Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: 5 talking points from Premier League draw

Arsenal dropped vital points in the hunt for a top four finish, failing to break down a stubborn Burnley side as they drew 0-0 on Sunday.

Reeling from the disappointment of Thursday as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup to Liverpool, Mikel Arteta made just the solitary change against the Clarets with Rob Holding coming in for the injured Takehiro Tomiyasu, with Benjamin White moving to right-back.

Any preconceptions about how Burnley might set up and this game would play out were realised as soon as the match kicked off.

Sean Dyche’s side sought to frustrate with their two banks of four squeezing central areas and limiting space between the lines. Arsenal probed in wide areas and attempted to isolate the full-backs one-vs-one, but couldn’t create any meaningful chances.

Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: 5 talking points from Premier League draw as Mikel Arteta’s side lose crucial ground in top four hunt

Martin Odegaard had a poked effort saved by Nick Pope in the first half and after the break there was no great improvement.

Desperately needing to up the tempo it took a while for the hosts to start ramping up the pressure. Even then it was too little too late.

The best chance of the game fell to Alexandre Lacazette after some fine work down the left from Emile Smith Rowe. The No. 10 beat his man and charged into the box to set up the Frenchman, who poked a glorious opportunity wide with the goal gaping.

In the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time there was just the solitary shot on goal. That was it. A laboured, slow and ultimately drab performance produced a similar result. These are crucial points dropped in the hunt for the top four. All eyes on the window.

1. Horrible January Comes to an End

Kicking the year off with a daunting home visit of Manchester City, despite the cruel late goal that stole it for the Citizens, it was a performance to build on with Arsenal looking at their very best. There was hope, regardless of the defeat.

Then the FA Cup was blown at the first hurdle with a limp 1-0 loss away at Nottingham Forest, setting Arsenal up poorly for a tricky two-legged Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.

Despite a valiant draw in the first leg, the return meeting, following the North London Derby postponement, saw the Red deservedly emerge 2-0 winners and book their final spot.

Finishing the month off against Burnley presented a solid opportunity for Arsenal to bounce back. They didn’t take it.

It’s a result that caps off a horrible month: five games, no wins, one goal, out of two cup competitions and now losing crucial ground on their top four challengers. It would appear that January is the new November.

This break comes at a welcome time.

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2. Aaron Ramsdale is in a Sticky Patch

This is the first time in Ramsdale’s Arsenal career where everything isn’t going swimmingly. The goalkeeper has been a revelation since his £30m and have defied all expectations, but nobody is immune from criticism and he’s in a bit of a sticky patch.

Liverpool are a horrendous opponent even at the best of times and there was uncertainty in both of the legs against them from the 23-year-old. Usually a composed and almost arrogant figure in goal, that has been missing with Ramsdale looking somewhat erratic.

Additionally, his passing range has been found wanting. Some of his longer distribution is ever so slightly off and on the whole his level has dropped a few notches. Far from being dreadful, he has still made some key interventions, and there are no lasting fears of this little dip persisting.

Throughout his career he’s had patches of form like this, notably at Sheffield United last season where he used it as a springboard for a much-improved second half of the season, so he’ll come through it once again.

He’ll come good, and it needs mentioning that the clean sheets keep tallying up.

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3. Substituting Smith Rowe for Nketiah

Clearly some way off peak physical condition, Smith Rowe had little to no impact in a first half where Saka and Odegaard were the few players trying to take the game to Burnley.

Having been so accustomed to playing out on the left side, positionally it didn’t feel comfortable for Smith Rowe in the centre as he wasn’t getting enough touches of the ball when he should have been coming deeper to collect from the defenders.

After the break there was a change in approach, with the 21-year-old drifting wider onto the left where he began having far greater influence. There were two big chances and some smart late arrivals, while he also fashioned the best opportunity in the whole game for Lacazette with a superb individual run.

But then Arteta took him off. For Eddie Nketiah.

Granted the options on the bench are slim at best and he is not even close to being match sharp, but it was a bizarre decision at a time where he was offering the most threat for Arsenal. Nketiah is lightweight and doesn’t have the running power with the ball under his control, which is what Arsenal needed and Smith Rowe was starting to add.

A strange decision.

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4. Ashley Westwood Should Have Been Sent Off

It’s so easy to delve into conspiracy theories in situations like this, but could anyone genuinely have seen Granit Xhaka committing the foul that Westwood did on Tierney and not being sent off for it?

Of course not. And while reputations can precede you, that isn’t how this works. It was a late stamp on a players’ ankle. Dangerous play.

But let’s say it was the right decision, and there is basis for agreement as it didn’t look intentional from Westwood, he still should have been sent off for what he did moments later.

Stopping Gabriel from running beyond him, he quite blatantly obstructed him from getting onto the ball, including an elbow to the face. It was deliberate and cynical, right in front of the referee’s vision, and somehow went unpunished.

Whether or not Arsenal would have won the game if they were playing against ten men or not, or indeed if Burnley would have defended with even more steel, it would nonetheless have allowed them to commit another body further up the pitch and keep the Clarets penned back.

It was a dreadful decision. Josh Brownhill could well have been sent for an early shower too.

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5. Arsenal Field 8 Hale End Graduates in Squad

While the circumstances forced it plenty, what a special sight it was to see no less than eight Hale End graduates in the squad. Five of Arsenal’s substitutes hadn’t played a minute of Premier League football, while four hadn’t played senior football for the club yet.

It also tells you a lot about the state of this team at the minute.

Arteta had no choice with injuries and absences ripping through his squad, but with young attackers on the bench like Omari Hutchinson and Mika Biereth, why they weren’t used as a final hurrah for others who were clearly blowing feels like a potential missed opportunity.

There is nothing to say they would have won the game for Arsenal. They’re young and haven’t made the step up yet for a reason.

However, desperately chasing a goal and some threat in the box, the scope was there to bring Biereth on for a central defender and truly go for it. Everyone was waiting for a big final push that never came.

It’s all a bit of ‘what if?’ Hutchinson has been in superb form of late and could have offered some unpredictability to what was painfully predictable football from plenty of tired legs. Even if they’re inexperienced, the bench could have been put to better use.