Arsenal Vs Burnley: Defending the barrage

Arsenal travel to Burnley on Sunday afternoon. To earn a victory, Mikel Arteta’s team will have to defend the physical and aerial barrage that has oftentimes undermined their progress.

Arsenal return to Premier League duties on Sunday afternoon needing a victory to keep their slim top-four hopes alive. With a two-week winter break following their trip to Turf Moor to face Sean Dyche’s Burnley, it would be extremely helpful to end the current run on a high.

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Mikel Arteta has turned around the fortunes of the team rather dramatically since his appointment in late-December. He has only lost one match and went unbeaten throughout January. But if there is one weakness from the Arteta thus far, it has been turning controlled performances into victories. 1-1 draws in which half-time leads were squandered against Crystal Palace and Sheffield United have marred what has been a very positive start.

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So when the Gunners travel to Turf Moor on Sunday, they must target more than just a hard-earned draw, despite their extended road troubles over the past three seasons. And if they are to overcome Burnley this weekend, they must deal with the physical barrage that Dyche’s team so brilliantly executes.

As Arteta said in his pre-match press conference:

"“It’s one of the most English brands. What they do, they do it really, really well and they’re specialists at that. The type of game that they want to play makes it really difficult for the opponent, so we need to be ready for a battle, be clever and take the game the way we want. We will go there with complete focus and energy and a very clear plan, because if not, they are very hard to deal with.”"

And it is not an insult to say that Burnley play in an agricultural, throwback manner. It is a perfectly viable approach for a football team to take, and they perform it at an extremely high level. They are very difficult to break down, they create chances and score chances because of their physical power, and it has proven an extremely effective style.

This season, Burnley rank second-last for short passes per game in the Premier League. Meanwhile, only Sheffield United have played more long balls. Meanwhile, they play 19 crosses per game, the 11th-most in the league. And this approach has been successful. No player has scored more headed goals than Chris Wood this season. Wood also scored joint-most in the 2018/19 season.

Burnley will put Arsenal under immense physical pressure. This will be a major test. And it has been the type of test that the Gunners have typically failed in the past. The Arsene Wenger teams infamously struggled against powerful, physical, imposing teams, and that soft underbelly has not been truly eradicated. The centre-backs are not all that aerially dominant, the midfield is small, and there is a vulnerable mentality that still persists.

Arsenal have the quality to dispatch Burnley at the weekend and enter the winter break on a much-needed high. But they will be tested, physically, aerially, mentally, and if they do not pass, they can wave the three points goodbye.