OH DANI JOY!
Why in the world did Zidane let Ceballos leave?
THE name of one man dominated the post-match discussions in the pubs of north London on Saturday evening. Dani Ceballos, 23-year-old midfield extraordinaire and Real Madrid loanee.
The usual suspects scored at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal opened a season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2009- 10, but Ceballos stole the show.
Several times his pirouettes in the centre of the pitch had grown men swooning. One moment he might bring to mind Santi Cazorla. The next he would remind you of Claude Makelele.
On his full Premier League debut, it was a performance of such class, it made you wonder why in the world Zinedine Zidane let him leave Madrid in the summer.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery will be the first to express caution. It is early days for Ceballos, but what a start. Following the loss of Aaron Ramsey to Juventus, he already appears a healthy acquisition.
All in all, this was a good day for Arsenal. They have two wins from two, Alex andre Lacazette and Pierre-E me rick Aubameyang scored, and the latter avoided doing himself a mischief when celebrating his winner with his acrobatic flip.
Supporters got to see their new defensive linchpin David Luiz scrap with the big, brutish strikers of Burnley.
They saw £72million Nicolas Pepe come off the substitutes’ bench and attack at will.
Academy youngsters Re iss Nelson and Joe Willock started and held their own.
Sean Dyche’s Burnley came to the Emirates Stadium with a plan. They surrendered possession, lumped long balls towards Ashley Barnes, and asked questions of the Arsenal defence.
After Lacazette had opened the scoring, Barnes level led it up before the break. It was a fine run and finish from Aubameyang midway through the second half that finally separated the two sides. It was from a Ceballos corner that Arsenal took the lead inside 13 minutes. Lacazette killed the ball dead from the cross but he had his back to the goal and Erik Pieters was all over him like a rash.
The No 9 did not let that stop him. Lacazette shrugged off Pieters as he turned and, while falling to the ground, pummelled a shot through the legs of Nick Pope.
Super strength, fine finish, and he had opened his account for the 2019-20 season.
Arsenal came close to doubling their lead. Ceballos led a counterattack after receiving the ball on the half-turn and teed up Matteo Guendouzi for the shot.
The midfielder drilled it towards the bottom-right corner but Pope produced the save with a trailing leg. Burnley’s big lumps were A STAR IS BORN: Dani Ceballos jumps for joy after Arsenal score their winner throwing their weight around up front and making life difficult for Luiz. On the stroke of half-time they got their reward.
Dwight McNeil tried his luck from distance and Sokratis pr o duced t he bl o c k, but t he deflection only carried the ball into the feet of Barnes.
The striker, eight yards out and with Guendouzi breathing down his neck, sorted his feet out quickly to beat Bernd Leno.
Barnes ran away celebrating, cupping his ear with his hand. Arsenal’s defenders were crying offside. Would VAR make a fool of the Burnley striker? Nope. He was onside and the goal stood. ‘Anti-football,’ sang the visiting supporters, poking fun at their style of play under Dyche.
Arsenal thought they had retaken the lead moments later. Nacho Monreal, captain for the day, made a run down the left and pulled the ball back for Reiss Nelson, who buried it beyond Pope.
The assistant had already raised his flag for offside. It went to VAR, who concurred. The Burnley fans celebrated ‘no goal’ popping up on the big screen as if they had scored themselves. But Arsenal went in search of their winner and Ainsley Maitland- Niles, playing at right back, threaded a through ball into t he feet of Aubameyang. The striker, who scored a league-high 22 goals last season, controlled and then fired a shot which was saved smartly by Pope.
Ceballos then forced him into a diving save.
Arsenal were knocking on the door and they finally retook the lead in the 64th minute.
Ceballos lost the ball then made amends by winning it back instantly. Aubameyang charged forward, cut on to his right foot and drilled the ball beyond Pope, who had no chance.
There was no Mesut Ozil in the match-day squad here. The official reason for the 30-year-old German’s absence was illness, though he was watching from the stands.
In the end Ozil was not needed. Their other big names did the trick and Ceballos introduced himself to his new supporters in style.
Another win for Arsenal, and next up is Liverpool away.