Arsenal, Burnley play to a goalless draw. The Clarets at least ended a run that had seen them beaten in their previous 11 games against the Gunners, but the home side should have had more. After riding some early pressure from the visitors, Burnley gradually asserted themselves to bombard the Arsenal goal with headed efforts.
Burnley wasted the chance to punish Arsenal, who escaped from Turf Moor with a point from a goalless draw. Jeff Hendrick and James Tarkowski were most culpable of missing with headers, both failing to hit the target from close range, while Jay Rodriguez volleyed against the underside of the bar when he should have scored.
Arsenal extend their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions, as well as being unbeaten in seven successive Premier League away games. In truth, though, they were uninspired for long periods of this game, failing to gain a boost from the return of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after a three-match ban.
It was Aubameyang who had their best chances, miscuing when put through by David Luiz and later heading wide. The draw sees both teams make marginal gains up the table, Arsenal to 10th and Burnley 11th, both on 31 points.
Burnley rue missed chances
Burnley entered this game on the back of league victories over Leicester and Manchester United, and will wonder how they did not make it three in a row.
In the opening stages, they looked in danger of being overwhelmed, but gradually outfought a Gunners side who were rarely without a player complaining, limping, or rolling around on the floor.
Burnley’s initial efforts were from the reasonable range – Hendrick, Rodriguez and Dwight McNeil all firing shots away – but it was from balls into the box either side of half-time where the hosts really should have taken the lead.
The Clarets swarmed all over the yellow shirts in the period after the break and it seemed unlikely they would get a better chance than when Hendrick missed the target with a header from six yards.
They did. From similar range, Rodriguez’s side-foot volley came down from the underside of the bar and bounced away off the goalline, replays clearly showing the ball had not crossed.
Aubameyang return fails to inspire Gunners
Aubameyang served a three-game ban after being sent off against Crystal Palace, returning to meet a Clarets side against whom he had scored seven in his past four matches.
He was involved in the Gunners’ bright start, crossing for Alexandre Lacazette, who failed to hit the target with a header, then shooting horribly wide when set free by Luiz’s long ball.
But as Aubameyang was controlled by Burnley right-back Matt Lowton, Arsenal’s attacking threat diminished to almost nothing, their front four dithering over the few scraps they were fed in the period of Burnley dominance.
Aubameyang’s header wide of the near post was their only chance of any note in a second half where it was all they could do to hang on. In 25 league games this season, the Gunners have won only six and this was their 13th draw. Few of the other 12 will have come in such fortunate circumstances.
Man of the match – James Tarkowski
‘We did enough to edge it’
Burnley boss Sean Dyche told Match of the Day 2: “You don’t want to get too greedy, it’s a good run of performances and results. I thought we did enough to edge it, we had a couple of golden chances and kept them to meagre ones.
“We’re not a side that’s going to create so many, it’s about the quality of chances. We asked enough to score a goal. “We were on a tough run and the last three games have shown we can be at least competitive.”Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, also to MOTD2: “In periods of the game, I liked it, but in other periods I did not. We started to give free-kicks, throw-ins, corners away and in that, they are better than us.
“I learned a lot about the resilience we showed in defence and also that we need to improve the quality of our play, be calmer and improve the end product. “In the offensive part of our game, we have to do better for longer periods.”
Source – BBC News
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