GUNNERS NO BIG DRAW
Stalemate sees Arteta’s Euro hopes fading
BEING quick on the draw might have been key to staying alive in the old Wild West – but it is killing Arsenal’s Champions League hopes.
This fourth successive stalemate was Arsenal’s 13th from their 25 Premier League games and they have drawn most matches in the top flight.
That represents 26 dropped points and is the main reason why they are languishing in mid-table, well adrift of the top four.
They had chances to score before Burnley took control, but Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were wasteful.
Defensively, Arsenal are undoubtedly making progress under new manager Mikel Arteta, but it is hard to put a positive gloss on failing to beat Burnley – a fixture which has been a banker for them for the last decade.
Yes, they are unbeaten in their seven games in 2020. But Arteta has won only one of his seven league matches in charge. In truth, they were lucky to leave Turf Moor with a point and Burnley boss Sean Dyche has never had a better chance of recording his first win against them.
The Clarets were the better side and Jeff Hendrick, Jay Rodriguez and James Tarkowski all missed chances to register what would have been Burnley’s first topflight win over Arsenal since September 1974.
Instead Dyche had to make do with his first point against the Gunners at his 10th attempt.
He tried to see the positives and is happy with Burnley’s return of seven points from their last three league games against Leicester, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Arsenal should have scored in the opening minutes when Lacazette headed wide and Aubameyang totally fluffed a great opening, shooting horribly wide when played through by David Luiz on the left.
Aubameyang, who was back after his three-match suspension, was then denied by Nick Pope as he attempted to lob the Burnley goalkeeper.
Burnley grew into the game and Rodriguez’s low-drilled shot was well saved by Bernd Leno, diving to his right.
The Clarets were also wasteful and Hendrick twice missed the target either side of half time. On the first occasion, he missed with a left-footed effort and then did the same with a header.
In between those two efforts, which left Dyche with his head in his hands (below),
Rodriguez headed wide from a free-kick as Burnley turned up the pressure on Arsenal. The Gunners wilted and Arteta took off Mesut Ozil on the hour after yet another disappointing display.
In a game of missed chances, Rodriguez was guilty of the worst one, thumping the ball against the underside of the bar from inside the six-yard box.
It bounced on the line, with Rodriguez appealing in vain that it was a goal.
It was still the closest either side got to breaking the deadlock.