Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, White, Hincapie, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points after beating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday, thanks to goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Declan Rice.
Mikel Arteta made ten changes from the side that beat Brighton on Wednesday, with Eberechi Eze the only player to keep his place while William Saliba was deemed fit enough to start despite picking up a knock against Crystal Palace last time out.
FIRST HALF
It was a slow start to the game with Arsenal keeping possession but doing very little with the ball, trying to pick locks in the Burnley defence although they were comfortable in their mid-block.
But the best running gag in football revealed itself again, with Arsenal taking the lead just after 10 minutes – from another corner – as Viktor Gyokeres nabbed his fourth league goal of the season. 1-0.
Declan Rice put another pinpoint delivery into the danger area and (obviously) Gabriel wriggled free from his marker, knocked the ball back and Gyokeres was on hand to head home from close range.
That was the early goal Arsenal needed and their play instantly looked more energised, with Leandro Trossard nearly playing Riccardo Calafiori through with a beautiful pass but he was eventually crowded out in the Burnley box.
Then it was Bukayo Saka’s turn to go close after Gyokeres did well to turn and play him through, but he couldn’t slot an effort past Dubravka after showing good strength to bump Maxime Esteve off the ball.
Pressure was beginning to mount and Arteta’s men should have doubled their lead when Ebere Eze found Gyokeres through the lines, whose cute pass inside played Saka through again but his effort was well saved by Dubravka, before Trossard’s follow up was cleared off the line with the goalkeeper beaten.
You could feel the second goal coming and the visitors weren’t to be denied much longer, with Rice applying the finishing touch to a beautiful breakaway from Burnley’s long throw.
Gyokeres managed to escape down the right and set Trossard away with a perfectly weighted cross-field pass, before the Belgian stood up his marker and sent a teasing ball into the box which Rice gratefully accepted – steaming in with a bullet header. 2-0.
It wasn’t a blistering half from the Gunners but they held a threat in key moments and when Burnley dared to open up, they were punished with conviction.
SECOND HALF
Arsenal did make a change at half time, with Mikel Merino replacing Gyokeres although as of yet – there’s been no update on whether it was precautionary or enforced through injury.
The pace of the game was being played entirely on Arsenal’s terms and Trossard saw a low shot saved after bringing a long diagonal down beautifully, before Jurrien Timber stormed forward on the overlap but his cross could only find a Burnley head.
With 20 minutes to play, Piero Hincapie and Ethan Nwaneri replaced Calafiori and Eze whose influence on the game had faded, with some fresh legs likely to help close out the remaining stages. Christian Norgaard also came on for Zubimendi who sat down for some treatment.
Despite the second half being quite sloppy from an Arsenal perspective, Nwaneri showed great feet to turn away from pressure in the middle but his curling effort bounced just wide after driving through the centre of the pitch.
The second half was a non-event and eventually fizzled out but there was a feeling that Arsenal managed their way through with two more away games on the way, plus the introduction of Merino which slowed the team down.
Norgaard stung the gloves of Dubravka late on but that was as close as Arsenal got to scoring a third, before Burnley struck the post deep into injury time from a free kick – which David Raya cheered more than either goal on the day.
Another win, another clean sheet, job done.
The post Report: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal (inc. goals) appeared first on Arseblog News – the Arsenal news site.
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