January 23, (THEWILL) – Arsenal had the lion’s share of possession but were unable to challenge Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, resulting in a dismal 0-0 stalemate at the Emirates.
Right off the mark, the Gunners grabbed control, but their play was accompanied by a splattering of frustration from the home crowd, who wanted to see more energy from their team against Burnley’s tenacious defence.
Alexandre Lacazette scuffed an excellent chance to open the scoring and the Gunners were almost punished for it after goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale made a complete mess of a corner and was lucky to escape with it after 18 minutes.
Nick Pope was quickly called upon to stop a Martin Odegaard strike, as Arsenal made a conscious effort to elevate their game. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka curled a stoppage-time shot wide, but it was the best they could do with their near-80% control in the first 45 minutes.
Emile Smith Rowe’s first real chance of the second half came around the hour mark, thanks to a nice corner routine. His low drive was fantastic, but it was easily blocked by Pope, who saw it through a swarm of bodies.
With a fantastic run, Smith Rowe set up a chance for Lacazette, but the Frenchman’s effort was again off target.
Arsenal pushed for a victory in the final minutes, but they were unable to break past Burnley’s defence and were forced to settle for a point.
The draw provides Sean Dyche’s team an important point in their fight against the drop. They are still in last position, four points below Norwich City, who are in 17th place, but they have four games in hand on the Canaries. Their next game is against Watford, which is another crucial game for them at the bottom of the table.
Despite the draw, Arsenal rises to sixth place, one place ahead of Tottenham. In their next match, they will travel to Wolves in an attempt to get back on track.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
