Arsenal Showed Wenger’s “Steel” Against Stubborn Burnley

Arsenal ended a frustrating battle on the road against Burnley with a controversial and scrappy last minute winner, showing Championship perseverance by gaining all three points.

On the anniversary of 20 years in charge at Arsenal Football club, manager Arsene Wenger travelled to Turf Moor to lock horns with the hard-working and well-organised Clarets. In an ironic twist of faith, Wenger’s men were doggedly stifled by Burnley’s well-disciplined defense.

Instead of playing the attractive and dynamic football that Wenger has cultivated at Arsenal for the last two decades, the type of football that was on full display against Chelsea and Basel, the Gunners were forced into playing the slow and plodding style that fans have come to dread.

However, in a display that certainly would not inspire much hope, Gooners should be very happy with this weekend’s result. This is the type of difficult game that the so-called “weak minded” Arsenal of old would walk away from empty handed. On the road against a very stubborn, very hard to break down Burnley side coming off of a big result of their own, the past teams would have folded in these circumstances.

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After two nearly perfect performances both domestically and in Europe, few expected to see Wenger’s side trip up against a scrappy and physical side like Burnley. For 90+ minutes they looked poised to do exactly that. Arsene Wenger chose to stick with his starting XI from the last two triumphs besides the deployment of Petr Cech in goal and Granit Xhaka starting for the second consecutive game in place of Francis Coquelin.

Far from their best performance of the season, the Gunners found a way to trump their dogged foes. Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea is, of course, the highlight of this young season. However, that result would be incredibly hollow if they had dropped points in their very next league match. In the end, these three points are as valuable as any other.

If this was Manchester City, United, Sp*rs or even Chelsea, many analysts would be lauding this as a scrappy, ground out victory. These ugly results are necessary components of title-winning campaigns. We would be talking about other team’s grit and determination, and their ability to stay focused to the very end. Not so, with Wenger’s side though.

Arsenal’s victory stemmed from the team’s new-found defensive solidarity. Shkrodan Mustafi is a huge upgrade on Gabriel or Per Mertesacker. The Germany international is a proper defender. He combines the best qualities of Per and Gabriel, as someone who loves to put in a crunching slide tackle, and yet also has the ability to read the game with great poise and composure. The former Valencia man has the intelligence to see danger before it escalates and the athleticism to make dynamic plays to snuff it out.

Arsenal’s battle against Burnley was a testament to Mustafi’s world class ceiling. Going toe-to-toe with Sam Vokes, Mustafi put in a man of the match display. The German won half of his 10 aerial duels (all against Vokes), made 6 of his 7 attempted tackles, snagged 2 interceptions and made a whopping 13 clearances, all stats provided by Whoscored.

Teams often find success against Arsenal by sitting deep and hitting them on the counter while utilizing a strong target man at the point of attack. Vokes is a perfect example of the type of striker that usually gives causes Wenger’s often undersized team fits. However, Mustafi securely kept the Burnley forward in his pocket all afternoon.

Combined with Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny, the £35 million man is the missing piece to Arsenal’s defensive master plan. It has taken three transfer windows, but they finally have a world class central defense and goalkeeper.

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After the famous victory over Chelsea last weekend, Wenger credited Arsenal’s “style and steel” for the performance. Without a healthy dose of style, it was Arsenal’s steel that outdid Burnley.