Two's Enough at Turf Moor

Arsenal well and truly hold the fate of the Premier League in their hands. Every game will feel like a final of some sort, but the emotions can't run that high all the time. After opening up some space on the main rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, it was all about sustaining that space and keeping the momentum going. Burnley away presented an awkward fixture, the newly promoted side have seen an uptick in form having won their last two games. But, coming up against a side that won every single game in October, without even conceding a goal, was always going to be a daunting prospect. Arsenal needed to avoid complacency, Burnley needed bravery.

Burnley actually began the game with a relative amount of bravery, keeping Arsenal at bay for the opening exchanges. You could feel a sense of caution from the North London side as they probed the Burnley defence. However, Arsenal's first shot arrived in the 14th minute and it just so happened to result in a goal. You guessed it, a set-piece got us going. Declan Rice swung a deep corner into the box which was met by the leg of Gabriel who knocked it back across the face of the goal. Viktor Gyokeres was on hand to nudge the ball over the line. After that goal, the Gunners threatened to open the floodgates. The rest of the half contained Arsenal sieging the Burnley goal in any way they could. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori both had chances, Bukayo Saka could have and probably should have scored a brace. But, it was Rice that stepped up to put the Gunners 2-0 to the good. A rare forage forward for Burnley resulted in a devastating counter attack initiated by Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish striker galloped away from the pursuing Burnley players and quickly sprayed a ball far out to the left of the pitch where Leandro Trossard was running. Trossard bought some time for other Arsenal players to catch up, one of those was Rice who met Trossard's cross into the box with a firm header. Martin Dubravka anticipated the ball to be sent across the goal, but Rice opted to aim for the near post, catching Dubravka on his heels. That rather concluded the action for the first half, Mikel Arteta's men were threatening to make it a miserable afternoon for Scott Parker.

The second half rolled around and a change had to be made with Mikel Merino replacing Viktor Gyokeres who injured himself in the first half. That substitute seemed to knock the wind out of the sails of the Arsenal side who were a shadow of themselves. But, one thing about this side is that even when they're struggling to make a difference in attack, they will always be rock solid at the back. That is kind of how the second half panned out. Arsenal repelled Burnley attacks, and that resulted in Scott Parker's men not being able to truly test David Raya. Trossard had an effort on goal saved as well as Christian Norgaard late on. Ethan Nwaneri came close with a shot off target. Burnley had two memorable chances, one being Florentino sending a header over the bar from close range and then Marcus Edwards smacking the post from a free kick in the 97th minute. Arsenal weathered the small storm that Burnley conjured and temporarily opened up a seven point lead over Bournemouth in 2nd place. That has now been reduced to six after Manchester City actually beat Bournemouth to move themselves into 2nd.

Arsenal should've inflicted more damage upon Burnley than the final score suggested. The Gunners had 12 shots, 8 of which were on target and that generated an xG of 2.42. There was 4 big chances missed within that. Burnley, on the other hand, had 3 shots and none of those were on target. They did miss one big chance though. Altogether they created an xG of 0.42.

Player Ratings:

Raya - 6 - Once again he had very little to actually deal with, but I do feel like he was a little shaky with claiming some of the crosses. His positioning for the Edwards free kick was also a bit suspect as he left quite a large portion of the goal unattended that was almost punished.

Timber - 8 - What can be said about this guy that hasn't already been said. Strong in every action. He completely locks down that right hand side and did so once again.

Saliba - 7 - Quietly going about his business, but always a colossal at the back. He won his duels and kept the Gunners ticking over in possession.

Gabriel - 8 - Another big performance from our big man at the back. He finds defending so much easier these days and Burnley found that out the hard way. Grabbed the assist for Gyokeres' goal, but did give a silly foul away late on that almost resulted in a goal.

Calafiori - 8 - His defensive work has shot through the roof this season, rarely gets caught out. However, it was his attacking work that needs applauding in this fixture as his late runs into the box cause all kinds of issues.

Zubimendi - 8 - Class once again. The metronome in our midfield, but also showed there's more to him than just recycled possession. He clipped a few sweet balls over the top that weren't capitalised upon by our attacking department.

Rice - 9 (MOTM) - Casually reminding a few doubters as to why he's one of the best midfielders on the planet. A dominant performance that Burnley just couldn't match. He was everywhere and chipped in with a decisive goal of his own. A masterful performance.

Eze - 7 - A quiet game for Eze, but it was always going to be with the amount of football he's been playing recently. However, he still knitted together a few nice attacks and I do always get the impression our attack looks more expansive when he plays.

Saka - 6 - Unfortunately Saka didn't have his best game here. Two chances that should've been buried, especially his one-on-one. A little slump in form, but the positive is that he was on the end of chances that he would bury on another day.

Gyokeres - 8 - Easily his best half for Arsenal since he joined. He was absolutely crucial for both goals, even the one he didn't score. He was a nuisance as always, but way more effective compared to other games. We felt his absence when he went off at half time.

Trossard - 8 - Our Belgian forward has a knack of being involved in a lot of our play. Sometimes it's good and helpful, sometimes it's frustrating and ineffective. Thankfully we had the former in this game. A constant threat on the left and provided the assist for Rice. Proving to be one of our most influential attackers this season.

Substitutes:

Merino - 6 - I've been harsh with Merino recently, but it's always been for good measure and he deserves a calling out here. Our potency in attack fell off a cliff when he came on and I understand he still isn't a striker, but he's played in that role often enough now to know what to do. He didn't do anything in this game that was worthy of mentioning.

Hincapie - 6 - He came on at a time when Arsenal were shutting up shop and all he had to do was slot into that system. He did it fine, nothing extraordinary about it.

Nwaneri - 7 - I quite liked his little cameo. I felt like we were able to carry a threat in attack again when he came on. Perhaps a little selfish on one or two occasions, but that's the learning game he has to play. He was dispossessed late on which resulted in a counter attack, but it was just an unlucky touch inside that was anticipated.

Norgaard - 7 - Once again it was a case of seeing out the game and providing that defensive solidarity. He achieved that, but also had an attempt on goal that required a good save from the Burnley keeper. I like how he's willing to get forward like that.

Lewis-Skelly - N/A -

A game of two halves that combined to give us the win. Mightily impressive first half, but dwindled in the 2nd. The win is the most important aspect, performance comes after. A very quick turnaround as we face Slavia Prague next on Tuesday. I'm expecting heavy rotation for this one like we saw against Brighton. If those lads can beat a good Premier League side, then I see no reason why they can't rock up to Slavia Prague and grab all three points. Here's how I'd lineup.

This team is more than capable. I believe Gabriel Martinelli is also fit, so he could be an option from the bench. But, this team beat Brighton and they can beat Slavia Prague. Only Sunderland await us before we get to the international break and after that we could see Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard back.