We go in search of a fifth-straight league win when we travel to Burnley on Saturday (3pm), aiming to open up a seven-point gap at the summit with our nearest rivals all playing after our clash with the Clarets.
Burnley have been one of our favourite opponents in the Premier League era as we have lost against them once in 18 meetings, and never at Turf Moor - you have to go back to 1973 for the last time we tasted defeat at one of English football’s famous old venues.
But Scott Parker’s 2025/26 vintage have been impressive, picking up seven of their 10 points on home turf to leave them 16th - a tally and position that would be higher had it not been for some injury-time heartbreak. But they turned the tables last weekend, beating Wolves late on to ensure both teams head into this meeting with momentum.
Burnley bounce back
Having won promotion in style last term by ending with a 33-match unbeaten run, amassing 100 points in the process and conceding just 16 times in 46 Championship matches, Parker’s team fell to defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on the opening weekend, but beat Sunderland 2-0 in a battle of the new boys.
Late penalty concessions in successive matches saw them lose by a single goal to Manchester United and Liverpool, before their winless run stretched to five matches, following a draw against Nottingham Forest and losses at Manchester City and Aston Villa.
But after that tough run, Leeds United were beaten 2-0 before a 95th-minute winner from Lyle Foster saw them overcome Wolves 3-2 last week. That secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since April 2022, reigniting hope that they can emulate their fellow promoted sides and climb the table.
What the managers say
Arteta: “Every game brings different challenges, sometimes we have to be very patient, some other times we have to have a different approach. The game against Burnley is going to be really tough. They are extremely well-coached. I know Scott really well and what he’s done with the club and with this team, it’s formidable
“When you look at all the games that I see, five of the last games that they played, they’re a very, very tough team to beat.” - read every word of Mikel’s pre-match press conference
Read more Every word from Mikel Arteta's pre-Burnley presser
Parker: "We're at home and our stadium has been a fortress for us. While we're up against a top team in Arsenal, we need to make it tough for them, and do the polar opposite of what they want. Our fans are going to need to bring absolutely humongous energy into the stadium, our players are going to need to bring unbelievable spirit, showing the best version of themselves.
"We'll be fearless in our approach and in how we go about it – showing confidence, desire and passion, and with that, make it as uncomfortable for them as we possibly can do, and try and get a positive result.”
Team news
Gabriel Martinelli is out of the game after he picked up an injury against Brighton in midweek, while William Saliba came off at half-time against Crystal Palace last weekend and continues to be assessed ahead of the game.
Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all remain out of action with their knee injuries.
Read more Jesus' journey: Gabby provides update on his rehab
Having been out all season so far, full-back Connor Roberts and German centre-back Jordan Beyer have both suffered setbacks in their recoveries from knee and hamstring injuries respectively and look set to spend more time on the sidelines.
Swiss striker Zeki Amdouni suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury earlier in the year and is still working his way through his rehab to get back to full fitness.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke: "I fully expect Scott Parker to line his team up in a pragmatic 5-4-1. It’s a shape he has used five times already this term, and that safety-by-numbers approach would make sense. That’s not to say Burnley will spend all game on the edge of their box - they will apply lots of pressure to the man on the ball inside the middle third. Fit and disciplined, they will want to ruffle the focus of the man in possession.
We will have a lot of the ball. The Clarets average just 35% of possession, and against Liverpool and Manchester City it dipped to 19% and 31% respectively. Burnley have been a tough side to break down at home, conceding twice in four games, and only once from open play. So, as well as passing quickly, we must focus hard on sharp movement, player rotations and carrying the ball with purpose to help unlock them.
There is a school of thought that Burnley have been fortunate not to concede more goals. They have leaked 12 from an expected goals against figure of 18.56, facing a league-high 165 shots. That is 32 more shots than the next closest side, West Ham.
Going forward, Parker’s men have shown more punch than many expected, scoring in nine of their last 10 games in all competitions. A lot of that has been down to clinical finishing, as they have netted 12 times from an xG of 6.82, meaning their conversion rate (16.9%) is the second best in the league. If they are to cause us problems, it is likely to happen down the left side. Top scorer Jaiden Anthony is in confident form on that wing, and former Feyenoord left-back Quilindschy Hartman [above] has four assists to his name, including two against Wolves last weekend.
Read more When we beat Burnley to win league by 0.099 goals
Facts and stats
Burnley have picked up seven points from their four home league games this season, as many as in their final 11 home Premier League games in 2023/24.
We have been victorious in 23 of our last 24 league games against promoted sides, including the last 13 in a row.
We have won our last three Premier League matches without conceding. We last achieved four in a row in May 2014, when Mikel Arteta started all four games in our midfield.
Burnley have also never scored more than once in any of their 18 Premier League games against us (9 goals in total), the most any side has faced another without scoring twice in a match.
The Clarets' last top-flight win against a team on top of the table was in October 1975, when they beat Queens Park Rangers.
Read more 6 clean sheets in a row, but what is our best run?
All four goals we’ve scored on the road this season have been from corners (Calafiori v Man Utd, Merino & Gabriel v Newcastle and Trossard v Fulham).
Bukayo Saka netted a brace in our 5-0 win the last time we visited Turf Moor. He has nine goal involvements in his last eight Premier League starts against newly-promoted sides (4 goals, 5 assists).
Leandro Trossard has scored in each of his two league appearances for us against Burnley.
Quilindschy Hartman has four assists in his last four Premier League appearances, though all have come away from home.
Match officials
Chris Kavanagh has been called upon to referee us for the second time this season, having overseen our only defeat in 14 matches this term when we lost at Liverpool. We have won just 12 of 25 matches he’s been in the middle for, but we were unbeaten in all five last term.
It will be just the second time that the Manchester-based official will have refereed Burnley in the past four seasons, with his last Clarets clash seeing them beat Sheffield United 5-0 in December 2023.
Referee: Chris KavanaghAssistants: Dan Cook, Ian HussinFourth official: Anthony TaylorVAR: Rob JonesAssistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh
Recent trips to Turf Moor
We head to Burnley having not lost in nine Premier League games there, which represents the Clarets' joint-worst run of home form against an opponent in the competition alongside Chelsea. Our last visit in February 2024 saw us cruise to a 5-0 success, with Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz netting while Bukayo Saka helped himself to a brace.
Our previous trip in September 2021 was settled by a fine Odegaard free-kick, while the previous March the hosts clinched a point when Chris Wood cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener.
Read more From the vault: Relive five great wins at Burnley
Live coverage
This season, Live From N5 is the place to be for live commentary of all our men’s first-team games across 2025/26.
Tune in from just before kick-off, when Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke will once again be behind the mics to guide you through the on-field action.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.
Read more How to watch Burnley v Arsenal live on TV
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