In the end, it was to prove to be a comfortable win for Arsenal, and the 3-1 scoreline would suggest that the Gunners were worthy of the three points. Goals from Cesc Fabregas – his 17th of the season, Theo Walcott and substitute Andrey Arshavin were enough to see Arsenal temporarily climb into second place, but with Manchester United’s win at Wolves, the Gunners are now placed in third spot again, but this time level on points with Chelsea who have a slightly better goal difference. The victory which strengthens Arsenal’s title ambitions further came at a cost however, with Cesc Fabregas appearing to suffer from further hamstring trouble and having to be replaced by Abou Diaby six minutes before the break.

 

 

 

Get well soon
The win was greeted with enthusiasm and passion by the majority of the capacity at the Emirates Stadium, as a giant banner wishing Aaron Ramsey a speedy recovery was unfurled and added to the “ Get well soon Aaron,” T-shirts worn by the Arsenal players in the pre-match warm up. But for some casual finishing from Nicklas Bendtner in particular,, the margin of victory could have been even greater. David Nugent levelled for Burnley, but theirs seems to be a desperate plight at the wrong end of the Premiership table.

Clever chip
Arsenal enjoyed the majority of the early possession and should have been well ahead before Fabregas’ 34th minute opener. After suffering his own pre-season injury nightmare, Samir Nasri is desperate to get his form back, and the signs are looking good for the France midfielder. Having made space on the edge of the Clarets area, his clever chip fell into Fabregas’ pass to place the ball through Brian Jensen’s legs to give Arsenal the lead.

Dominate
The Gunners went searching for more, but Bendtner, try as he might just couldn’t get the desired finish from either his boot or head. It was however proving to be an excellent afternoon for Walcott, who was able to dominate from the right. But five minutes after the re-start – and against the run of play, Burnley equalised. As the Arsenal defence failed to deal with Leon Cort’s header, Nugent found space in behind to lob a disbelieving Manuel Almunia. Unflustered in their reply however, it was Walcott who restored the Arsenal advantage.

Pressure
His quick thinking enabled him to cut in from the right, before letting fly with a left footed strike that Jensen had no answer to. Burnley then threatened to draw level for a second time, and when Almunia mis-handled from a corner, substitute Steven Thompson could only blast over the bar. Further periods of Arsenal pressure created chances for Bendtner, Tomas Rosicky and Walcott, but a combination of poor finishing excellent goal keeping from Jensen kept the Arsenal tally down.

Let fly
But Arsene Wenger had seen enough, and elected to bring on Eduardo in place of the giant Dane. The Croatian forward is still coming to grips with the game after his own horrific leg breaking tackle two years ago, and is some way short of his clinical best. It was left to Arshavin to get a deserved Arsenal third. Deep into stoppage time, the Russian tucked in from the wing, before letting fly stroking past Jensen for the third Arsenal goal.

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