Arsenal dispatched Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor without much fuss. Boring, boring Arsenal, right? The hosts were energetic in the opening five minutes but soon after that the Gunners took control and didn’t
let go. Goals in the 14th and 35th minute gave Arsenal a 2-0 halftime lead and that was all they needed. They held Burnley without a shot on target and won their fourth consecutive Premier League match with a clean sheet to extend their lead atop the Premier League table to seven points with tomorrow’s results still to come.
There wasn’t much to this match — Arsenal are simply too good for Burnley. There was a time when Arsenal sides would fail to assert themselves against lesser sides who could muck up a match and snatch a result. But this roster, especially with the way they’ve played recently, don’t let that happen. They’re organized, defensively resolute, and have the cutting edge (from set pieces and increasingly open play) to win the matches they’re supposed to win.
As annoying as it might have felt that Arsenal didn’t blow the doors off Burnley in the second half, they didn’t need to. All they needed to do was play within themselves, keep their shape, and not do anything silly. There’s no reason to use more energy than needed, especially with an away match in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Gunners opened the scoring from a corner, of course. Declan Rice served it deep, Gabriel looped around the wash towards the back post, and played it back across the face of goal with a surprisingly delicate volley. Viktor Gyokeres was Johnny-on-the-spot to tap the ball home. The Big Swede had an excellent first half. It was his sweeping switch of play that sprung Leandro Trossard to set up the Arsenal second. It looked like the ball might have been taken the Belgian a bit too far wide, but he did well to create space for a cross. His service found Declan Rice’s flashing run to the front post and Rice’s bullet header found the back of the net.
That devastating Arsenal counter was a perfect example of why teams don’t play expansive, attacking football against the Gunners. Burnley committed numbers forward for a long throw and fifteen seconds later, the ball was in the back of their net. Of course, if you sit in a low block, as the Clarets did in the first half, Arsenal will get ‘ya from a set piece. Right now against the Gunners, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Gyokeres came off at halftime, which was a bit odd. He did catch an elbow in the face right as the first half expired, so it might have been he was shaken up. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and just to get him some much-needed rest. Mikel Arteta gave Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Zubimendi, and Ebere Eze a break midway through the second half, too. It’s quite nice to have the squad depth to be able to rest players without suffering a dip in quality on the pitch and to have the lead in matches so Mikel Arteta feels comfortable making changes.
Burnley had one half-chance in the second half, but it was headed harmlessly over the bar. It would have taken a tremendous header to beat David Raya, who had gotten across his goal well to cover, and it would have had to come through a jumble of Arsenal defenders. The opportunity looked more dangerous than it turned out to be.
Burnley hit the post from a set piece (which is NOT a shot on target) awarded after the four added second half minutes had elapsed. Chris Kavanagh, who’d had a pretty good game on the whistle, asked VAR to take another look at the Gabriel challenge for the free kick. It was barely a foul. He had already shown a yellow card because the Burnley player launched himself into the air. You can’t help but feel Kavanagh wanted ever so much to make a show of it. But I won’t let that Mancunian dolt spoil an excellent Arsenal day.
Martin Dubravka made a handful of nice saves that kept the match from becoming a blowout — two on Bukayo Saka in the first half and one on Christian Norgaard very late. Leandro Trossard had a shot stopped on the goal line, too. It could have been a much gaudier scoreline. And that was all she wrote.
Arsenal travel to Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday and face a surprising Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light next Saturday before the international break.
