Matt Scrafton's verdict on Burnley's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal
If Burnley fans were being honest with themselves, the majority of them would have taken a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal prior to kick-off.
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Scott Parker pinpoints main 'disappointment' from Burnley's defeat to Arsenal](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parker-pinpoints-main-disappointment-from-burnleys-defeat-to-arsenal-5384290 "Scott Parker pinpoints main 'disappointment' from Burnley's defeat to Arsenal")
It sounds horribly defeatist, and you should never go into any game accepting defeat, but such is the gulf between the top and the bottom of this division, you have to have an element of pragmatism about things.
After all, the Clarets were facing an Arsenal side that are, in all likelihood, heading for the Premier League title this season.
That’s a bold claim to make just 10 games into the season, especially when we’re talking about a club that hasn’t lifted the Premier League trophy in over 20 years.
But they just have that look about them. They’re solid, they’re strong, they’re not fancy for the sake of being fancy but they’ve still got quality all over the pitch. I’m prepared to say it, they’re the champions elect.
It might not have been the most mind-blowing of performances at Turf Moor, but they’re still the best side Burnley have played so far this season – and by some distance.
I don’t want to dedicate too much time to writing about Arsenal given this is a Burnley newspaper after all. But context is key, you simply have to recognise Arsenal’s strengths before you can ever consider Burnley’s display and what they did right or wrong.
Florentino Luis and Maxime Esteve shake hands at full time. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Florentino Luis and Maxime Esteve shake hands at full time. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
To come away relatively unscathed, only losing by a two-goal margin and putting up a fight in the second-half is almost a small win in a way. If it was a round of golf, they finished on 72. Par for the course.
Frustrations
To the surprise of no-one, Parker opted to revert to a back five, despite overseeing back-to-back victories with the 4-3-3 system.
For those that might be critical of Parker’s supposedly defensive approach, it’s important to remember those consecutive wins came against Leeds United and Wolves. That’s not to downplay those results at all, but playing in a 4-3-3 against Wolves and doing it against Arsenal, arguably one of, if not the best team in Europe, are two completely different things altogether.
Burnley players in discussion after the second Arsenal goal. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Burnley players in discussion after the second Arsenal goal. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Frustratingly, Burnley’s approach actually looked to be working for the first 10 minutes.
Employing a slightly more aggressive mid-block, the Clarets looked to be more intent on picking their moments and going after Arsenal, as opposed to sitting back and awaiting their fate on the edge of their 18-yard box, as they did so well and for so long against Liverpool back in September.
I use the term frustratingly because all it took for Arsenal to wrestle free of that stranglehold was to win one corner. Declan Rice delivered it, Gabriel turned it back into the six-yard box and £64m summer signing Viktor Gyokeres was left free to nod home from close range.
It means Arsenal have already scored eight goals from corners this season and 12 from set-pieces. Mikel Arteta’s side aren’t just a set-piece team, but there’s no doubt it’s a massive part of their game.
Marcus Edwards and Jacob Bruun Larsen stand over a free kick. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Marcus Edwards and Jacob Bruun Larsen stand over a free kick. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
On the contrary, Parker was right to be frustrated with the manner of Arsenal’s second goal, which all but ended the game as a contest.
The Clarets had a long throw deep into Gunners territory. Kyle Walker was dragged over from the right flank to the left to take it, but his looping throw was easily dealt with by Gabriel, who will eat up those deliveries into the box all day long.
The visitors were immediately allowed to counter, with Gyokeres picking out Leandro Trossard who was left in acres of space down the left, where Walker would normally have been.
With the former Man City man miles out of position, Josh Laurent was forced to move out and confront Trossard, but didn’t get tight enough to his man, allowing the Belgian to deliver a pinpoint cross for Rice to head home.
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Scott Parker thanks the Burnley fans at full time following the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Scott Parker thanks the Burnley fans at full time following the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
We can nit-pick all we want, but the cold, hard fact is that, after conceding that early goal from the corner, Arsenal were simply too good and too strong for Burnley. They simply overpowered them.
Now at this point, you’re thinking the end result could be anything – threes, fours or fives, just as it was the last time Arsenal visited Turf Moor two seasons ago. Emerging for the second-half, the first priority had to be damage limitation more than anything.
But this is where the Clarets deserve real credit, because they were the better side during the second 45 and, while any notion of an unlikely comeback was never truly on the cards, they certainly posed one or two awkward questions of the Gunners and made them earn their three points.
While Arsenal will receive plenty of attention for their set-pieces, they deserve just as many plaudits, if not more so, for their defensive structure. They simply don’t give up shots, never mind goals. It’s very Burnley-esque from last season.
To prove the point, they’ve now kept eight straight clean sheets and have just shipped three goals all season.
We had to wait until the 71st minute for Burnley’s first attempt on goal and that was a fairly weak one, as Zian Flemming headed wide of goal.
But two minutes later, the Clarets seriously threatened for the first time when Florentino Luis could only head over at full stretch at the back post. It was a difficult chance for the former Benfica man, but he probably ought to have done better.
Again, I’m not saying if that goes in Burnley go on and equalise, but it would have certainly made for an interesting end to the game.
As it was, we were left to wait until the very last kick of the game for Burnley’s next opportunity, as Marcus Edwards – coming off the bench to make his first league appearance since the opening day – curled a 25-yard free-kick against the post.
Positives
We can bring all out the clichés we want: Burnley’s season won’t be defined by these types of games, the pressure was off, it was a free-hit etc etc. Let’s be honest, they’re all meaningless.
Of course you try and win every game that’s in front of you, but if we’re being blunt, some are more winnable than others.
The day ended as positively as it probably could have done, with Wolves and Leeds both losing and Nottingham Forest being pegged back late on by Man Utd, meaning Burnley are now four points clear of the relegation zone, rather than five.
Now all eyes turn to a far more winnable game in the capital next week, as Parker returns to face his old side West Ham. That’s a game that will tell us a whole lot more about Burnley’s survival chances.
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