramsey. SCORPION KICK from Ramsey! Over. He gives a knowing smile to Giroud.
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Peeeep! We’re off again. No changes from either side. It is worth remembering that the one point Burnley have earned on the road this season did come at Old Trafford.
He has also failed to hit the target with any of his shots.
100% - Mesut Ozil completed all of his 33 passes in the first half against Burnley. Pinpoint. pic.twitter.com/hRPlvi0z18
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 22, 2017
“I used to be a season ticket holder at Slavia Prague,” emails Rory Davies. “This one always made me smile.”
Half-time: Arsenal 0-0 Burnley
Dyche will take that. Four of the top six dropped points yesterday. Arsenal on course to do the same.
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45 min: One minute added on.
43 min: Lowton, who has had a good game at right back, sets Boyd off down the right, and once again, it’s a low cross which Cech comes to cross. But this time Gray gets his toe to the ball first, and crashes into the head of Cech, the ball skewing wide. It’s a fair challenge, but Cech has taken a nasty bash on that helmet. There’s a stoppage, but Cech is OK to continue.
41 min: Sanchez goes close! He brilliantly controls a high ball, turns inside Boyd and flashes a curling shot just wide of Heaton’s left-hand post. That was inches. The quickness of the Chilean’s feet (and mind) is ridiculous.
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40 min: “I was surprised to find the match on in the hotel breakfast room here in Phoenix,” emails Petr Fremont. “Much more positive from Burnley than I expected, and not a bad addition to biscuits and coffee. As a bonus I can’t hear the on-air commentary.”
38 min: Burnley make a rare foray forward, Keane knocking a near-post corner down into the six-yard box. For a moment, panic sets in before Ramsey calmy brings the ball away.
35 min: “Alex Iwobi is a fine all-round forward for his age, and has plenty of time to add finesse to his finishing,” emails Tony Walton. “And he will. Arsène knows!”
Brilliant footballer. I’ve just never seen him score a goal where he’s crashed a shot with his laces into the net.
33 min: Less impressive from Lowton, who rakes his studs down the back of Sanchez’s achilles. Free-kick, from which Koscielny heads over, although Arsenal are bizarelly awarded a corner! It goes deep where Keane is once again there to defend the high ball, and Sanchez can’t make the most of the rebound.
32 min: Mee makes a fabulous sliding challenge on Giroud, which leaves the Frenchman crumpled in a heap. Proper tackle, that.
29 min: A clever cut back from Monreal gives Ozil another chance to strike on goal inside Burnley’s box, but again, Ramsey gets in the way, and Ozil slices the ball.
27 min: The home crowd are growing a little restless here. Burnley look comfortable, although they have not set foot inside Arsenal’s half in a good five minutes.
24 min: The first handbags of the day, as Gabriel gets away with fouling Barnes, before Defour snaps at the heels of Xhaka, the Swiss responding by getting all up in the grill of Defour. Dyche paces the touchline, this is his 200th game as Burnley manager.
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22 min: Now Gabriel does get forward, lofting a cross to the back post. Keane heads it away but only as far as Ozil on the edge, who drags his shot horribly wide, before berating himself in what looks like sweary German. Ramsey also went for the knock-down and there’s a good chance his presence put Ozil off a bit.
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20 min: Monreal and Gabriel are not playing particularly high at the moment, perhaps Wenger is wary of the counter-attack. Iwobi and Sanchez doing well from wide areas, though, as Giroud heads again on goal.
17 min: Marney forces Cech into a save! A quick break and Marney tried his luck from range. It was a nice height for Cech, who turned it round the post. Lively start to the game: we’ve had nine attempts (seven from Arsenal) on goal from both sides in the opening 17 minutes.
15 min: Iwobi goes close from the corner! The ball pinballs around the six-yard box, with Koscielny laying the ball back to Iwobi on the edge. The Nigerian’s shot is weak, and blocked by Mee, the ball trickling wide. I find that Iwobi is not a clean striker of the ball, his shooting is often dreadful, especially when he’s not using his instep.
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14 min: Great save from Heaton! Ozil is allowed far too much room on the edge of the box, and the German bends an effort towards the far corner. Heaton sees it late, with Giroud stepping over the ball, but the England No3 gets a right finger to tip the ball round the post, saving a certain goal.
12 min: Monreal is weak in the tackle, and Burnley break down their right flank with the Spaniard on the deck. Boyd releases Lowton on the overlap, and the right-back fizzes a low cross toward the near post, Cech just beating Gray to the ball.
9 min: Marney has made an excellent start to this match, snapping at the heels of Ramsey and Xhaka, and releasing Gray on the counter-attack with a couple of peachy diagonal long balls. Often a player that goes under the radar, but the 32-year-old has been vital for Burnley this season, missing just one league match.
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7 min: Arsenal create their first opening of the match, Ozil feeding Sanchez down the line, who checks back on his right foot, whips a cross to the near post, and Giroud can only flick his header out of danger. Ramsey had made a late run to volley the ball in from six yards, but Giroud’s flick took the ball away from the Welshman!
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5 min: Arsenal have found some rhythm, pinging the ball about with lots of pace and purpose. Sanchez finds Ramsey with some room on the edge of the box, but Defour and Marney close him down expertly with flying blocks.
2 min: Gray wins a free-kick from Monreal, allowing Keane and Mee to trot forward. Hendrick delivers to the back post, where Keane is completely unmarked, but his centre is flicked away from danger by Giroud. A nervy start from Arsenal.
Peeeeeep! And we’re off.
#bannerwatch
There’s another one, with the Arsenal motto - ‘victory through harmony’ - alongside the names of Sánchez’s dogs.
They actually made the banner for Sanchez's dogs. pic.twitter.com/CpqiG4PsJQ
— Julian Bennetts (@julian_bennetts) January 22, 2017
The teams are out, Arsenal in their red and white, whilst Burnley sport their changed strip of sky blue.
Things are hotting up outside the ground …
Frustrating times for Lucas Pérez: the Spaniard has only started two Premier League games since his summer move from Deportivo, but with Burnley likely to defend deep today, another run-out for Giroud is a sensible idea. It means Arsenal can actually cross the ball. Will be interesting to see if Welbeck gets more of a chance today, he’s come on in the last 10 minutes of the last two matches.
It’s no surprise to see Dyche favour the more mobile Gray and Barnes over Vokes, with Burnley certain to sit back and try to hit Arsenal on the counter-attack. They will, however, not be as potent from set pieces. Vokes caused Arsenal all manner of problems at Turf Moor earlier this season.
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Featuring references to Burnley’s Andre Gray and Arsenal’s new £40,000 signing Cohen Bramall, this is a nice read from Ed Aarons:
Southampton are 2-0 up against Leicester City and have just had another goal disallowed. You can follow the latter stages of that game, right here.
Arsenal have one British player in their starting XI, Burnley have one player in their starting XI that isn’t British/Irish*.
*Ashley Barnes does have a single appearance for the Austria U20s, but we won’t talk about that.
The teams
Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Xhaka, Iwobi, Özil, Sánchez, Giroud.
Subs: Gibbs, Lucas Pérez, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck, Bellerín, Coquelin.
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Marney, Hendrick, Defour, Gray, Barnes.
Subs: Flanagan, Vokes, Kightly, Robinson, Barton, Tarkowski, Darikwa.
Referee: Jonathan Moss (County Durham)
Hector Bellerin is only fit enough for the bench, following his ankle injury.
Burnley make SEVEN changes from their 2-0 win over Sunderland in the FA Cup last week. Heaton, Lowton, Mee, Ward, Marney, Barnes and Gray all come into the starting XI. It is the same side that beat Southampton 1-0.
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I don’t actually understand the ‘Good Boys’ message, can somebody enlighten me? Seems like they rushed it a bit.
Or possibly send me pictures of better banners to help pass the time. We’ve got just under an hour until kick-off and I don’t have any MNF-esque gadgetry to impress you with.
Emailmichael.butler@theguardian.com | tweet @michaelbutler18.
Preamble
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the unveiling of the Alexis-Sánchez-cuddling-his-dogs banner. The build-up to this moment has been unprecedented : a crowdfunding appeal to actually manufacture the thing, an (excellent) Simon Burnton blog, fans threatening Sanchez to ‘SIGN IN A HURRY OR THEYRE GOING IN A CURRY’. Will it make a difference to how Sánchez plays, or what he signs? Will he even notice the banner? Almost certainly not. Is this an attempt to try and create some narrative for an otherwise Arsenal home win? Yes.
Alexis Sanchez's new banner at the Emirates. #AFC pic.twitter.com/m6XHqhOkFx
— Premier League Zone (@ThePLZone) January 20, 2017
Not that much has changed since the last time Arsenal and Burnley met, where Laurent Koscielny scored a controversial 93rd-minute winner. Arsenal, now fourth, were fifth before their trip to Turf Moor in October. Burnley, now 14th, were 12th. Burnley remain a well-drilled, stubborn side, with occasional glimpses of quality at home and awful away: they have lost eight (and drawn one) of their nine games this season, whilst Arsenal are unbeaten at home in the league since the opening day of the season. So it’s as you were. If this seems a monumental task for Sean Dyche and co, that’s because it is.
It’s a beautiful day for football. You correspondent sits in a dark room, hunched over a bright screen, not two miles from the Emirates this afternoon, wishing he was outside.
Kick-off: 2.15pm GMT
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