Burnley 0-0 Arsenal: Goalless on the Turf

Burnley welcomed Arsenal to Turf Moor on Sunday in the 25th round of the 2019/20 season in the Premier League.

It was important at this point of the campaign for both teams to do their best for the points up for grabs. Burnley were in 14th place ahead of the game, six points above the relegation zone, and with still a lot of games to be played, they’re far from being safe. The Gunners were hardly in a better position. Sitting 12th on the same number of points (30), their hopes of a finish securing a Europa League spot seem feeble at the moment. Top four is probably already a mere dream.

Team News

The Clarets’ boss Sean Dyche was still without striker Ashley Barnes (groin) and winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson (thigh).

Nick Pope was in goal. Matt Lowton on the right and Charlie Taylor on the left flanked James Tarkowski and Ben Mee as the centre-back pair. Ashley Westwood and Jack Cork held the middle of the park, with Jeff Hendrick on their right and Dwight McNeal on their left. Chris Wood was joined by Jay Rodriguez upfront.

As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has had a number of defensive issues to work through. Centre-back Calum Chambers is out for the season with an ACL tear. Fullbacks Sead Kolasinac (thigh), Kieran Tierney (shoulder) and newcomer Cedric Soares (knee) were also out of action, as was forward Reiss Nelson (thigh).

Bernd Leno stood between the posts. David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi paired up in the heart of defence, flanked by Hector Bellerin and Bukayo Saka. The back line was shielded from midfield by Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi, while the trio of Mesut Ozil, Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played behind striker Alexandre Lacazette.

The First Half

Arsenal were expectedly dominant at the start as they sought to stamp their authority on the game, and they quickly created a good chance when Aubameyang’s excellent cross found Lacazette in the box, but the Frenchman’s header went wide.

The next real chance fell to Aubameyang in the 14th minute. David Luiz found the Gabonese with a very accurate pass in behind and he controlled it well, but when the moment came to put it away he lost his balance and failed to get the shot anywhere near the target.

Burnley threatened back a minute later as a similar pass found Wood bursting into the box. Leno came out but hesitated, and it appeared that only Wood’s own indecision in the moment enabled the German goalkeeper to recover from his mistake and snatch the ball. After another similar situation soon after, Wood cushioned the ball for the incoming Rodriguez whose low drive from around 20 yards was saved by Leno. Two consecutive corners followed during which the Arsenal shot-stopper had to be fully focused to save his team from going down.

Another period of Arsenal’s domination followed that, during which only a last-ditch tackle from Tarkowski stopped Lacazette from slamming in from around 10 yards and Guendouzi’s long-range effort trickled wide not far to the post. Soon after, Mustafi headed from a corner over the bar.

In the 25th minute, Saka went down injured, which would have probably been the worst thing that can happen to Arsenal at the moment, with both left-backs, Kolasinac and Tierney, already out. Arteta sent Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira to warm up, but for the moment, Saka was able to continue.

Burnley were now gaining more control of the proceedings, keeping the ball at their feet and in Arsenal’s half, and in the 29th minute McNeil tried his luck from over 30 yards, but the shot rose comfortably over the bar. The Gunners tried to hit on the counter a few times, but first Lacazette was ruled offside, and then Lowton stopped Aubameyang’s run with some excellent defending twice.

But Aubameyang managed to get in behind the defence again in the 37th minute and this time it was Xhaka who found him with a great pass, but Pope came out, read his mind and thwarted his attempted lob. Burnley hit back again as Taylor’s low cross from the left trickled past several players of both teams and found Hendrick on the other side, but Hendrick’s shot missed the top corner by half a yard.

The Clarets continued their initiative and Arsenal were hard pressed to defend. Several dangerous crosses came into the box and neither Leno nor his defenders looked particularly confident in those moments. In the 42nd minute, one such cross came from Westwood and Xhaka almost struck his own net as his header got the ball away from Wood and Tarkowski. Another one came from the right from Hendrick and Mee won the header this time, but both Rodriguez and Tarkowski failed to reach the ball before Leno.

The Second Half

Saka’s injury forced the youngster to remain in the dressing room after the break. Lucas Torreira entered the fray, but with no fullbacks at his disposal, Arteta ordered Xhaka to move to the left defensive flank.

With just two minutes gone, Arsenal managed to play themselves into trouble and lost the ball in their own half. They went unpunished this time – a rare occasion, but it led to Burnley taking control again. The home team pushed forward and started circling the box, forcing the Gunners into some desperate defending. Lucky for them, Mustafi produced a few moments few will have believed him capable of as he and David Luiz repeatedly thwarted Wood and Rodriguez in the box. Bellerin was also excellent.

In the 53rd minute, Luiz pulled the ball forward for Arsenal, and a good combination between Guendouzi and Ozil got Martinelli into a good position in the box, but the young Brazilian took too much time and was eventually crowded out.

Unlike the rest of the Arsenal defence, Xhaka was struggling at left-back. Soon after Martinelli’s chance, Lowton breezed past Ozil and then Xhaka, and the Swiss international took him out. He picked up a yellow card for it and gave Burnley another chance to whip the ball into the box. Westwood did it well again and Tarkowski escaped on the far post, but the centre-back couldn’t hit the target. It was then Torreira’s turn to do the same as he mowed down Taylor on the other side, and Westwood this time found Rodriguez on the near post, but the striker didn’t do any better than Tarkowski. McNeil’s cross from open play soon found Hendrick in the air at six yards and there was nothing Xhaka could do to stop him, but Hendrick missed as well and it was arguably the best chance of the lot.

It was quite obvious Arsenal were struggling to have any say on the way the game was unfolding in this period, and in the 64th minute Arteta decided to withdraw Ozil and send young Joe Willock into the contest, hoping that youth and energy would find a way where experience and cunning couldn’t.

Willock’s introduction seemed to have done some good straight away. The Gunners were now finding it easier to keep the ball and move forward, and first Torreira and then Willock himself had a go from distance. Torreira was thwarted by Pope, Willock missed the target. With 20 minutes to go, Xhaka tried to find Lacazette with a good cross, but Mee was there to clear it.

Arsenal continued attacking and after a corner was taken, David Luiz remained on the ground having clashed with Pope who came for the punch, but the Brazilian defender is a tough fighter and he quickly arose.

Bellerin created chaos in Burnley’s box a few minutes later as he glided past three opponents and took a shot with his left foot, missing the target. The completely free Lacazette on the penalty spot was furious with the right-back for now seeing him. In the very next move Lacazette pulled out to the left and swung in a cross towards Aubameyang, whose header missed the target by a few inches.

But in the 78th minute, the best chance of the game came to Burnley. After several crosses into Arsenal’s box were cleared, Rodriguez was eventually allowed to hit a controlled volley from six yards. It hit the crossbar and bounced out off the very line. It looked for a moment the goal-line technology would stop the game and give the goal, but it didn’t happen.

Taking what happened in their stride, Arsenal went forward again and they managed to get the ball to Lacazette some 10 yards from the goal. The striker twisted and turned trying to work out an angle to shoot, but he was eventually crowded out. Burnley weren’t content with just defending and McNeil had a chance to shoot from around 12 yards at the other end, but it was a difficult position and he wasn’t able to keep it under the bar.

With just two minutes to go, Lacazette left the pitch and made way for Eddie Nketiah for Arsenal.

The final minutes of the game mostly belonged to Burnley and they circled the visitors’ box, but the Gunners held out.

The Afterthought

A fair result from an even contest. Both teams had their moments and the game could have easily swung either way, but if it had, the team that would’ve found itself on the losing side would have a lot to regret. As it is, they can only congratulate each other on a good effort and look to the next hurdle.

Two things were interesting to note. Burnley went through the entire game of 90+ minutes without a single substitution. Trust in the starting line-up or lack of options for Sean Dyche? And for once, Arsenal’s defence performed a lot better than their attack, even with three left-backs now injured.

Match Report

BURNLEY: Pope 7.5, Mee 7-5, Tarkowski 7.5, Lowton 7, Taylor 7, Cork 6, Westwood 7.5, Hendrick 7, McNeil 7, Wood 6.5, Rodriguez 7.

ARSENAL: Leno 7, D. Luiz 7-5, Mustafi 7.5, Bellerin 7.5, Saka 6 (46′ Torreira 6.5), Xhaka 7, Guendouzi 7, Ozil 5.5 (63′ Willock 7), Martinelli 7, Aubameyang 7, Lacazette 7 (89′ Nketiah N/A).

YELLOW CARDS: Ozil 44′, Xhaka 55′, Torreira 57′, Tarkowski 82′.

REFEREE: Chris Kavanagh.

DATE & VENUE: February 2, 2020, Turf Moor, Burnley.