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Arsenal fans were taken on a rollercoaster of emotions by their team in what should have been a straightforward home win over Burnley last Sunday. Sean Dyche’s men have been superb at home but dreadful on the road, taking just one point away from home all season.
Arsenal were one of the few teams to beat them at Turf Moor, and should have been able to record a comfortable victory over them at The Emirates, as they were riding high and full of confidence following a 4-0 win over Swansea. Instead it was a nail-biting game full of highs and loads that was terrible for the blood pressure of fans.
For the umpteenth time this season Arsenal dominated possession and had plenty of chances but failed to make it count. They somehow went in 0-0 at half-time, and when Shkodran Mustafi was denied what looked like a clear penalty it seemed like turning into one of those afternoons. Mustafi then rose majestically in the box to put Arsenal 1-0 up with a towering, perfectly guided header and that should have been all she wrote as Arsenal should have kicked on and scored a few more by exploiting the inevitable gaps caused when Burnley were forced to push for an equaliser.
But that is often not the Arsenal way and it is certainly not the Granit Xhaka way. The midfielder displayed extreme brainlessness once again in getting sent off for a second time this season with a needless two-footed lunge when Burnley were going nowhere. He has also cost the team by giving away ridiculous penalties this season, and fans must be wondering why Arsene Wenger spent £35 million on him in the summer.
Then it was backs to the wall and Burnley finally got their reward courtesy of a penalty deep into stoppage time. It was a penalty, but less of a foul than the one Mustafi suffered, so Arsenal fans had every right to feel aggrieved when Burnley equalised from the spot. It looked to be another disappointing afternoon for the Gunners, but with one last throw of the dice they won a penalty, despite Laurent Koscielny seemingly being offside, and the officials were forgiven as Alexis Sanchez finished with a cheeky panenka.
What a nerve-shredding afternoon, but it worked out fantastically in the end as Liverpool, Tottenham, Man Utd and Man City all dropped points. Arsenal have gone from fifth to second in a week and made pundits like Paul Scholes look ridiculous in tipping them to finish outside the top four. The odds on them winning a lucrative Champions League spot have been cut to just 1/2 and they have gone from 16/1 to 9/1 to win the league. There is a big gap to make up on leaders Chelsea, but the Blues have a tricky few games ahead and Arsenal can capitalise. Next up is a home game against Watford, and Arsenal are odds-on. Betdsi lines show the Gunners are heavy favourites to make it six wins out of seven and really keep the pressure on Chelsea and pull away from some of their top four rivals, so things are looking a lot more positive at the Emirates now.
