At Turf Moor, the Gunners’ persistence paid off eventually in the end as they secured all 3 points at the death against a home side that took the “park the bus” tactics to a whole new level.
Wenger’s 20th anniversary in charge of Arsenal wasn’t going to end with a victory celebration until Koscielny’s header, inch seconds away from the final whistle condemned Sean Dyche’s men to a painful defeat.
Here is how the Gunners performed.
Cech
The veteran goalie kept another clean sheet and held his own down during the few times he was called into action. Has the crossbar to thank for a Keane goal-bound header.
Rating : 3/5
Bellerin
Couldn’t make anything out of his runs down the flanks as he barely got a cross into the box. Had nothing to do at the back as there was barely anybody to mark.
Rating : 2/5
Mustafi
Contained and tussled well against the physicality of Vokes. Also made attempts to link up with the attack from the back and was at the receiving end of some harsh fouls.
Rating : 3/5
Koscielny
Was solid rock as usual at the back, but could have regretted if Burnley got a goal as he couldn’t help aerially on few occasions. However, he bundled in a close-range header from the last kick of the game. Another testament to his attacking dangers in converting set pieces.
Rating : 4/5
Monreal
Was poor in attack and had next to little to do at the back.
Rating : 2/5
Cazorla
Couldn’t locate his men with his typical pin point crosses and passes. However, it wasn’t a bad performance for him considering how difficult Burnley made the game.
Rating : 3/5
Xhaka
Had to be removed as he made no meaningful contribution to the attack. As usual, defensive contributions were hardly done except by the central halves, so he had no business dealing with that aspect of the game.
Rating : 2/5
Walcott
Pacy as usual and caused trouble for Burnley’s attack, but had his shots off target and couldn’t create any chances in front of a defensively jam packed rearguard.
Rating : 3/5
Ozil
A very poor game from the German by every standard. Lost the balls, failed to carve any defence-spilting pass and just couldn’t make any worthwhile attacking contributions.
Rating : 2/5
Iwobi
Had a fair game but could have done better with his shots at goal while in great shooting positions. Was removed and replaced with Oxlade as Wenger searched for the goals.
Rating : 2/5
Sanchez
Great performance from the south American. Had many of his shots blocked but eventually got rewarded for a spirited performance as his cross from a corner kick provided the goal.
Rating : 4/5
SUBSTITUTES
El Neny
Contributed more to the team’s attacking cause and might get the nod to start the next game if Coquelin isn’t fit yet.
Rating : 3/5
Chamberlain
Could have gotten the winning goal if Koscielny wasn’t in front of him. His introduction helped the north Londoners press with energy.
Rating : 3/5
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