Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: Shocking Lacazette miss helps Clarets hang on at Emirates

Playing
in
the
Premier
League
for
the
first
time
since
a
defeat
to
Manchester
City
on
January
1,
Arsenal
would
have
moved
into
the
top
four
with
a
victory
over
a
side
that
had
conceded
six
goals
across
their
last
two
away
games.

Yet
Pope’s
resistance
and
Lacazette’s
profligacy
saw
Sean
Dyche’s
team
come
away
with
a
potentially
vital
point
in
their
bid
to
stay
up.

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Mikel
Arteta’s
side,
meanwhile,
are
now
without
a
win
in
five
games
in
all
competitions
as
they
failed
to
bounce
back
from
their
EFL
Cup
loss
to
Liverpool.

Aaron
Ramsdale
was
somewhat
caught
cold
for
Liverpool’s
goals
in
Thursday’s
defeat,
but
Arsenal’s
goalkeeper
made
a
fine
stop
to
keep
out
Dwight
McNeil’s
cross-shot.

Arsenal
had
78
per
cent
possession
in
the
opening
15
minutes,
but
it
was
not
until
the
20th
that
they
troubled
Pope,
who
made
a
smart
save
to
deny
Martin
Odegaard,
with
follow-ups
from
Lacazette
and
Ben
White
blocked.

Having
only
just
been
booked
for
a
foul
on
Kieran
Tierney,
Ashley
Westwood
was
fortunate
not
to
receive
his
marching
orders
when
he
flung
an
arm
out
at
Gabriel
Magalhaes.

An
Odegaard
free-kick
landed
on
the
roof
of
the
net
as
Arsenal
upped
the
pressure
after
the
restart,
before
Pope
pulled
off
a
fantastic
save
from
Emile
Smith
Rowe’s
low
effort.

Smith
Rowe
turned
provider
for
Arsenal’s
best
chance,
cutting
back
for
the
onrushing
Lacazette,
only
for
the
striker
to
prod
wide
of
an
open
goal
as
Arsenal’s
winless
run
rumbled
on.

What
does
it
mean?
Big
point
for
Burnley,
big
miss
for
Arsenal

Arsenal
do
not
have
a
game
for
18
days
now
and
will
have
to
lament
an
opportunity
missed
to
head
into
the
winter
break
in
the
Champions
League
spots.

Burnley,
who
were
looking
to
win
consecutive
away
league
games
against
Arsenal
for
just
the
third
time
following
a
1-0
victory
in
last
season’s
corresponding
fixture,
well
deserved
their
point,
however.
They
remain
bottom
but
have
between
two
and
four
games
in
hand
on
their
relegation
rivals.

Pope
proves
his
worth

Arsenal’s
Ramsdale
has
been
one
of
the
goalkeepers
to
move
ahead
of
Pope
in
the
England
pecking
order
over
the
course
of
the
last
season,
yet
Burnley’s
shot-stopper
was
at
his
best
to
keep
the
Gunners
at
bay.

He
made
five
saves
in
total,
including
that
stunning
one-handed
stop
low
to
his
right
from
Smith
Rowe
midway
through
the
second
half.

Lacazette
shows
up
Arsenal’s
striker
needs

With
Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang
still
unavailable
for
selection
due
to
a
heart
problem,
although
he
had
been
ostracised
by
Arteta
anyway
prior
to
his
Africa
Cup
of
Nations
trip
being
cut
short,
Lacazette
is
leading
Arsenal’s
line.
His
horrendous
miss
showed
up
Arsenal’s
requirement
for
a
top-quality
striker,
though.

All
three
of
Lacazette’s
attempts
missed
the
target.
The
Gunners
have
been
linked
with
Dusan
Vlahovic,
who
Fiorentina
are
willing
to
sell,
while
they
are
also
reported
to
have
interest
in
Everton’s
Dominic
Calvert-Lewin.
Will
they
make
their
move
before
the
end
of
the
transfer
window?

What’s
next?

Arsenal
return
from
the
winter
break
with
a
trip
to
Wolves
on
February
10,
while
Burnley
face
Watford
five
days
earlier.