Arsenal moved level on points with Manchester City following a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners had a hard time breaking down a disciplined Clarets team for most of the first half. But just before halftime, Leandro Trossard bravely nodded in at the far post for Arsenal’s 1,000th goal at Emirates Stadium, breaking down the visitors’ defence.
Josh Brownhill’s low shot was deflected into the net by Gabriel eight minutes into the second half, tying the game. But it was only tied for three minutes before William Saliba headed in Trossard’s corner from a perfect distance.
Oleksandr Zinchenko scored the final goal with a spectacular finish into the top corner after Dara O’Shea had knocked another Trossard corner off the crossbar by mistake.
After Fabio Vieira was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Brownhill in the second half, Arsenal played the rest of the game with only 10 players. However, they still won easily.
Burnley stays in the relegation zone, and Arsenal is behind league leaders City by goal difference. However, Pep Guardiola’s team can get back ahead by three points if they win at Chelsea on Sunday.
Over the past few weeks, Arsenal has had a lot of injury problems. However, Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who both got hurt in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Sevilla, were both cleared to play before the game.
In the first few minutes, Saka played a big role, and in the 20th minute, he almost put the home team ahead with a rising shot from the edge of the area that was saved by Clarets custodian James Trafford.
Another frustrating afternoon for Kai Havertz. He should have done better from a Saka corner, and Trafford tipped over another powerful drive from Trossard. But the Belgian didn’t make a mistake when Saka rose highest to direct a Zinchenko delivery into his path.
These Arsenal goals make them only the third Premier League team since the 2006–07 season to score 1,000 goals at a single venue. The other two were Manchester City (1,138 at Etihad Stadium) and Chelsea (1,028 at Stamford Bridge).
The home team thought Brownhill’s equaliser in the second half should have been thrown out because Luca Koleosho fouled Tomiyasu before the goal. But they didn’t have to wait long to get back ahead when Saliba was left unmarked and scored his first goal of the season.
Arteta and his players didn’t have many complaints when Vieira was sent off for a careless challenge on Brownhill, but Zinchenko’s scissor kick nine minutes earlier made it almost impossible for Burnley to save a point.
Burnley has lost six straight games since their first win of the season at Luton in early October. However, they were still in the game before Trossard scored in the 45th minute.
The Clarets stopped Arsenal’s attack for most of the first half by sitting deep and defending in numbers. They could have even scored the first goal.
David Raya blocked a sharp long-range shot from Zeki Amdouni, and Johann Berg Gudmundsson was stopped by the Arsenal custodian after getting past the back line.
Brownhill’s goal early in the second half was exactly what they deserved. But Kompany will be very upset with how Arsenal scored their second goal, as Saliba was left unmarked and scored with a header from almost under the crossbar.
From Burnley’s point of view, the only good thing was that forward Michael Obafemi made his first appearance of the season. He came on with five minutes left after recovering from a long-term hamstring injury.
