adminLONDON. — Oh the irony. Having spent 90 minutes trying to mark the occasion with a picture book goal, the anniversary celebrations started with one of the scruffiest, luckiest efforts Arsene Wenger has seen in 20 years.
This had threatened to be an afternoon to leave Wenger cursing and provide his critics with ammunition, an afternoon — even at this early stage — that could have been so very costly in the final reckoning next May.
They had kept possession, dominated the play, but it looked like meaning nothing until Mesut Ozil took a short corner to Alexis Sanchez, Burnley’s defence stood still and watched the ball drift into the back post where, somehow, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Laurent Koscielny smuggled it in.
Turf Moor howled its derision, an exasperated roar that the hosts perspiration would get no reward, but on the touchline, Wenger did that little fist pump that we have seen often in three decades, the enigmatic little smile that another three points had been landed.
He would have had sympathy for Sean Dyche, whose side did their bit in an absorbing contest, but, really, all he was bothered about was the goal that propelled Arsenal up into third after their fifth consecutive Premier League win.
Wenger’s odyssey in English football began 2okm down the road in Blackburn and his team that afternoon surged out of the blocks, with Ian Wright scoring within three minutes to secure the first of 647 wins.
There was to be no rapid start here, though. With their confidence lifted by last Monday’s dismissal of Watford, Burnley were in the mood to ruin these anniversary celebrations, an organised mass of claret and blue, scuffling and pestering, doing all they could to disrupt Arsenal’s elegant rhythm.
But do not doubt how hard Burnley were made to work. Arsenal kept the ball effortlessly at times, moving it from back to front with the minimum of fuss. There was always a yellow shirt spare, always a willing runner, always someone looking to provide an angle.
The issue for Wenger, though, was the last ball — always the final ball. They were constantly one pass away from brilliance in the first 45 minutes but that one pass was either over hit or was stopped from finding its target by a forest of legs.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger acknowledges the away fans at Turf Moor ahead of kick-off on Sunday afternoon
Was this the players attempting to mark Wenger’s 20 years by scoring the perfect goal for him? It seemed that way. Pass, pass, pass but never a shoot, shoot, shoot no matter how much the visiting fans in the David FIshwick Stand implored them to take aim.
Theo Walcott sneaked into a position that looked promising but was thwarted; Mesut Ozil had the ball pilfered from his foot in a dangerous area when Stephen Ward scurried back to be a menace; Alexis Sanchez couldn’t rearrange his feet in time when another opening came his way.
Slowly you could see it turning into one of those afternoons when Wenger ends up scowling and snarling and bemoaning that it simply isn’t fair, the kind of afternoon that pops up two or three times a season and shows why Arsenal can’t sustain a title challenge.
Had Sam Vokes shown more poise in the 39th minute, the scowl would have set in even sooner than it eventually did. He had a glorious chance to puncture Arsenal’s momentum when he was stood all alone on the penalty spot, but the Wales international headed Matt Lowton’s cross wide.
His reaction said everything. Eyes and mouth wide open, hands clasped to his face, Vokes couldn’t believe what he had done in sending his effort the wrong side of the post nor, it should be stressed, could his manager, as Dyche spun 180 degrees on his heels in disbelief, muttering his frustration.
Chances of that nature do not come along that often in games such as these if you are Burnley and Dyche, whose side will need to eke out every single point, knew it had the potential to come back and haunt his side.
Meawhile, Manchester City suffered their first defeat under manager Pep Guardiola as Tottenham Hotspur underlined their Premier League title credentials with a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Elsewhere, reigning champions Leicester City were held to a goalless draw by Southampton while Manchester United endured a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Stoke City.
An Aleksandar Kolarov own goal and a Dele Alli strike gave Spurs victory and they could even afford for Erik Lamela to squander a second-half penalty.
The result lifted Spurs to second, a point below City. It was Guardiola’s first defeat in 12 games as City manager and followed a mid-week 3-3 draw at Celtic in the Champions League that ended his side’s perfect start to the season.
At Old Trafford, it looked as if substitute Anthony Martial’s 69th-minute goal would give United victory over a Stoke side who started the day bottom of the table. But a mistake by United goalkeeper David de Gea led to Joe Allen’s equaliser eight minutes from time, the point gained seeing Stoke leapfrog Sunderland.
United wasted numerous chances, with world-record signing Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic among the offenders as Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant, on loan from Derby County, made several fine saves. “This is the best performance all season and could have been one of these fat results in the Premier League, it could have been 5-0 or 6-0,” United manager Jose Mourinho told BT Sport. We had big chances, with amazing saves and big misses.”
The Portuguese boss added: “We will play worse and win games . . . We had 90 minutes of control, we had 90 minutes of ambition.”
Meanwhile, Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: “I’m really pleased with the performance. We had a game plan and we executed it to the letter.”
Turning to Grant’s display, former United striker Hughes said: “He’s a good ‘keeper, a great character and we are pleased he is with us.”
Elsewhere, strikers Jamie Vardy of Leicester and Charlie Austin of Southampton both missed chances in a drab goalless stalemate at the King Power Stadium. The draw left Leicester marooned in mid-table, with hopes of a successful title defence fading fast.
Arsenal will aim to bolster their title challenge away to Burnley in Sunday’s late kick-off. — Mailonline
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