The term ‘free hit’ probably no longer applies to Burnley in the predicament they find themselves in, but a trip to Arsenal was always likely to be difficult.
They started brightly though, and forced the first notable action of the game when Zeki Amdouni drove from deep and unleashed a fierce drive when David Raya palmed away to safety.
Lacking the real cutting edge brought by an out-and-out striker, Arsenal were looking around the team for inspiration.
Bukayo Saka almost provided just that midway through the first half, but his strike was tipped onto the bar by James Trafford.
A golden chance fell to Burnley when Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson pounced upon an Arsenal defensive slip-up, but as he burst through one-on-one with Raya, and his tame effort was easily stopped by the Spaniard.
But as is so often the case for the Clarets, they were undone defensively right on the stroke of HT in basic circumstances.
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s teasing delivery to the far post was kept alive by Saka and Leandro Trossard was on hand to head home.
Some might say Arsenal were rather sub-standard in the opening 45, and that sentiment carried into the second half when the Emirates was stunned into silence as Josh Brownhill’s deflected effort left Raya wrong-footed to find the back of the net.
But yet again the Clarets’ defensive struggles reared their ugly head just minutes later. Trossard’s wicked corner looked to be heading straight for the hands of Trafford, but Saliba nipped in front of him and headed the Gunners back ahead.
Any lingering Arsenal doubts were laid to rest just under 20 minutes from time when yet another Burnley defensive catastrophe resulted in Zinchenko spectacularly volleying home from the edge of the area.
From then on, it was fairly comfortable for Arsenal, despite playing out the last 10 minutes or so a man-light when Fábio Vieira was dismissed for a knee-high challenge on Brownhill.
That proved immaterial in the grand scheme of the result, as Arsenal secured three points that moves them level on points with Manchester City at the PL summit.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
