ARSENAL secured three huge points at the Emirates – but Premier League new boys Burnley made them work for it.
Goals from, Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko inspired the Gunners to a 3-1 win.
GettyLeandro Trossard opened the scoring[/caption]
ReutersFabio Vieira saw red for a horror tackle[/caption]
GettyZinchenko got the third of the night[/caption]
And there will be a much better feeling around the camp in comparison to last Saturday when they were controversially beaten by Newcastle.
Furthermore, Mikel Arteta will be delighted as his team go into the international break off the back of two consecutive wins.
However, Fabio Vieira’s reckless red card puts a slight blemish on the victory.
Here’s how SunSport’s Nyle Smith rated the Gunners’ performance at the Emirates.
David Raya – 7
Called into action a lot more than the one stoppage-time save he had to make during Arsenal’s Champions League win against Sevilla.
The pick of the bunch was a spectacular one-handed parry from Johan Berg Gudmundsson in the first half to spare William Saliba’s blushes.
And the Spaniard’s distribution was superb especially when it came to picking out both Bukayo Saka and Martinelli.
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6
Arsenal missed Ben White overlapping Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side.
But Tomiyasu’s height and physical presence brings stability at the back.
However, the full-back went down a little too easily which led to Burnley scoring.
William Saliba – 8
Had one shaky moment where he played a lovely splitting ball but for the opposition David Raya got down well to stop Arsenal from conceding.
Besides that, the Frenchman showed his normal calm and composed presence at the back.
And Saliba showed why he is a fan favourite after scoring a crucial second goal for the Gunners.
GettySaliba got Arsenal’s second in a well-contested match[/caption]
Gabriel Magalhaes – 7
The Brazillian had a huge opportunity to add to his goal tally early on that he should have done better with in truth.
However, his job is to defend and he did that well apart from when the ball deflected off his foot past Raya.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 8
Despite Zinchenko’s starting position being at left-back, the Ukrainian operated mainly in midfield – and that is exactly how he got his goal.
A lot of the play went through him in the first half after a few early sloppy passes.
But Zinchenko popped up just inside the D to grab Arsenal’s all-important third.
Jorginho – 6
Captain good, not captain fantastic.
Didn’t do too much today but he kept the side organised with his experience in midfield as well as a number of ball-splitting passes.
Declan Rice – 7
Does what it says on the tin but sprinkled with a little bit more magic in midfield.
Picking pockets, dispossessing the opposition, starting up attacks, you name it, Declan Rice most certainly did it.
Kai Havertz – 5
Havertz continues to look like a player who lacks confidence as he got into good positions to shoot but decided to lay it off.
It wasn’t the worst performance from Havertz, but certainly not the best.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6
Struggled to beat his marker Vitinho who had clearly done his homework on Martinelli from his electrifying performance against Sevilla
However, when Martinelli did finally beat his man, his cross found Saka who then nodded it to Trossard for the opener.
Bukayo Saka – 7
Didn’t hit the heights of his Champions League performance against Sevilla, but the England international registered another goal contribution.
It was Saka’s well-timed header that saw Trossard bravely put Arsenal in front at the end of the first half.
Leandro Trossard – 9
The Belgian’s bravery opened up the scoring for Arsenal as he headered the ball in the back of the net before crashing into the post.
Trossard was also a nuisance up top and too much to handle for the Burnley defence despite being one of the smallest players on the pitch.
In addition to that, Trossard’s corner put it on a plate for Saliba to grab Arsenal’s second.
And after scoring Arsenal’s 1000th goal at the Emirates, it’s only fair Trossard gets SunSport’s player of the match.
GettyLeandro Trossard’s bravery opened the scoring for Arsenal[/caption]
Trossard got injured in the processRex
Subs
Jakub Kiwior – 5 ( on for Martinelli 89 mins)
Came on to see out the win but didn’t need to do much.
Reiss Nelson – 5 (on for Saka 81 mins)
Saw little of the ball due to Arsenal’s defensive display after Fabio Vieria’s red card.
Fabio Vieira – 2 (on for Havertz 59 mins)
Only impact on the game was his reckless red card.
PAFabrio Vieira was sent off for a reckless challenge[/caption]
Eddie Nketiah – 5 (on for Trossard 81 mins)
Similar to Nelson, little impact on the game as Arsenal spent a lot of the final minutes defending.
ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours from the Emirates