Arsene Wenger, Granit Xhaka sent off as inury-time penalty devastates Arsenal against Burnley
Updated 22/01/2017 at 16:49 GMT
Premier League, Emirates Stadium - Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 59, Sanchez 90+8) Burnley 1 (Gray 90+3)
Arsenal beat Burnley 2-1 to go second in the Premier League after a chaotic and controversial conclusion at Emirates Stadium.
Andre Gray’s late penalty appeared to have snatched a point for the visitors, but 10-man Arsenal won a spotkick of their own when Ben Mee was penalised for a high boot on Laurent Koscielny.
Sanchez stepped up to deliver the coolest of Panenka finishes eight minutes into injury time, which Arsene Wenger watched from inside the stadium after being sent off protesting Burnley’s equaliser.
Arsenal had appeared on course for a routine win following Shkodran Mustafi’s opener, but Granit Xhaka’s dismissal for an airborne lunge in the 65th minute changed the game’s complexion.
Burnley threw caution to the wind, earning a penalty when substitute Francis Coquelin caught Ashley Barnes, and were unfortunate to throw it all away as replays suggested Koscielny was offside in the penalty incident.
TALKING POINT
Did Arsenal deserve their penalty? Probably not. Jon Moss was correct to award it for Mee's high boot, but his assistant really should have spotted that Koscielny was lurking in an offside position. Having said that, Mustafi had valid claims for a penalty waved away long before the incident.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal): Scored a goal, may have had a penalty and looked assured before the late madness unfolded. It’s 21 games unbeaten for the defender at Arsenal.
PLAYER RATINGS
Arsenal: Cech 6, Gabriel 6, Mustafi 8, Koscielny 7, Monreal 7, Xhaka 4, Ramsey 6, Iwobi 6, Ozil 5, Alexis 7, Giroud 6. Subs: Coquelin 5, Welbeck N/A, Bellerin N/A.
Burnley: Heaton 7, Lowton 5, Keane 6, Mee 6, Ward 6, Boyd 6, Marney 6, Hendrick 5, Defour 6, Barnes 6, Gray 6. Subs: Tarkowski 6, Barton 5, Vokes 7.
KEY MOMENTS
48’ - RAMSEY TRIES A GIROUD! Giroud nods the ball down towards Ramsey, who dives forward and tries to divert the ball home with his heel. Over. Almost Scorpion II at the Emirates.
59’ - GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Burnley. Ozil swings a corner into the mixer, Mustafi meets it with his head and watches with glee as the ball finds the corner!
65’ - RED CARD! Straight red for Xhaka for a two-footed lunge. So rash. So unnecessary.
90+1’ - GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Burnley. Coquelin swipes his leg, misses the ball and connects with Barnes... penalty! Gunners fan Gray rifles the ball down the middle, Cech gets a hand to it but it creeps over the line!
90+7’ - PENALTY TO ARSENAL! MADNESS. Mee connects with Koscielny's face and it's a spotkick! Jon Moss takes about a year to give it, mind. Oh, it looked offside, too.
90+8’ - GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Burnley. Oh Sanchez, you fiend. The Chilean oozes calm as he dinks the ball down the middle, with Heaton diving off to his right. The points are staying in London!
KEY STATS
Arsenal score their latest PL goal ever (97:13), beating the record set by Robin van Persie (also penalty) as he scored against Liverpool on 17 April 2011 after 97:12.
Shkodran Mustafi scores while assisted by compatriot Mesut Ozil. The last time a German scored and assisted in the PL was on 22 September 2013 when Per Mertesacker scored for Arsenal against Stoke City. He was also assisted by Ozil.
Arsenal started with 11 foreign players (non-English) for the 149th time in the Premier League. All other teams combined have done this 122 times.
Stats courtesy of Infostrada
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