Ramsey strike enough to seal points for Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey's early first half goal was enough for Arsenal as they beat Burnley 1-0 on Saturday evening. The Welshman's goal was the only real bright spark of the game as the Gunners managed to hold on for a hard earned three points. After the convincing win over Liverpool last weekend this one was far from that. It wasn't our greatest display this season but nonetheless it was a victory that made sure we remained in second place for the time being. Wenger's line-up was unchanged from the previous game, as we made it eight successive victories in the Premier League; the first team to do so in the League in 2014/15.

Aaron Ramsey's early goal gave Arsenal the win

This season Burnley have been a team full of fight, they've pulled off some brilliant results against the bigger sides in the division and that was a reason for us to be wary as we traveled to Turf Moor. However despite us being on an incredible run of form we didn't win as comfortably as we would've liked against a team fighting for survival. That meant it was a test of the team's mentality and thankfully they managed to pass that. It wasn't convincing, nor was it flooded with quality, but we got the job done and at this stage of the season that's all you can do.

It was typical of the game that it's only goal was an extremely scrappy one. Mesut Ozil originally saw a shot saved before Sanchez's effort was blocked. Then among the bodies, Aaron Ramsey managed to find the net for his fifth league goal of the campaign. Last week's goals against Liverpool had all been of extreme quality but there was perhaps a slice of luck about today's one as the ball rebounded off a Burnley defender before bouncing to Ramsey.

Arsenal's play for the most part was quite sloppy though. We did look incisive on the break away but we didn't create an awful lot in terms of goal scoring opportunities which was the only real negative from the match. However they didn't have many clear cut chances either. The most frustrated player on the pitch probably would've been Olivier Giroud who didn't manage to extend his scoring run this evening. It wasn't the Frenchman's day at all and his only impact was as a focal point for the long balls we had to pump forward as Burnley continuously pressed us backwards. Giroud didn't have any chances of note and was a rather isolated figure up front. Welbeck made a more positive impact when he came on though and almost extended the lead late on.

For the second game in a row Aaron Ramsey was deployed on the right flank. In my opinion he didn't have the greatest of games outwide but at the end of the day he got the goal that won us the game. It is a bit bizarre that with Walcott and Welbeck on the bench that one of them didn't start out wide but in Aaron Ramsey we have a man who has a knack of picking up vital goals. I would prefer to see Ramsey utilised centrally and I'm sure others would too but due to us having an almost fully fit squad it's difficult to fit him in the midfield. Especially with the way Cazorla and Coquelin have both been performing. One of the most positive aspects at the club right now is the fact we have practically every player fit. For once we have a real competition for places and it's a great luxury to have.

A key part of our win as usual was Francis Coquelin. He had a great game in front of the back four and broke up the play brilliantly. He was able to stop Burnley advancing with the ball and that was evident in the fact he made 11 interceptions; 6 more than anyone else in the match. He seems to be able to seek out the danger with relative ease and he has been a revelation in 2015 for us. The only danger Burnley did cause though was from balls from from the wide areas into the box but both Mertesacker and Koscielny dealt with that confidently.

Alexis Sanchez was our brightest player going forward and he is beginning to show signs of getting back to his form from earlier in the campaign after a little dry spell before last weekend. His desire is phenomenal and his drive aided us significantly in the final third. I also want to give a mention to Hector Bellerin  who seemed to be everywhere. He was rampaging down the right hand side on numerous occasions and although looked a little shaky once or twice in defence, he had a very good game offensively. His pace is truly breathtaking!

Our form at the moment has been nothing short of brilliant and with Reading in the FA Cup semi-final to come next weekend, we look in a good position to reach the final once more if we play like we have been recently.

The team's line-ups:

Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Boyd, Arfield, Jones(90), Barnes, Vokes, Ings.
Subs: Gilks, Keane, Ward, Ulvestad, Taylor(90), Kightly, Jutkiewicz.

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez(90), Giroud(81).
Subs: Szczesny, Chambers(90), Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky, Walcott, Welbeck(81).

My man of the match: Francis Coquelin.

Referee: Mike Dean.
Attendance: 20,615.

Arsenal up to fourth with win over Burnley

Arsenal achieved back to back wins for the first time in the League this Saturday as they comfortably saw off the challenge of Burnley. The visitors originally frustrated but goals from Sanchez and Chambers were enough to see us move back into the top four. It was a dominant display from start to finish that once again saw Alexis star for the Gunners. He started in what was an unchanged line-up from the win over Sunderland the week before but Sanogo was back on the bench in place of Joel Campbell.

Alexis Sanchez now has 10 in 16 this season for Arsenal

Arsenal were always going to dominate this game with Burnley immediately looking to sit back and soak up the pressure. It was something they did well and Heaton in the Burnley goal had a great game and made sure it took longer than anticipated to get the first goal. It took until 70 minutes for us to finally break the visitors down in what had been a much improved attacking display from us considering the amount of chances we created compared to previous weeks.

Alexis Sanchez was at the heart of everything and could've had a first half hat-trick. He got the goal he deserved though in the second half. Chambers delivered a peach of a cross in from the right and Sanchez got up ahead of his marker to power a header home. The Chilean has been outstanding this season and although this game was against the team bringing up the table in bottom he showed what a class act he was. His trickery and ability to run at players and create chances was incredible and his form in recent weeks has seen us start to gain momentum. Sanchez also helped himself to a second in the dying moments of the game too. Gibbs slid the ball into the box and Alexis took the ball into his stride well before finding the net.

I mentioned that Chambers had a part in the first goal and he had a brilliant game and is beginning to mature into quite a player, credit to Wenger for snapping him up in the summer. Arsenal didn't particularly have much to do at the back but Chambers was solid and offered a constant threat down the right hand side with Oxlade-Chamberlain. This was of course backed up by his assist, but he also got on the score-sheet shortly after Sanchez's first. He managed to poke the ball home for his first senior goal after Welbeck's effort had originally been blocked.

The defence have been much improved in the last couple of games and that's despite not having both Debuchy and Koscielny. Monreal has slotted in at centre half and has coped well in the past two weeks and put in another assured performance against Burnley.

One of the biggest positives from the game was Theo Walcott's return to action after almost 10 months out. He injured his ACL against Spurs in January and he made his return to action with 10 minutes remaining. He didn't show any signs of rustiness and created a few chances and also made one or two for himself. Lukas Podolski came onto the field at the same time as Walcott and showed why he perhaps deserves to play more. He almost helped himself to two goals, one being brilliantly saved from close range and the other cannoning back off the post.

There's reasons to not get ahead of ourselves because we were playing a team that hadn't won all season, but it's great to see some of our players finding form and that as a team, we're finally beginning to build up ahead of steam in the Premier League.

The team's line-ups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Arteta(63), Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain(80), Sanchez, Cazorla, Welbeck(80).
Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Ramsey(63), Rosicky, Walcott(80), Podolski(80), Sanogo. 

Burnley: Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Duff, Ward, Marney(80), Jones, Arfield, Boyd, Ings, Sordell(69).
Subs: Gilks, Mee, Chalobah(80), Wallace, Keane, Kightly, Jutkiewicz(69).

My man of the match: Alexis Sanchez.

Referee: Craig Pawson.
Attendance: 60,012.