Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Iwobi, Alexis, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Bellerin, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas, Welbeck
—
Arsenal took three points with a late, late penalty from Alexis Sanchez giving them a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates this afternoon.
Arsene Wenger resisted the urge to bring Hector Bellerin back into the side, meaning Gabriel kept his place as the Gunners were unchanged from the 4-0 win over Swansea.
The visitors began quite brightly, surprisingly pressing Arsenal quite high up the pitch rather than sitting deep as many expected. An early Alexis cross looked as if it would find Aaron Ramsey, but Giroud’s flick took it away from the Welshman and saw it cleared by the Burnley defence.
Cech had to make a 13th minute save low down, and that was matched by Tom Heaton at the other end as he turned a goalbound Mesut Ozil effort around the post. From the resulting corner an Iwobi shot was deflected just wide, before Koscielny headed straight the keeper.
Cech was called into action again, palming a Barnes effort around his post. Ozil shot wide, making it 9 attempts on goal in the opening 23 minutes. The German was caught offside before Cech made a routine save from Gray, Ramsey produced a Rabona cross which was headed clear, and Heaton took the ball from Ozil as it dropped down for him in the box.
Xhaka had to be alert defensively to cut out a threatening Burnley attack after Mustafi had been caught wrong side of his man. Alexis saw a 40th minute effort easily saved by the keeper, and another curled just wide after an Ozil free kick dropped to him in the area.
Cech required some treatment after some brave goalkeeping at the feet of Gray saw him pick up a shoulder problem, but he was ok to continue, and the teams went in level at the break.
The Gunners had the first shot of the second half, a Monreal effort which was easy for the keeper. An Ozil cross found Ramsey but his shot hit Giroud, and when the Frenchman headed the ball the Welshman he tried to scorpion it into the net but saw the ball go over the bar.
A lightning break from Iwobi provided Alexis with another chance to put us ahead, but he fizzed his shot too high. There was controversy as ever with Jon Moss after he denied Mustafi a stone-wall penalty, playing on when the defender had been clearly fouled in the box.
The German had the last laugh a few moments later though when, from an Ozil corner, he headed Arsenal into the lead to make it 1-0.
It should have been the thing to set the Gunners going, but in th e64th minute they were reduced to 10 men when Xhaka was sent off for the second time this season by Jon Moss. Having given the ball away, his challenge on Defour was a bit careless, but a red card seemed harsh to me but given the Twitter replies to this, I felt very alone in thinking that.
Silly challenge, but that’s a harsh red
— arseblog (@arseblog) January 22, 2017
But then it turned out I wasn’t alone (click through to see replies!):
heh, seems I’m alone in thinking it was harsh. Oh well. 4 game ban for Xhaka now.
— arseblog (@arseblog) January 22, 2017
Burnley threw on Joey Barton, Marney got a yellow for taking out Ozil and injuring himself in the process and having to go off.
The 10 men looked for another goal to help secure the points but were forced into rearguard action as the visitors looked to take advantage of the extra man. There was a scramble in the box which ended with Cech smothering the ball, and in the 87th minute Danny Welbeck came on for Giroud, followed a minute later by Hector Bellerin for Ozil.
Coquelin forced Heaton into a good save with a left-footed shot, and almost sent Welbeck clean through but the striker’s first touch was rusty as the game went into an unprecedented 7 minutes of added time. Where the referee got that from is anybody’s guess.
As we came to terms with that, Burnley were awarded a penalty when Coquelin fouled Barnes. Gray stepped up, put it down the middle and although Cech got a hand to it he couldn’t keep it out. 1-1.
It looked as if that would be the thing that killed Arsenal’s title hopes, but as the game went into the last minute of all that added time, Jon Moss evened the penalty awards by giving one to Arsenal. Koscielny was kicked in the face as he tried to get onto a Alexis cross and despite Burnley’s fury claiming offside, the spot kick was given.
Alexis stepped up, with all that pressure on, and chipped the ball straight down the middle to make it 2-1!
Burnley barely had time to kick off, and the final whistle went on what was a remarkable win over the 12 men of Burnley.
John Moss take a bow, you fat waste of space.
Thick as a rolling stone…
That penalty… Sanchez classic
For a while I feared that Arsenal had once again gotten in their come-fourth zone & blown it.
Jon Moss is definitely Mike Dean 2.0 in my books….no doubt!
The portly Mike Dean
For once, the cunt’s decision to give a lengthy injury time worked in our favour. We would have drawn the match if he had given only 4 minutes. But fuck him nonetheless !
Irony! You are right. As always the officials of all our games always attempt to give our opponents a helping hand as much as they can (it is obvious to most gooners). I don’t think this is sour grapes on our behalf, it is ffing real and been going on for years, no doubt. It is interesting (and infuriating) that spurs always seem to get decisions go for them. I can’t remember the last time they had a player sent off or a 50-50 decision go against them (I mean the City push incident last night was horrendous and so… Read more »
Well, I don’t want to say anything positive about Jon Moss, but he really is not in the same league as Dean. Moss is a terrible referee, but Dean seems to glory in his awfulness.
Know this isn’t going to be popular but I thought he actually got all the decisions right (bar possibly that penalty shout on Mustafi in the first half). On top of that Koscielny was pretty clearly offside while winning the pen. Not that i’m complaining, will take anything we can get in that situation. Now come on Hull, help us out a bit.
There’s no possibly about the penalty shout on Mustafi. 100% pen
You’re probably right, but it evened out with the winner. As an aside, love Wenger’s quotes about his red. “I should’ve shut up and I apologise”. Pretty rare for a manager to face up to it like that!
Wenger’s trying to play down the games he’s gonna be suspended.
The penalty on Mustafi was just as a penalty as Xhaka’s penalty (was it him, we’ve received a lot of penalties this season) with a red a while ago – player getting out of the pen area and a kick on the foot. He has a mark on him now, any foul will be a red. I guess we should’ve protested his first undeserved red, it’s all been downhill from there
POSSIBLY the Mustafi decision? That was a stone cold pen. Soft, but so was the Coquelin pen which was there but very minor contact in a situation the ball was gone anyway. The Xhaka decision was there on the letter of the law but again very soft. If that was dangerous, there was a foul on I think Alexis in the first half that was far less controlled and more dangerous with the irrelevant saving grace of managing to barely touch the ball with one flailing boot. Not to mention the Marney foul on Ozil which really had everything- cynical,… Read more »
Whether whistle had blows or not you kick someone high like Mee did and it is a foul. A foul that supersedes what had gone on before. Kos’s offside was irrelevant to the granting of the penalty.
Least I think I have rule right.
Sorry, you don’t. If the offside had been flagged, play would have been considered stopped before Mee put his cleats in Koscielny’s face. A card could possilby have been given, but Burnley would have had the free kick.
So, in the end we didn’t get the penalty that we should have got (foul on Mustafi), but we did get the penalty that we shouldn’t have got. Thank fuck it evened out for us.
So I suppose that kicking the ball away after the whistle, time wasting on throws and free kicks, infractions in touch, and shoving matches can’t result in fouls? Doesn’t matter if he’s offside or not- it’s dangerous play, which is a foul, and it’s inside the box, meaning it’s a penalty. Now, Jon moss had a horrible game, and he appeared to be trying to ‘make up’ for his earlier poor decisions. Number one rule of officiating any sport is: don’t be noticed and you’ve done a good job. Rule two is: treat every decision on its own merit, because… Read more »
The red for Xhaka was a bit harsh though. A stupid thing to do but didn’t look too dangerous
It’s a bit of a moot point but if he’d gone a foot further it most certainly would’ve been dangerous.. We’d have been fuming if it’d been reversed.
It wasn’t harsh at all. Xhaka’s challenge was at speed, off the ground, leg extended, studs first, directly into the opposing player. Cast iron red card. He was a very silly boy to do that, especially on a nothing play in the middle of the pitch.
The red card that was totally wrong was the first one Moss gave him back in October, which should have been a yellow and was never in any way a red.
Sorry there, but if xhaka has committed a ‘cast iron’ red card offense, then Marney should have been off for his challenge on ozil (a challenge I might add that the mirror was praising as ‘tactical’).
Moss and his assistants, including taylor, were a shower of shite today.
So you actually think he got all the decisions right then go on to mention two massive decisions he got wrong? I am finding it very hard to adhere to the forum rules in the face of this tripe.
That’s not what i said at all. I still don’t agree Mustafi challenge was stonewall, and i was obviously referring to the decisions that went against us that he got right, not those that went in our favour. Also the great thing about a forum is opinions. Just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean it’s ‘tripe’. Cheer up, we won.
I thought he was wildly inconsistent–two elbows to Mustafi’s face were not even fouls, let alone cards. As for the Koscielny offside: well, remember the end against Man City, when Silva, far offside, tried to play Sterling’s shot in front of Cech? The goal was given, apparently because Silva never actually touched the ball. If that is correct, then Koscielny was not offside either, and the penalty was justified.
moood http://tinyurl.com/hso5ekb
Wawu!
This game took at least one full year off my life expectancy! Such a relief! Hope Chel$hit drops points too!
And.. For once, I want Cech not to dive for a penalty.. I guess it’s the fourth penalty i am seeing where he dives and the ball goes through the middle!
Now.. I am beginning to worry who will step in for Xhaka. He will be heavily missed! He was dictating the game beautifully..and then that stupid challenge! On replays, it didn’t look that bad. May be he should stop throwing his body when he makes challenges!
Why so slow getting the report up, Blogs? 🙂
Am sure he was changing his shorts as were most of us
Fuck Burnley and Jon Moss.
Fuck Moss. Twice.
I think Arsenal should appeal against the Xhaka red card, as it was no more than
a yellow card at best, in my view.
I also think that Barnes could have stayed on his feet if he wanted to, but choose
to dive for a penalty instead. Pathetic.
But at least we got the three points, so well done Arsenal.
Deep breaths fella, we won.
3 points, 2nd place!
That’s all that matters in the end. Now hoping hull could do us a favour.
I’m harsh on him when he doesn’t perform but shit I thought Aaron Ramsey was great today. COME ON ARSENAL
Best. Username. Ever.
When the opposition have no interest in attacking through the midfield and are happy to soak the pressure his lack of positional discipline and his willingness to go forward is very useful
What a captain we have!
Yeeesss!
COYG
Loved it when Wenger pushed gollum and told him to turn the fuck around and pay attention to the match.
Also didn’t think xhaka tackle was a red. In saying that, shouldn’t lowton have gotten a red for tripping Sanchez without making a play at the ball? Hmm??
I liked the way the security guards were like “nah mate, you’re going nowhere” to the 4th official when he was trying to go after Arsene after he got sent off.
Like Wenger’s personal bodyguard. Step back!
That totally escaped my mind but given how Xhaka was sent off earlier that should have been a red because it wasn’t even near the ball
It wasn’t a dangerous challenge though, just a cynical one, which seem to get yellows instead.
Fuck John Moss
My heart is still racing. but heres my 3 thoughts
1 That was not a red card. It was a “dark yellow”
2 The two bad penalty calls canceled out.
3. Seeing Alexis that happy gives me hope.
What a game and it puts us as the closest competitor with chelshit.
GOYG!!!!
COYG!!!!!
That’s all I can say!!!!
All hail Alexis Sanchez
He sure has balls of steel to do a penanka at that time
Coincidence that our rivals drop points and we take all 3 on the weekend we unveil the Good Boys banner? I think not!
That Marney trip on Ozil was more of a red card than xhakas
So what happened with Wenger? Wasn’t very clear. He got sent off for what exactly? The one thing I saw clearly is pushing the official from the tunnel xD He has quite the violent streak, no? Referring to the mourinho incident too — not that that wasn’t well deserved and a long time coming.
I dont blame him. He is surrounded by complete stupid cunts in football, from officials to opposing managers. Enough to drive the most gentle, patient people to violence.
Good point most of us would have been in prison by now for GBH! He has dignity and patience Arsene I will give him that. I think it is a build-up of all these decisions that seem to always go against us and have over the years that he looses it now and again. How he has kept his cool over all these years with all the shit that we have had to put up with is admirable. Compare with that egotistical maniac at utd. Watch wenger get an ffing 8 match touchline ban while that insane cretin looses the… Read more »
well, in Wenger’s defense, why did the official come after wenger, when he had retreated inside the tunnel and the play was continuing? Maybe he was justifying himself, or maybe he was rubbing it in, either way, he should just pay attention to the match?
When one gets sent off one is supposed to go down the tunnel, not stand there looking at the action like Louis Suarez at the 2010 world cup (that was funny, Suarez jumping up and down with joy in the tunnel as Asimoah “Front Page Hero” Asimoah skied the penalty)
I think Wenger was peeking at the action like a naughty boy.
When one gets sent off one is supposed to go down the tunnel, not stand there looking at the action like Louis Suarez at the 2010 world cup (that was funny, Suarez jumping up and down with joy in the tunnel as Giyan “Front Page Hero” Asimoah skied the penalty)
I think Wenger was peeking at the action like a naughty boy.
What does it matter?
Petty officiating.
Also, goes w/o saying — an excellent win to watch. up the arse.
Alexis!!!! Damn….. what a cool penalty under massive pressure. 3 points is all that matters at this point, no matter how it was achieved.
Don’t quite understand why xhaka receives a red but marney walks away with only a yellow
Precisely. He was TRYING to halt play and commit a foul, which is the same thing Xhaka did.
I also don’t understand why teams which waste time from the off get a reward of added time when chasing a result, as it only encourages this sort of behavior, which slows down the game and makes it less interesting for fans. If Van Basten wants to change the rules of the game, change this and nothing else.
*got carried away the wanker
Simple: two footed lunge with both feet off the floor is a red. I don’t understand why it is even a debate.
Making Sean Dyche angry is now my favorite thing- he’s another one of those screaming, flailing, gum chewing British managers without any sort of class (see also Sam Allardyce, Alex Ferguson, etc). Moss had a shocker today, and he was Burnley’s MOTM. He established the tone in the first half by not booking the Burnley player who took out Ramsey on the right wing- Xhaka was reckless, sure, but it was a half-hearted challenge and the Burnley player made the most of it (linesman also on the wrong side to offer any sort of advice), just like their player in… Read more »
what a great weekend
Its never dull is it…Loved Wenger’s tantrum. ”Get the fuck back, im standing right here in the tunnel”..Cant deny the boss has his moments.
offside not offside who fucking cares. we won.
I don’t think he was offside, looking at the Arsenalist clip, but he did dip his head into that boot.
Well done Koscielny! Robbed them at the death twice this season now. I bet they love him at Turf Moor
It doesn’t matter that he ducked down, the burnley defender kicked him which is a foul
Late drama at The Emirates. Oh my heart almost could not take it! Very happy Alexis converted the penalty.
Alexis has balls of steel
Your’e not alone.
JOHN MOSS IS RUBBISH. Playing for Chelsea he is.
A yellow at best. First offense far away from goal more careless than malicious.
The BIG issue now is we miss Granit against Chelsea.
Granit was excellent today.
That said, at least Moss evened it up for us with the BLATANT kick in the face on Le Boss.
3 points and SECOND!
Well done.
And they said we were playing for 4th.
😀
never in doubt *puffs ginormous cigar*
I hate cheats. Moss is a fat waste and i will not listen for one second to anyone who says he didnt have an agenda. also really enjoy screwing burley in the last second again. Pundits want them to win so badly it was delicious. The greasy elbowy cloggers.
you probably should because accusing referees of having agendas without proof is actually a bit mental, to be fair. some real ‘the election is rigged!!’ until, oops, he won it shit
Burnley can fuck off, the way they made the most of every foul and then got praise from the commentators was driving me mad.
Second only to southampton in time wasting, imo. They park the bus more than a mourinho team.
Not sure why the 12 men comment. Thought the only thing we could maybe be disappointed with was the challenge in the box on Mustafi in the first half, and even that would’ve been relatively generous. All for getting ‘a bit of bite’ into this team with Xhaka, but that was an absolutely ridiculous challenge to make and almost cost us hugely. Yes he barely touched him but by the letter of the law a red was correct, and we now have two available centre mids for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Not sure? You could count Moss or the linesman who offered ‘advice’ as Burnley’s 12th man. And lets not forget Anthony Taylor at 4th official, the bald cunt.
Agreed. Moss is a knob, but I don’t think the red or the penalty to Burnley were incorrect decisions. Our penalty was also for a fould against an offside Koscielny. I’m not complaining – nice to have some luck with a decision for once. Moreover, what an annoyingly stupid challenge by Xhaka in a situation of zero threat to us. What made it worse was that I thought he was excellent until that point. PS – I might get crucified for this opinion, but I thought Ramsey had a very good game today. He’s going to need to do more… Read more »
I agree with you on everything, except that I thought it was a stonewall penalty on Mustafi. I would also raise the inconsistency/constant bottling from refs. After the Mustafi ‘penalty’, Moss made a diving motion with his hands when explaining the decision to an Arsenal player. If he thought it was a five, why not book him? Also, tv replays showed that the linesman didn’t even raise his flag for the Xacka red card. Then suddenly he’s busy giving the ref advice to send the player off. I think it was a red, for what it’s worth, and a damn… Read more »
Have you ever, I mean ever- played football?
In the wise words of an arsehole of a player but pretty great pundit, I’m not a chef but i know a good steak.
You’re neither.
I first felt 7 extra minutes will fuck us then after the goal I felt thank god we had some time.
Typical Arsenal.
Sanchez the leading goal scorer in the league.
Get the fuck in! That’s why I love football… Doom and gloom to pure ecstasy in the space of 4 minutes. COYFG
My God what a game. First off, John Moss is a fat fuc…k and while Xhaka proved again that he has brain fart in him at the most inopportune times, I agree with Blogs that the red card was harsh and I am afraid to say perhaps also a product of Granit’s reputation. I thought Kos, Mustafi and Gabriel were immense defensively today and the team really showed great heart and determination. Worried about Xhaka being banned for 4 games when we have Chelsea ahead of us but he has to learn to stop being so rash especially when it… Read more »
One of those games where I was touch and go about watching live due to 1:15am kickoff on a Monday morning.. so glad I bloody watched it, had I woken up to see burnley equaliser 93 minute/ Sanchez winner 98minute id have felt like I let myself down! Zzzz goodnight fuckers!
I feel like most other situations going from infuriated to elated in under 2 mins means you have a personality disorder or something. Good fucking show Arsenal, didn’t let that cunt of a ref have the centre stage on the day (which he very clearly craves, the stupid bastard).
Very well done The Arsenal! My weekend is nearly perfect…come on Hull!
Got to say that’s what fourth officials are for abuse. Why managers go at them is beyond me. The Ref is hardly going to change his decisions and the 4th is really a useless appendage there to work the sub board. Hope the review board is sensible (they rarely are) and the gaffer gets a one match ban max. Good subs by Wenger today with (Welbeck and Bellerin if forced) Coquelin returned at the right time even though he looks a bit rusty and gave away the penalty. But this sort of last minute wins should instill a bit of… Read more »
Thought the red was harsh and have no idea where all the extra time came from. Good to see Arsene calling them out on their nonsense even though I’m sure it will be blown out of all proportion and he’ll get a hefty punishment.
Am just glad that my heart still beats.
Can we all take a moment to enjoy the glorious panenka by Alexis please?
yeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Cech has a better chance of saving penalties by just staying in the middle.
Alexis paneka. That’s 15 goals this season and counting.
Retrospect is 20/20
We will need to confirm pole position in the chasing pack next game. Doubt Hull can take anything off of the leaders. If they don’t get beaten comfortably, I’d be surprise.
Think the next game against Liverpool may take some points off of Chelski
Then our match against Chelsea will be absolutely crucial cutting them back to size.
That’s what I do in Pro Evo, works like a charm.
Oh no, no no no. Imagine the scene! Arsenal fans furious giving away a penalty at the emirates! Monsieur Wenger gesticulating with the forth official gets sent down the tunnel. Fans baying for blood.. Arsenal players meanwhile push forward with minutes remaining looking for a winner. 97 minutes on the clock ball gets played into the Burnley penalty area, Koscielney straining every sinew to get his head to the ball to knock it toward goal, and a Neanderthal Burnley player, with a high boot trying to kick it away connects with koscielney’s head! Crowd are incensed, carnage at the ground.… Read more »
Was frying a bit of bacon and lost my appetite!
Almost threw in bin, but put on low heat…
Most enjoyable bacon sarnie ever!!!
Nice write up but he didn’t smash it in, he delicately chipped it in.
Anyone else trying to fix something they broke? Choke slammed a wooden chair when we gave away the penalty. Hands shaking too bad to get the screws back in. Oh, and fuck John Moss forever.
He kicked him in the face. Stone wall penalty you Burnley bastards!
Terrible officiating, horrendous commentary and a lovely three points. Like the way Sky, mainly big honest Niall brushed over the two elbowing incidents, penalty on Mustafi and general ecstasy at the equaliser. Makes the way we won a little bit more delightful. Appeal the red, but give him a clip behind the head. Also love seeing the fire burn in Wenger.
Fuck the result what was the banner like?
Media trying to generate as much negativity on Granit as possible. He was excellent with distribution and shielding today. He will need to be more careful but he has some bite in him which we need and that was never a red. In any case, one of our midfield greats Viera was also prone to reds just in case some suffer from short term memory. We may now have to play with Ramsey-Coquelin against Chelsea which could prove a challenge. The good news is Ramsey is starting to look sharper. What Granit allowed was Ramsey to push up much more… Read more »
I never call people this but what a cunt of referee. Ignored two elbows and a clear penalty on Mustafi alone. What a great game otherwise
We have played two games against Burnley this season and we got 6 points from them. If each game had been 15 sec shorter we would have gotten 2 points.
The problem was Anthony Taylor. He has an obvious anti-Arsenal bias. Remember the opening day game against Aston Villa a few seasons ago? An countless other games where he had quite obvious double standards. He is also nefarious as a fourth official. Most notoriously, remember Mariner’d: Mariner ignored the Oxlade-Chamberlain handball as there was no danger of goal. But, after the ball went out of play, Anthony Taylor demanded action from Mariner. He told him to red card the “Arsenal left back” and give a penalty to Chelsea. As a consequence, Gibbs (not the Ox) was given a red card… Read more »