Result: Arsenal 2 – 1 Burnley
Competition: Premier League
Date: 17 August 2019
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Starting XI: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Luiz, Monreal, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Willock, Nelson, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Subs: Martinez, Chambers, Kolasinac, Torreira, Mkhitaryan, Martinelli, Pepe
Arsenal continued their 100% record in the league with a promising win against Burnley to take them to the top of the table.
Dani Ceballos, making his home debut, was scintillating in midfield and caught the eye with assists for Lacazette’s and Aubameyang’s goals. The rest of the team also showed their quality as they kept a high tempo throughout their first home game.
First Half
Arsenal’s first home game of the season saw David Luiz make his debut in place of Chambers while another new signing, Dani Ceballos, stepped into midfield for the injured Granit Xhaka. A fit Lacazette returned to the side at the expense of Mkhitaryan who had a patchy game last week against Newcastle.
With Torreira and Pepe still some weeks away from full fitness, they had to be content with a place on the bench, as was Kolasinac who returns after security concerns.
The first few minutes were an even affair as the Gunners sought to gain control in midfield while defending aerial attacks by Burnley. Luiz was on hand to make headed clearances and showed confidence to play the ball out from the back. That confidence was epitomised when he flashed the ball a couple yards across from the goal line to evade pressure.
The Brazilian was involved in more good play in the opening stages – pinging an accurate diagonal ball to Aubameyang who looked to get in behind the defence and was also a fraction off a tap-in for Arsenal’s first corner of the game.
But it was Lacazette who made the decisive first mark on the game with a goal just minutes later. The French striker received the ball from a corner and protected it from Burnley’s defenders with his back to goal. He produced a swift turn and strike to sneak the ball in between the legs of Nick Pope. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
As Burnley pushed hard for an equalizer, the young midfield trio of Ceballos, Guendouzi and Willock showed that they were in good form with fluid movement, composure and technical ability to keep possession. Ceballos was especially easy on the eye with heel flicks, pirouettes and mesmerising dribbles in the centre of the park.
Arsenal did receive their first yellow of the game at about 38 minutes thanks to some cuntery by Mike Dean. It was a harsh decision on Aubameyang who was adjudged to have encroached into space during a Burnley free kick.
That bad luck continued on the 42nd minute as Ashley Barnes equalized for Burnley. He received the ball in the box from a deflected shot and made no mistake as he scored from the 6 yard box. 1-1. Goal by Burnley.
We had the first use of VAR in the Emirates during injury as a Nelson goal was ruled for offside. Monreal had a foot just behind the last line of defence during what was an enterprising build-up. The Gunners were decent in the first half, all things considered, and should be confident of moving up the gears in the latter stages of the game.
Second Half
The second half saw the return of the half time substitute favoured by Emery early last season with Pepe making his first home appearance in place of Nelson who had a quiet game.
The Ivorian was lively from the off as he showed to be competent defensively and offensively during a move where he helped out at right back, started a counter attack with a mazy dribble and ended the move on the left wing.
Arsenal almost made it 2-1 when Pepe threaded in a pass from the right into the feet of Aubameyang whose shot was well saved by Pope. The Burnley keeper was in good form as he saved another shot just a few minutes later, this time from Ceballos who found some space outside the box to hit the target.
However, Pope couldn’t save from Aubameyang on the 53rd minute. Ceballos won the ball high up the field after losing possession and passed it to Aubameyang who was lurking in the left wing area. The Gabon striker calmly stroked the ball into the bottom corner from just outside the box as the Emirates went into raptures. 2-1 by Aubameyang.
Lacazette came off on 70 minutes to more applause, this time for substitute, Kolasinac. The introduction of the Bosnian saw Arsenal morph into a 3-5-2 formation as Pepe partnered Aubameyang upfront in an effort to prioritize pace in the counter and more men at the back.
The last sub of the game was saved for Ceballos who received a standing ovation for his 2 assists and excellent overall performance. On came Torreira to secure the midfield.
Arsenal held on to finish the game as winners despite late pressure from a flurry of Burnley corners as they made it 2 wins out of 2. Bring on Liverpool next week.
Wow, do we have a set of players on our hands. Absolutely buzzing!
Buzzing. Big 3 points. Ceballos looks class and thank god we have really good strikers.
Ceballos was outstanding, his first PL start and a MOTM performance, wow! Let’s hope Real can’t fit him in next summer!
Also, the forever annoying face of Ashley Barnes being frustrated by the fact he ruined his own teams final attack by fouling… HA!
TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
Yes, start praying that Real go for Pogba and leave Ceballos to us. He will be valued here, he can be a star here at Arsenal and maybe, 5 years down the9 line, he can get his big move back to Spain. There will still be plenty of time. One can wish..
Making Ceballos permanent has to be the priority next season. He would be the new Cazorla, and that is a big statement. 60mil should do it.
you got that right. back to the days when we had henry, bergkamp, kanu and wiltord. now we have PAL
I want that Ceballos signed permanently. I want Torreira starting more often.
And to think Tottenham wanted to take him on loan, but Raul jumped the queue and snapped him up first.
Yes. Ceballos reminded us about Santi. Great performance on debut. Pepe looked sharp but still needs more game time. Defense was little worry but when Bellerin and Tuerny are back, we will be better. Overall good performance
The defence will improve with a proper DM I think. Guendouzi and Willock did well in general but they’re more attacking minded players really, you want someone like Torreira or Xhaka in there to help screen a bit more.
No one wants Xhaka in this team?.
Maybe not xhaka
Not hating on xhaka but guendouzi is far more switched on defensively and is very proactive. Not sure there’s an accurate perception of what this guy does throughout the game and already seems to have made adjustments to his game from last year. He bosses a game both defensively and offensively at 20.
I really like Guendouzi and his potential, but it gets very frustrating when he plays the ball backwards or sideways, I don’t think he played one single pass forward today. I was there and seeing Ceballos and Pepe for the first time was amazing, these guys can play football! One more thing to fix: playing out from the back when it’s a goal kick. We can not do it, let’s not even try, especially against teams better at football than Burnley (pretty much anyone else in the league).
50% were forward ??♂️
Bloody hell, we played 3 in midfield.. we dont need a freaking 3 attacking midfielders. One or 2 should play the dirty work of making sure the ball isnt lost. Thats his job.
WIth Luiz and Ceballos’ eye for a through ball, Xhaka seems a little redundant?
Torreira and Xhaka are not purely defensive midfielders (especially Xhaka) but they try and get the job done anyways. If/when we eventually get a real astute defensive midfielder to partner either of the players and unleash the attacking talents in the this current squad, then our defense will be more stable and much more dependable. We still need that steel in the base of our midfield, but before then, I’m sure that Emery will cope with what we currently have. Congratulations guys. You made us proud today with your overall performance.
Fair enough about not Xhaka lol. But in that case, I still think we need someone more defensive then Guendouzi and Willock if Torreira is not available. Chambers maybe?
What an absolute baller Ceballos is. The sublime close control he displayed today to get away from the opposition was reminiscent of Cazorla in his prime. He’s also got the tenacity and box to box ability of Ramsey. You could already tell he’s gonna be crucial for us finishing in the top 4 this season. Luiz was solid if not spectacular but will bring some much needed experience in the big matches against the top 6 opposition this season. Pepe looks really special and will sure light up the Premier League this season. Combine them with Auba’s goals and Laca’s… Read more »
We are all optimistic this season. Hopefully, the team will continue to improve further as the league progresses. Thank you guys, you made us a very happy Arsenal fans today. Hope for more to come.
Fuck Madrid – they ain’t getting our new Santi back next season. No way!
Petition to get Ashley Barnes shot into space.
He belongs in Stoke with the other orcs
Burnley are the new stoke
The left back especially.
Yup…. Except we always seem to beat them
Sturnley… or Burnoke
I know you can get away with giving the ref a little bit of a tongue lashing, but he was being a complete douche – even if it was Mike Dean. I was actually thinking in the midst of it all, “watch him get a second yellow at the end of the game and be suspended for the next match.” That would have been ?
Mike Dean …. hates us
it’s mutual
Ceballos reminding us all what a genuinely good midfield performance looks like, very promising stuff!
Ceballos, Torreira and Ozil is an interesting prospect
Maybe that’s a little too light weight.
But for me the best part is not having to watch people do all the mental gymnastics to talk themselves into thinking Xhaka is good. That last arsenal vision podcast nearly gave me an ulcer ?
Agreed. Also Torreira, Willock and Ceballos against certain teams?
There are no longer “certain” teams in the English Premier league these days. You underrate any team nowadays at your own peril.
I think Ozil is gone.
I doubt it
I rate him highly as a player, respect him for standing up against his national side, but.. if you ask me “his wages considered, is he an asset to our club” – the answer isn’t so clear to me. I know he has potential, and I hope that now…FINALLY… with Ceballos and Pepe in the team, he can become that “conductor” in offence that we all hoped he would be, but in fairness, hasn’t been, save for a few flashes of brilliance. I’d be more sad to se Guendawesome leave, than to see Öz leave. And I’m not one of… Read more »
Cabellos is one hell of a player… Hope we can sign him on a permanent deal
Ceballos MOTM for me and it wasn’t even close. I can see why Real want to keep him.
The goal was a bit of a fluke, so I wouldn’t me too worried about it. Defense still mostly looked good. Tierney and Bellerin coming back are only going to make the defense get better.
The young attacking players look really strong too. Imagine our attacking bench a year from now with PAL plus the youngsters with a year experience! ?
Yep, Ceballos must be MOTM. He’s like a more dynamic Santi Cazorla who tries more stuff. AMN excellent again, great goals from Laca and Auba, Pepe showed some great skills, Sokratis/Luiz looked solid enough. Monreal his usual consistent self, a bit of a dip from Willock, but still good nonetheless. Still shaky at times, but there’s a foundation for something really special here. Fluidity and creativity and everyone playing for each other. If we can get a bit more killer instinct we’ll finally get teams scared of The Arsenal again!
Add Holding at CB, and we look set for glory!!
Liverpool next week
Thanks Raul, Ceballos is å brilliant signing. I actually think Luiz is a good signing as well. He has got an reputation as an error prone player, but he has been very god for Chelsea the last two seasons. I think he will strengthen the defense, and he is an superb passer of the ball.
True but his lapse of concentration made him lose the player he was marking when the loose ball got to him and he scored (inspite of Genduize’s best effort to stop it). I guess he’s not yet at his best and should be forgiven. Hoping for a much better performance in subsequent matches from him.
We have to remember he’s also still a very young player. 21 years old if I recall correctly. We have to unfortunately expect those lapses from time to time.
Luiz, not Guendouzi.
Looked like Luiz was trying to block the shot until the deflection took the ball unluckily into Barnes’s toes. Was a good start, needs to know the players around him a lot better but will come with time.
Luiz is a dodgy fucker – but he’s now OUR dodgy fucker. Loved seeing on Barnes today
Him and Soc in the back is like having the Kray twins in defence… luvvin it!!!
Just imagine Ronnie or Reggie with a Barnet like Luiz ?
This is what our fully fit squad looks like. A and B team. Leno Martinez Bellerin Holding Luiz Sokratis Monreal Tierney Kolasinac Maitlaind-Niles Torreira Chambers Xhaka Guendouzi Willock Ceballos Ozil Pepe Nelson Saka Martinelli Lacazette Aubameyang Saliba and Nketiah ours but in next season. Either buying Ceballos or a direct replacement. Plus one more strong, prime CB for an aging Sokratis. Based on the above, we only need a CB and CM next summer to be title contenders in 20/21. Future is very bright! (If we beat Liverpool, Spurs and Utd by October with 3 key defenders out, I would… Read more »
hello raul? Yes, I’ll take Ceballos on a permanent transfer please, thanks!
It will be interesting to see what happens if Real go forward with that twat from Sp*rs next summer. If they decide to move on from Ceballos, or Ceballos decides he wants to play more, we may very well have the inside track.
One can only dream!
Dani Ceballos was absolutely magnificent. Technical quality, desire and composure on the ball. Shades of Santi.
Also he can shoot accurately from outside the box, that shot. Hooof.!
The C in Ceballos stands for Cesc. #Player!
It stands for Ceballos.
Cesc, Cazorla, Caballos. The three “Cs”
I promise to never spell it incorrectly again
Cesceballos sounds like a serious back injury, which now surely one of our players will get struck down with at some stage this season
Top of the league! 😀 Florentino, can we keep him, pretty please? Fuck you, Barnes!
i’m really liking those shirts. oh yeah, the win was also nice 🙂
Ceballos looks like what you get when you mix Rosicky and Santo Carzola. Plus he has a bit of shithousery to boot.
He is going to be a fan’s favorite if only for a year.
Promising signs from Pepe too.
Both Ceballos and Willock looked really good today.
Seing ceballos live was a blessing today… MOM and what a promise for the future ! Not a fantastic global performance, but some glimpse of collective grace! Still not believing i’m writting this from the Emirates stadium… thank you The Arsenal ?
We should form a human chain link fence around Ceballos’s gaf come July and not let him leave
Can we just sign Cellabos permanently.. he was outstanding today!!
Good game all round. The defense looked much better than last year, and the attack as potent as ever.. starting to see flashes of Pepe’s trickery.. i think a few more games under his belt, he will really shine for us!
I’d rather we signed Ceballos – he was even better today.
COYG ❤️
I’m only here to say: Ceballos.
Cebellos….. Too much quality….Auba really has more room to improve than people we’d imagine…. He makes up for those deficiencies with all the goals he scores though. You just wish he can take more of his chances. Pepe really slick. Great win.
Willock is a super talent, what a display.
Yeah, really composed and switched on for someone of his age. Once he develops more power to go with his rangey style he could be awesome
This is the best group of centre mids we’ve had in a very long time
Still feel like it was a mistake to let Coquelin go instead of Elneny though, we could do with a pure defensive mid at times
Right after the match ended i refreshed arseblog news to read the match report and it wasnt there yet?! Im not paying no money to wait minutes for match reports, sort it out!
On a serious note, looking forward to more matches with this squad=) exciting!
I don’t wanna be that guy but there was one negative from the game..
We only have Ceballos for one year on loan!
What a home debut for this guy, we have a real player on our hands this season
Next year Willock will step up and take his place, I have no worries if we cant buy Ceballos – nice if we could though
Yeh, taking over from Ceballos has to be Joe’s goal this season. He’s 3 years younger but you can see he has developed some authority to his game.
Ceballos MOTM for me. Shades of Cazorla in how he’s able to hold on to the ball amidst pressure. The rest of the midfield was solid and mobile as well – hard to see Xhaka fit in to this new mobile unit despite his passing ability.
Pepe’s dribbling and ball control was excellent. Luiz was decent though I’m a bit concerned at times when we have both CBs who get drawn to the ball.
Bring on Liverpool!
Is it too early to phone Madrid and discuss Ceballos permanent move?
Nope! We just gotta hope Zidane stays employed too. He never liked Ceballos and the longer ZZ stays, the faster Ceballos moves out.
Ceballos is so much fun to watch!
A star is born.
Willock – I agree
WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE, SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
In all seriousness. I’m glad we won today, it looked like hard work
Good performance with some things to work on. Definitely felt we could have done with a recognised DM on the pitch, I’m expecting Torreira to feature heavily from now on. Very good to see how natural Willock and Nelson look in the team, solid players already. But what can you say about Dani Ceballos? It’s not just the twinkling feet, the positivity on the ball, the eye for a pass and shot. It’s also the workrate, the pressing, getting in team’s faces to slow down their counter. I think he covered the most ground of any player today. Unreal performance… Read more »
Ceballos was unreal. Unbelievable technique, vision and defensive work rate.
Pepe and Ceballos just wow and Luiz instead of Mustafi! Am I dreaming???
Fantastic win. I know Ceballos will get the most plaudits, and rightly so, but I’m really impressed by our other youngsters. Willock, Guendouzi, and AMN were incredible!
Very mature performances from the youngsters. Really encouraging stuff
Ceballos. Can we keep him. Please…….
All you ozil cucks that are happy to see him make a mockery of our fine club. Your view is putrid. You are not arsenal fans. But for your own education please rewatch ceballos’ performance. Just so you actually know what a genius midfield performance actually looks like for reference.
Or go cry on Twitter because you love him for his celebrity.
What an idiotic comment! Ceballos was incredible today, best player on the pitch. But Ozil are you saying that you’ve never seen Ozil play better than this?
Early days….. but Ceballos looks like a roaring lion, he’s got personality and drive, whereas Ozil is a timid little lamb.
If Ozil had the drive, belief and personality of Guendouzi? He’d be one of the worlds best players.
I can only think of a couple of occasions in 6 years where Ozil really grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, andthe last time he produced a consistent run of games? Was the first half of the 2015/16 season
Stop this disgraceful carping against a player who did not even play ….. Imagine for a moment that his first name is not Mesut but Michael , that his parents were not born in Turkey but in Burnley , and keep all else he has done .. his skills , …win leagues , cups , world cups …. would you still be carping like you are now ???
ceballos in 2 games has shown what ozil should be doing for a world star coming from real madrid.
maybe ozik should watch the performance too?
I guess 6 is your age?
Any chance you are a EDL member?
How did this match-report – about a match that Ozil didn’t even play in, seemed an appropriate forum for you to express your personal hatred for Ozil? It’s a genuine question, I am actually curious.
Only one thing putrid here mate… and I think you’ve made it clear what that is.
Ceballos,pepe and Luiz brilliant game…. can real Madrid take ozil plus cash?
Ceballos
Who else is already mourning the loss of Ceballos next season?
It’s just one game, mate.
Ceballos and Willock excellent and Pepe will be something. Industrial win.
Anyone else reminded of Laca’s goal against Chelsea? Quite similar in terms of the close control while being surrounded by opposition defenders. Class!
That’s what I love most about Laca. His ability to nick a goal out of nowhere
New song “he scores from the floor”?? 🙂
Love Laca so much. He has the classy make space and shoot style of Aguero, but also gets Welbeckian style goals with raw determination!
Scored while being manhandled to the ground. Even if he hadn’t scored, it was a stonewall penalty. What strength to be able to take the shot at all, let alone smash between the keeper’s legs!
Only got to listen to it on the radio but it sounded like we have a new Santi on our hands. Really enjoyed the game as well, we seem a bit more complete as a team than we have been for a few years, it’s early days but there’s a bit more quality front to back.
Isn’t it fun watching a game without any stupid mistakes.
Is that Mike Dean?
Well the way Barnes’ goal was conceded didn’t look very smart, but i’m grateful for the win nonetheless.
Stupid Mistakes wasn’t on the team sheet today. ?
I thought our passing was excellent.
Don’t know what to say about Ceballos that hasn’t already been said by others, so I’m going to throw some praise Joe Willock’s way. You can really see why Unai’s so keen on him. It might sound crazy but I’d consider starting him at Anfield next week over Xhaka.
Great game and great result, the midfield have done all they can to dominate at the middle, although in my opinion we really missed Xhaka today.
Yeah… and that other bloke as well – uum, what was him name now? Yes – Squillaci.
Good result for us today, but Mike Dean made it more difficult than it should have been (like usual)… their equalizer came when he forgot he had played the advantage.
Exactly! I thought i was the only one that noticed the advantage.
I don’t think he could have called it back as it went on for so long? Mike Dean is a cunt though…
Despite that (and I do agree with it), we are now on a 13-match unbeaten run with Dean as referee.
The off-season had almost allowed me to forget what an utter dipshit no-hope mean-mouthed beady-eyed whistlefuck cunt Mike Dean actually is.
Only took 12 mins today to remind me though.
The futures bright. The futures Arsenal.
Ceballos demonstrated in just one match what Arsenal fans wanted from Ozil!
If he can maintain this level, Ozil will have to up his game and unleash finally his unquestionable flair…
Buzzing.
Let’s see the lads we some more competitive group.
Chuffed at the result today. Raul spent his time eating glass, smoking cigarettes. and making deals this summer, and boy did he bring in some pearls.
New boys looked fresh and sharp.
Young guns look settled and confident.
Mustafi in the stands.
A very goodly morning.
Stop this carping against a player who did not even play … imagine his surname is Not Mustafi but McTaggart and he had the same level of performance as he has done , would you be still carping ???
Errr… what?
Ceballos is a joy to watch with the ball at his feet. Pepe is already showing he can wreak havoc. Willock and Nelson both look like they belong at this level. Sweet Jesus, we look to have a legitimately deep squad. Think about what the lineup would have looked like last year in a match where Ozil, Torreia, Kolasinic, and Xhaka didn’t start.
Was i wrong to be expecting 3/4/5 nil to the arsenal?
Yes, Burnley are difficult to beat.
But for their keeper it coulda been 3 or 4 – here’s Hope-ing
Can we please sign Ceballos permanently? no matter the cost, the guy is and will be quality. Forget him as a replacement for Ramsey, I see him as the replacement for Santi!
Ceballos: finally some actual quality on the ball in midfield! Maybe this season we will stop bypassing the midfield and dominate games offensively through it. If we can then we have a good chance at keeping some consistency when pushing for top 4, and I think we can do it! 🙂
Also, what a bunch of unloveable cunts Burnley are! Team playing in the image of their wrinkled testicle of a manager. Loved how we shut up that prick Barnes and held firm late in the game
Their vile manger spent his press conference moaning about Arsenal players diving! They should have asked him how that ignorant cunt barnes got away with a deliberate knee in the back on Guendouzi. Burnley are the new orcs and their manager is as hideous as pulis.
You mean Sturnley? Or is Burnoke?
We got the three points and that was the main objective. However, I was at The Emirates today and can’t agree with the really rave reviews we’re getting from some Gooners (many of whom I suspect weren’t there) which are a little OTT on the actual evidence. For understandable reasons, we’re still a way off the finished article yet. There were certainly some good individual performances which is encouraging but I thought we were still intimidated by Burnley’s physical approach for periods and, frankly we were just holding on in the last few minutes -despite several chances to finish the… Read more »
Sorry to have to agree. We looked ragged for large parts of the first half, and in the end, were a random bounce away from having a tie at home against Burnley. Still lots of work to do. We will see how we cope in the next two games.
I missed the game and am hearing first about it in the most important spot – here in the Arseblog comments. Sounds like we played well? What confuses me is how Burnley managed to take 18 shots? Did we dominate them or are Burnley better than I’m giving them credit for?
Burnley spent the match sending long balls over the top, a lot of those shots were wild. They’re difficult to break down and dirty, we played well to get a result, a lot of other teams will struggle against them.
I was there and I don’t think we played particularly well and I suspect some Gooners are getting a little carried away. There were certainly some very good individual performances, but while we had both possession and shots on goal we couldn’t kill the game off (heard that one before somewhere?) and, particularly in the last ten minutes or so, we were really quite shaky. Burnley were very physical as expected but I thought we did a little better against this kind of opponent than last season or earlier ones under Wenger, but we still don’t/can’t handle it well across… Read more »
Dry your eyes mate, has to be our best start to a season in 10 years and people can be forgiven a little excitement about the differences we see already from the new signings and youth standouts. Even Monreal I thought had a cracker, linked up really well with Ceballos at times.
Seems like there is some grit in this squad, so much that I took the equalizer in stride, believing AFC would score again. Pope made some excellent saves and PEA bottled an attempt that should have put the game out of reach. Given that this is only the second game after such an overhaul, I think a little optimism is in order.