Arsenal returned to winning ways with victory over Burnley in the early Saturday kick-off, in a fiery and physical encounter that left Unai Emery with yet another defensive injury.
Arsenal made a number of changes after their midweek clash with Spurs, and it seemed to work out pretty nicely as they took and held a rare first-half lead. However, Nacho Monreal was forced off with an injury in the opening period, which very much changed the dynamic of the game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubled Arsenal’s lead quickly after the break, but Burnley pulled one back to set up an anxious final half hour. Eventually, Alex Iwobi killed the game with a goal in stoppage time. Overall, a hard-earned three points.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the game.
3Forwards
Mesut Özil 8.5
Özil made a very good return to the team after all the speculation over his future this week. Captaining the side, Özil didn’t misplace a single pass in the final third, and it was his genius chipped pass over the top that Kolasinac cut back for Arsenal’s opening goal.
Late on in the match, with players tiring all around him, the German drove at the defence and found a deflected pass for Alex Iwobi to finish. He showed the commitment over the 90 minutes Emery has seemingly been asking for.
Alexandre Lacazette 8.5
Perhaps it went a bit unnoticed after two goals from his strike partner and all the talk about Özil’s comeback, but Lacazette was also very impressive. He set up the second of Aubameyang’s goals, and his link-up play was excellent as usual.
The Frenchman will be disappointed not to have scored, though he didn’t really have a good chance to do so. Even without a goal, his performance must’ve shown Emery that the strike duo can work together.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8.5
Aubameyang found two excellent finishes to put Arsenal into the lead in the first half and then double that lead in the second. The first was a lot more difficult than it looked, but he managed to prod it home through a gap nonetheless. The second was a powerful and accurate strike giving Joe Hart no chance.
The striker wasn’t involved in much for the rest of the game, bar creating one chance. As long as he’s scoring a brace that’s not a major problem though.
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