Burnley dealt a big blow to Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the Top Four in one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Arsenal dominated the game with 76 percent possession to go with their 20 shots but could not break down a resilient defense from the visitors. Alexander Lacazette missed an absolute sitter after Emile Smith-Rowe cut back.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Ramsdale (7), White (7), Holding (7), Gabriel (7), Tierney (6), Lokonga (6), Odegaard (6), Smith Rowe (6), Saka (7), Martinelli (6), Lacazette (5)
Subs used: Nketiah (6)
Burnley: Pope (8), Roberts (8), Tarkowski (8), Mee (8), Pieters (7), Lennon (6), Westwood (7), Brownhill (7), McNeil (8), Vydra (7), Rodriguez (6)
Subs used: Gudmundsson (6)
Man of the match: James Tarkowski
Managers Reaction
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta: The way we started the game, it was slow and we didn’t play forward enough and didn’t have enough urgency,” he said. “Probably because of Thursday, it could be one of the reasons. Afterward, we picked the game up and started to get better, and certainly, the second half was completely different. We were much more dynamic, we had more penetration, we played forward and we had better positions to [threaten] in behind.”
Burnley boss Sean Dyche: “It is a building block and we want to move in the right direction. We felt it was appropriate to get back to the basics, especially against teams like this when you are going to have to defend well and do it from a good shape. We worked hard and I was pleased with that. The challenge all season has been finding the big moments and we had three or four when we were in very good positions and couldn’t find the right pass or run.”
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