Summary
It’s not the vintage performance that Wenger would have wanted to crown his 20 years at Arsenal, but sometimes the performance doesn’t matter. That’s a massive three points for the Gunners, who are up to third, two points behind the leaders Manchester City.
How costly might that late goal prove for Burnley at the end of the season. They defended magnificently, and hit the bar from a corner, but ultimately come away with nothing. The defensive running from Boyd and Marney was relentless, and maybe it was that fatigue that proved decisive, Burnley mentally switched off for Arsenal’s short corner.
The goal was controversial, beyond the allotted allocation of injury-time, Koscielny handled the ball into the net, and he was surely offside IF Oxlade Chamberlain kicked the ball into his team-mate. If he did, even with replays, it is still unclear if it was Koscielny kicked the ball into his own hand. Thierry Henry seems to think that it was Koscielny who kicked it into his own hand, and if anyone is a expert on late, handball goals, it’s Thierry.
Thanks for reading, and for your emails and tweets. See you next time. Bye!
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Full-time: Burnley 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal win it at the death!
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GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Arsenal (Koscielny 90+2)
They’ve done it! With the clock beyond the allotted two minutes of injury time, Arsenal take a short corner, Sanchez whips a ball to the near post, Walcott wins the flick and both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Koscielny are there at the back post. Somehow between them, they force it trickling over the line. One of the most scrappy goals you are ever likely to see. Replays show that from all of one yard out, Oxlade Chamberlain hit the ball into Koscielny’s hand, which was not seen by the referee, the ball cannoning into the net.
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90 min: Two minutes added on here. The home crowd groan.
89 min: Burnley digging in for this point. Walcott has another shot blocked, as Sanchez buzzes around the box like a wasp trapped in a parked car. Keane and Mee have been immense in central defence for Burnley.
87 min: Mustafi is caught by Vokes in an aerial duel, the German showing a small cut on the forehead to the referee. Replays show that Vokes caught Mustafi with his elbow, but both players had eyes on the ball. There was no intent. Just clumsy from Vokes.
85 min: Close from Walcott! Sanchez leads another counter-attack and after an ambitious pass is well cut out by Mee, the Chilean wins the ball back, feeds Walcott, who curls an effort just wide. That looked destined for the top corner.
83 min: A poor pass from Mee, allows Arsenal to break in numbers. Mesut Ozil has plenty of space and plenty of options, but his pass is wayward, straight out for a goal kick with Oxlade-Chamberlain struggling to get there. Ozil has one foot on the team coach already.
@michaelbutler18 Ozil's foot on the team coach, left or right?
— il jacobite (@il_cagnaccio) October 2, 2016
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80 min: Ten minutes to go. Dean Marney shrugs Alexis Sanchez off the ball. Burnley are still showing no signs of tiredness. Remarkable.
77 min: Best ever two-footed striker? “Ian Rush”, suggests Antonio Monterio Pais.
““Surely that embarrassment of riches is a hindrance in live play” writes Marie Meyer. “I prefer the mental clarity of James Milner, who isn’t going to let the fact he is now a left back deter him to shifting every single ball onto his right foot.”
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75 min: Burnley hit the bar! From a corner, it is Michael Keane who climbs the highest, planting a powerful header against the underside of the bar. The ball pinballs around the Arsenal box for a moment, before it is eventually hacked clear. Keane scored from a corner against Watford on Monday, remember.
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72 min: With the ball swirling around high in the Lancashire winds, Sanchez judges a volley to perfection on the turn, his shot shooting not a yard wide of the post. Heaton was well beaten.
71 min: Arsenal subs: Iwobi is hooked, Oxlade Chamberlain on. Xhaka also makes way for Elneny.
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70 min: Some thoughts, courtesy of Matt Loten.
“On a weekend when we have seen firsthand the success of some of the modern game’s most forward thinking managers - Klopp’s Liverpool with their brand of gegenpressing and fluidity amongst forward players; Pochettino’s Spurs and their relentless energy, dynamism and ball-playing keeper - are we seeing here crystallised evidence of Arsene Wenger post-2005 tactical malaise? Sure, there have been the accusations of excessive thriftiness and blind faith in youth, but when I watch Arsenal I don’t see any tactical innovation or flexibility. Instead, Wenger’s gameplan seems to amount to little more than sending a group of technically-gifted players out onto the pitch with a vague instruction to pass the ball, and hoping that brilliance will naturally occur. I love the man for his great teams, and he was an innovator in his prime; now, though, Arsene seems to have been left in the shade by the relentless tactical evolution of Guardiola and his cohort of bright, youthful upstarts.”
It does seem odd that for all Arsenal’s good form, it takes just a couple of injuries to make them look one dimensional. It’s a good dimension, mind, but they still need some more diversity in the way that they can play. No doubt about that.
68 min: How long can Burnley keep this defensive running up? Not the full 90, I would guess. Prediction: 1-0 to Arsenal, Sanchez scoring in the 86th minute, capitalising on a tired Burnley defender’s mistake.
65 min: “Surely the all-time king of two-footedness is Andreas Brehme, writes Joel Dunmore. “He was a left back and primarily left-footed but opted to take West Germany’s penalty in the 85th minute of the 1990 World Cup final with his right. That’s confidence. According to Wikipedia, he felt that his right foot was more accurate and his left was more powerful. Nice ‘problem’ to have.”
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63 min: Mesut Ozil should be subbed off – He’s had a shocker today. Sanchez does well to get the ball wide to the German, who screws his cross high into the stands. Doesn’t look interested today. Time for Oxlade-Chamberlain, perhaps?
Burnley make a change: Scott Arfield on for Steven Defour.
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60 min: Burnley awaken! A swift counter-attack results in an excellent Gudmundsoon header at the back post, forcing Cech to tip the ball behind for a corner, from which Vokes glances a header towards the back post. It hits Hendrick, then Walcott, and Arsenal desperately hack it clear. Could have gone anywhere, that.
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58 min: Chance for Ozil! Sanchez did well to find a pocket of space after a neat cut back from Monreal. It’s laid off for Ozil, and he sidefoots goalwards, but there is a fantastic block, I think from Mee, that diverts the ball away from danger.
56 min: Burnley haven’t had a kick in about five minutes. Consistent Arsenal pressure, but without the presence of Olivier Giroud, Burnley seem content to sit deep and invite the crosses. Arsenal’s lack of a plan B could come back to haunt them here.
53 min: I mentioned that I didn’t rate Iwobi as much of a finisher, and he’s just sent a shot out for a throw-in. Wenger slaps his knee in frustration, his face turning a shade of pink.
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51 min: Hendrick tries his luck from 40 yards. No dice.
48 min: Sanchez looks like the most likely Arsenal player to break the deadlock. First he picks the pocket of Boyd on the edge of Burnley’s area, then he collects a Bellerin tackle/pass/miscontrol and fires a low shot towards the near post. Heaton gets down well, and collects it at the second time of asking, with Walcott sniffing around for a rebound.
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Peeeeep! We’re off again.
@michaelbutler18 I guess people would agree that Modric/Kroos, maybe even Eriksen are better than Cazorla, even just for midfielders.
— Xiang Ji (@hackerxiang) October 2, 2016
To which Will Hargreaves replies:
“Have you seen that clip where Koscielny got Cazorla to change feet to take the corner?”
That was against Watford earlier this season. Watch the clip here.
“Not a current player, so maybe a bit off subject, but Zola used to take corners from both sides for Chelsea,” emails Brendan Large. “Using his left foot from the right and right from the left. That’s pretty special I’d say.”
Very much on topic Brendan. There must be countless examples of the magic of Zola’s left foot, but this outside-of-the-boot effort against Coventry in 2000 is, as you say, pretty special.
Half-time: Burnley 0-0 Arsenal
Burnley will be delighted with that half.
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45 min: One minute added time.
@michaelbutler18 Nothing on Cazorla, but Lallana is probably somewhere up there!
— Vishnu Prashanth (@kvp1998) October 2, 2016
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43 min: It’s been a poor half in truth, but Arsenal are ending it strongly, with Burnley camped on the edge of their own box. Cazorla is running the show.
40 min: This, from Tim Daly.
“I always thought Jeff Hendrick was a bit of a geezer, but have only just noticed the startling similarity between his haircut and the famous Sphinx of ahem...Giza”
38 min: Vokes squanders the best chance of the match! Arsenal only half clear their lines, and as Lowton returns the ball to Arsenal’s box with interest, Vokes is left completely unmarked, but heads wide from near the penalty spot. Bellerin was playing him onside.
36 min: Iwobi nutmegs Lowton with a sublime bit of skill. An Arsenal fan feints.
34 min: “I’ve never understood how any player in the top leagues can get that far while being one-footed, but there have been quite a few,” emails Martin Wills.
Ozil and Xhaka are two good examples. The difference between their left and right is staggering. As it Burnley’s Gudmundsson, who’s had a good 34 minutes thus far. Left-footed players are particularly prone to being one-footed, I find.
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32 min: Conversely, Defour has been excellent, snapping at the heels of Cazorla and Xhaka, and has used the ball to good effect, finding Vokes on numerous occasions. He has been one of the signings of the seasons so far, and his goal against Hull City is a personal favourite this season. It’s easy to forget he was made captain of Standard Liège at just 19 years of age.
29 min: Ozil has been quiet, seems to be struggling with the physicality of Hendrick and Ward in particular.
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27 min: Breaking news: Iwobi is very good at football.
25 min: The Vokes-Mustafi battle resumes, this time the two tussling on the touchline. Mustafi wins the battle, winning a throw, war TBC.
23 min: “I’m more interested in Hendrick’s tattoos than his hair. He’s got an anchor, which is interesting,” emails Michael Minihan. “Easy to forget in these days of people writing “determination” in Sanskrit just over their backside that there was a time when only sailors had tattoos.”
It’s good, but it’s nothing on Daniele De Rossi’s.
20 min: Mustafi fouls Vokes after long ball forward, part III. This time the referee calls Mustafi over for a word, but the German defender insists that Vokes was backing in, and does a live demonstration on Craig Pawson, backing into the referee to comedic effect.
At 6ft tall, Mustafi is on the short side for a centre-back. He’s got his work cut out today against Vokes.
18 min: Is Cazorla the best two-footed player in the world?
16 min: Walcott smashes a cross-shot across the face of goal, but nobody is there at the back post to tap in an easy finish.
13 min: Mustafi fouls Vokes after long ball forward, part II
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11 min: Sloppy play from Mee allows Iwobi to win the ball back in Burnley’s penalty area. The ball is cut back to Ozil but the German slices his shot, and the ball falls kindly for Heaton.
8 min: Vokes collects a clip forward on his chest, before Mustafi clatters into him from behind. Free-kick. Arsenal’s defence can expect everything to go through the head/chest of Vokes today, he was excellent against Watford.
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6 min: Jeff Hendrick’s hair: discuss.
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4 min: Sanchez moves into the Burnley penalty area unchallenged, and flashes a deflected shot across the face of goal, the ball squirming a yard or two wide. It came off Walcott - goal kick.
3 min: The ball breaks kindly to Iwobi on the edge of the box, and he generously scoops his first-time shot high and wide. Iwobi has been simply brilliant in these past few weeks, but he doesn’t strike me as a natural finisher. Everything is done with his instep. Still, it’s a good one.
2 min: Throw-in to Arsenal, much to the frustration of Gudmundsson, who initially races towards the linesman to contest the decision, then stops himself. Looks like those new rules around dissent are working.
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Peeeeeep! And we’re off.
The teams come out of the tunnel to the mesmeric sounds of Arcade Fire – Wake Up. What a banger. Burnley are in their claret and blue, Arsenal in their yellow away kit.
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Despite Burnley’s good start to the season, it’s been a disappointing time for Jon Flanagan. The Liverpool favourite went to Burnley on loan this summer in the hope of first-team football, but hasn’t been able to usurp Matty Lowton at right back, his only appearance coming in a 1-0 Capital One Cup defeat to … Accrington Stanley. Flanagan is on the bench today.
0-0 thriller, coming up.
5 - Burnley have conceded just five goals in their last 17 home league games, and never more than once in a match in that period. Unit. pic.twitter.com/BlGjPpeEgm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 2, 2016
Amy Lawrence has been at her brilliant best recently: here’s her preview of today’s match …
… and here’s her essential long read of Wenger’s 20 years at Arsenal.
It’s finished Tottenham 2-0 Manchester City, Spurs end Guardiola’s 100% record and close the gap at the top of the Premier League to just one point.
It’s also finished Leicester City 0-0 Southampton, in Sunday’s other mid-afternoon match.
Looks as though the post-match interview area at Turf Moor is in a car park?
Monsieur Wenger, a day on from his 20th anniversary as #afc boss, has arrived. Pretty sure that's "Arsene for England" from a few #bfc fans. pic.twitter.com/3lotesib4O
— Phil Medlicott (@pgmedlicott) October 2, 2016
No striker on the bench for the Gunners today. They do not have an abundance of options if plan A falls flat on its arse.
Lucas misses out today with a slight knee injury#BFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/qDItYjiIi9
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) October 2, 2016
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In other cow-related news:
Today's heroes and villains
Burnley unchanged from the team that beat Watford.
Arsenal unchanged from the team that beat Basel, save for Cech replacing Ospina.
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Gudmundsson, Hendrick, Marney, Defour, Boyd, Vokes.
Subs: Flanagan, Kightly, Bamford, Robinson, Tarkowski, Arfield, O’Neill.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Cazorla, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez.
Subs: Gibbs, Gabriel, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Holding, Reine-Adelaide, Elneny.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
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Preamble
Walcott’s renaissance. That tackle from Bellerín. That Xhaka chaps seems like a nice lad doesn’t he. Wenger 4.0. Ozil’s no-look pass. Iwobi, one for the future? One for right now more like! Yeah? Yeah! Who needs a traditional striker when you’ve got Sánchez?
It’s the hope that kills you. But normally, Arsenal’s fall from grace comes in February/March, their clutch of continental stars lagging at the lack of a winter break. October is traditionally the time when all is right with the world in N7, last season they won all five of their Premier/Champions League matches. But on the second day of this month, today feels like a day that Arsenal could stumble – they have failed to win on two of their last three visits to Turf Moor.
Having already beaten Liverpool and Watford at home this season, Burnley are a team greater than the sum of its parts. They have a few individual stars – Michael Keane has impressed at centre back and has already been linked with a big-money move away from the club, Andre Gray has looked every inch a Premier League striker, both Jeff Hendrick and Steven Defour shone since their summer moves to Lancashire – but this is a team based on self-less sacrifice to a team effort. Only Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City have put in more miles than Sean Dyche’s side this season.
Dyche will likely deploy the same five-man midfield which conquered Watford on Monday night, with Gray making way for Vokes to lead the ‘attack’. It will be tight, it might not be particularly pretty. George Boyd probably isn’t going to skin Bellerin alive, but he will run and run and run and run and run. Dean Marney isn’t going to dictate the play in the same way that Mesut Ozil might, but he is capable of delivering a decisive set-piece. It just feels like something could happen.
Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
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