Arsenal

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Burnley and Arsenal at Turf Moor.

Here are some of your replies:

Burnley fans

Tad: Arsenal obviously have more expensive players and can pay higher wages, but they were also quicker to close down our players, quicker to second balls and hunted better in packs. Burnley have some good players but they need to put in more fast yards if they want to survive in the Premier League.

Graham: We're not overawed or out of place at this level! The better team won but Burnley almost scored against Arsenal. Tactically we showed too much respect in the early stages. It was later in the match that we changed, showing more aggression up front and causing some problems for the opposition. Another encouraging performance against a top team.

Fraser: Burnley looked far more fluid and capable after a multitude of substitutions in the second half, particularly after Hannibal's introduction. You can understand Scott Parker's attempt to nullify Arsenal somewhat with his starting XI. We move on.

Kathy: I was at the match and saw Burnley play far better than has generally been reported. This is a classic case of 'have a big name, automatically get the lion's share of the attention'. This kind of journalism is not in the true spirit of football, for fans or players.

Arsenal fans

Jordan: Arsenal were composed and in control. William Saliba and Gabriel dominated defensively, while the team's structure nullified Burnley's attack. In possession, Arsenal were patient and precise. Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice set the tempo, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard stretching the play and creating chances. Viktor Gyokeres put in a good shift up front with his goal. It was a mature and assured performance that showed balance and confidence to go on and win the league.

Steve: Arsenal are a machine this season! They just work so hard for each other and you can see they do not want to concede a goal ever. The work rate is first class and so professional. Keep it up.

Barry: Just awesome. Composed and comfortable, we've got a great gearbox these days. Gyokeres is a cracking centre-forward - he leads the line brilliantly.

Joe: A good win, however playing for an hour after the second goal without scoring is, to my mind, poor. If goal difference is to be the deciding factor at the end of the season, then we need as many goals as we can score. It's no good just defending a scoreline when we're on a roll.

Arsenal and Barcelona are tracking France Under-16s captain Lacine Megnan-Pave after the 15-year-old registered 15 goals and 12 assists in 24 games for Montpellier Under-17s. (Sport - in Spanish), external

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In total, 12 of Arsenal's 18 league goals this season have come from dead-ball situations - more than any other side in the top flight and the highest ratio by any team in a single Premier League season.

"I can't see a weakness," former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.

"They've scored again from a set-piece but there's been so much more than that in the performance. I like the way they're using [Riccardo] Calafiori and [Jurrien] Timber in advanced positions to create overloads and win set-piece opportunities."

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said: "When I first started doing punditry in 2021, Arsenal's biggest failing was they are a bit soft-centered, you could almost bully them.

"Now you look at the way they can play. If it needs to be a fight, it will be a fight. If it needs to be a footballing game it can be a footballing game.

"People don't want to be classed as favourites for anything at this part of the season. There is a lot of pressure that comes with that. For the Arsenal side, three years in a row they have finished second, why not have the belief they can finish first?"

Pundits Alan Shearer and Ashley Williams join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

• Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United

• Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Title challenges are often built on a strong defence and this game highlighted just how good Arsenal are in that area.

Burnley had scored five goals in the two games before the visit of Arsenal but they struggled to lay a glove on their opponents for much of this game.

Arsenal have not conceded a goal in any competition since 28 September - a run of seven consecutive clean sheets - and it is concerning for their rivals just how untroubled they look at the back in games.

But Arsenal are not just looking strong in defence, they are also the most dangerous side from set-pieces in the Premier League, with their opener at Burnley being the 12th goal they have scored this season from a dead-ball situation.

It is still early days but, with their rivals faltering, Mikel Arteta's side are showing they have the attributes to mount a serious challenge for a first Premier League title since 2004.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the win: "The first half was exceptional, we scored two goals and gave nothing away, so that was the platform. We had to make a few changes and didn't have that much control in the second half. Our defending was exceptional again, we didn't give anything away.

"There is a reason they have lost one game [at home] in 18 months, and that was against Liverpool in the last second of the game."

On Viktor Gyokeres coming off: "The first half was one of the best he has played for us. He felt something muscular so we'll have to wait to learn the extent of that."

On Declan Rice's goal: "He stepped up. I don't know how many balls and tackles he won in total. It is the evolution of a player."

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice also spoke to Premier League Productions about the performance: "They have maybe lost [at home] once in like 18 months. We knew it was going to be tough, so we had to stick to our principles. Our quality shone through and we could've scored four or five goals in the first half.

"It is important that we keep scoring goals. Two goals is perfect for us. If you look at my goal as a whole, we were defending a long throw-in from our own half, big Gabby [Gabriel] wins the ball and I keep running with it. I was like a traditional number nine!"

On pointing to the sky during his celebration: "My auntie passed away before the Fulham game. I loved her to death. She travelled everywhere to watch me with my mum. I know she is watching down, so that was for her today."

Did you know?

• Arsenal have won seven consecutive games without conceding in all competitions for just the second time in the club's history, previously doing so between September and October 1987 (also a run of seven games).

• Mikel Arteta's side have scored eight goals from corners in the Premier League this season, the most-ever by a team in their first 10 games of a campaign.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Burnley's performance

What did you make of Arsenal's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Burnley boss Scott Parker had named an unchanged side for the Clarets' last two games, but makes one change today as Josh Laurent starts.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Walker, Laurent, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman, Florentino, Cullen, Ugochukwu, Anthony, Flemming

Arsenal make 10 changes from their League Cup win against Brighton in midweek, with Eberechi Eze the only player to retain his place in the starting XI.

William Saliba starts after missing the Seagulls game, while there is also a start for Leandro Trossard.

Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Calafiori, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres

Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, White, Hincapie, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brighton v Leeds

• Burnley v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Crystal Palace v Brentford

• Fulham v Wolves

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Liverpool v Aston Villa (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burnley v Arsenal" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Tottenham v Chelsea", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Arsenal know how to win games in so many different ways, and that puts them in an unbelievably strong position.

They have got flair players, but also have this amazing record of scoring from set-pieces and are strong defensively too.

We talk about machines when I go up against AI or a computer game at predictions but, let's face it, Arsenal are a machine at the moment and no-one is stopping them.

There have been prettier Gunners teams than this, but they are just so effective and they don't concede.

That's why we might see a fair few results where it is "1-0 to the Arsenal" - as their old song under George Graham in the 1990s used to go - but when they hit the straps there will still be games where they take teams apart.

Like the other promoted teams, Burnley have been really competitive and ran Liverpool and Manchester City close earlier in the season, despite losing on both occasions.

The Clarets' late win at Wolves last week was a massive result for them and it really takes the pressure off them here.

You don't get many free hits in the Premier League but this is one of them - Burnley are probably not going to get anything out of this game, but it doesn't matter too much.

I am expecting Scott Parker's side to be robust, keep it close, and stay in the game, which is a sign of where they are at... but Arsenal will still win - and you can probably guess what score I am going for.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

League leaders Arsenal continue their title challenge against a Burnley side who have won back-to-back matches in the Premier League for the first time in two-and-a-half years.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of Saturday's clash at Turf Moor.

Set-piece superiority

Free-kicks, long throws and corners are in vogue to such an extent that Arsenal currently top the table by four points despite having scored only five of their 16 Premier League goals from open play.

A record 19% of all Premier League goals this season have been scored from corners (45 of 241), the highest share in the competition's history.

Arsenal have been at the forefront of the shift in emphasis under manager Mikel Arteta, scoring an unrivalled nine set-piece goals (excluding penalties) this season.

The Gunners, who recruited set-piece coach Nicolas Jover four years ago, are particularly threatening from corners, scoring 37 goals from such situations since the start of 2023-24 - at least 11 more than any other side in Europe's big five leagues.

Arteta says improvements in coaching, tactical set-ups and the conditioning of players mean open-play goals are harder to come by.

Following last Sunday's 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium in which Eberechi Eze scored from a set-piece, Arteta said: "We are noticing a shift. The moment the physicality increases, methods that are implemented are more efficient and the game is more difficult to play because you can constrain spaces, because physically you are better.

"You have to find ways to score in different ways and that's what I think everybody's trying to do."

Burnley's back-to-back wins

Burnley's success so far this season, which has seen the Clarets record 10 points from their opening nine matches, has been dependent on other means.

Scott Parker's side have scored just once from a corner this season but instead they have been highly effective at taking their big chances (as defined by Opta) - particularly from open play.

The Clarets big chance conversion is the highest of any side (80%), helping them to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time in two-and-a-half years following their victory at Molineux last weekend – their first away triumph in the top flight since April 2024.

While Parker said he was "ecstatic" at defeating Wolves via Lyle Foster's 95th-minute winner, Burnley's survival may well depend on continuing to take a high proportion of the chances they are able to create.

According to Opta's expected points model, Burnley would be bottom of the table.

However, emulating such execution against the likes of Arsenal may prove to be a tall order.

Burnley have never won a Premier League match against a side starting the day top of the table in 12 attempts (D5, L7), last doing so in the top flight 50 years ago courtesy of a 1-0 win against QPR.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Burnley at Turf Moor (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Arteta confirmed Saturday's game will likely come "too early" for Gabriel Martinelli while he will "have to wait and see" whether William Saliba will be fit.

• On the time frame of return for Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke: "I would say weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully, if they keep evolving the way they are doing. Difficult to put a game - we have an international break, and after that, I think we'll have some back. I don't know if it's going to be all of them, some of them, but we'll be quite close by then."

• He added he is confident Odegaard, Havertz and Madueke will be available to face Tottenham after the international break.

• On the quality of the league, with all three promoted teams - including Burnley - currently outside the relegation zone: "More than ever the level is increasing year after year. Better structure, better organisation, decision-making from clubs. Better managers, better players and when I look against big teams where they have won points or lost points it's from very small margins."

• Discussing fixture congestion and comments previously made by Manchester City's Rodri around the potential of a player strike, Arteta said: "Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things; players' welfare, and then supporters, and that is it, and the rest has to come very, very far away from that. And we should never forget that principle. If we have that big piece of paper with those two principles there in front before we make any decision, all of us in our industry, we won't get there. If we don't and we just ignore that, then anything is possible. If we look after the players' welfare and our supporters, we are never going to get to that point (strikes). We have to close the window there. We cannot open that window. It has to be closed. It's our most precious value."

• On being favourites to win the league: "It's a big opportunity that we have ahead of us but we have to continue with this level of consistency. Tomorrow will be an extremely tough match for us and we will have to hit those performance levels again to win the game."

• Arteta urged his side to "maintain the level of urgency", adding: "The concentration, the focus and the ambition we are showing in every game. Every game brings different challenges. Sometimes we have to be very patient, some of the times we have to have a different approach."

• Offering more on the fine margins of trying to win a title, Arteta said: "A lot of factors have to go your way. You can do a lot of great things and still a lot of things have to go your way. Personal lives have to be perfect. There is so many things and there is still so long. We have seen already the turnaround in the league and the Champions League is the same. We are in a very specific context at the moment, so let's focus day by day."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to full live commentary of Burnley v Arsenal on Saturday from 15:00 on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra 2 and BBC Sounds

Alex Howell
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The debate around when Arsenal and Crystal Palace will play their Carabao Cup quarter-final match is continuing.

The Eagles are currently facing a severe fixture pile-up with the prospect of four matches in eight days after reaching the last eight of the competition.

Oliver Glasner's side won 3-0 at Liverpool on Wednesday night and have been drawn away to Arsenal in the week beginning 15 December.

Palace are set to host Manchester City in the Premier League on 14 December, play KuPS at Selhurst Park in the Conference League on 18 December and travel to Leeds United in the Premier League on 21 December.

BBC Sport has been told by sources that the dates under discussion are 16 and 23 December, with Christmas Eve also an option.

It is understood that Arsenal's preference is to play the tie on 16 December.

The festive schedule is already extremely busy and representatives of both clubs will be aware of how crucial the recovery period is between games.

Image source, PA Media

Arsenal are Premier League leaders, have a 100% winning record in the Champions League and are through to the last eight of the Carabao Cup - but winger Bukayo Saka has said there is still lots more work to do until the Gunners can think about ending their lengthy wait for a major trophy.

Saka was an unused substitute when Arsenal won the 2020 FA Cup final for their most recent piece of major silverware.

Mikel Arteta's side have a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League after nine games and, with other expected contenders such as Liverpool and Manchester City faltering early in the campaign, are considered by many to be title favourites.

However, asked whether this season feels different to others previously when Arsenal narrowly missed out on a trophy, England international Saka told Football Focus: "It's still early.

"I think when I turn my TV on - obviously I got injured early in the season - it was maybe the third game and people were already talking about titles.

"We're still only in October. We just have to keep working, keep winning games, keep building momentum and see where it leaves us towards the back end of the season."

Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze were among the players brought in to try to get Arsenal over the line in 2025-26.

Saka said of all of the Gunners' summer arrivals: "They've added so much quality to the team.

"We feel it, if one player gets injured, quickly he can be replaced, we can keep the quality high and that's going to help us, especially in the back end of the season.

"When the fixtures are piling up and players are starting to fatigue, just keeping that freshness around the group is so important."

Watch Saka on Football Focus here on Saturday

This - it seems - is the season of the set piece.

The Premier League debates are more about dead balls than ever before, with some sides enjoying immense success from corner kicks, throw ins or well-worked free-kicks.

What fine timing then for BBC Sport to launch a column with former manager Tony Pulis, a man who seemed to finely extract the fine margins from the game.

You can take in Tony's column on set pieces here

Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are in the running to sign 22-year-old Cameroon and Levante forward Karl Etta Eyong, who wants to resolve his future in January, with Barcelona and Real Madrid also interested. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external

Chelsea have emerged as favourites to sign 20-year-old Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, after tabling an exciting proposal for the Turkey international, but Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool are keen as well. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

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