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[Ratings] Burnley 1-1 Arsenal: Partey stars but woeful Xhaka costs Gunners

By on March 6, 2021

thomas partey arsenal

Arsenal somehow managed to drop two valuable points after being held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley in an eventful game at Turf Moor this afternoon.

We started well and took a deserved lead in the 6th minute when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored past Nick Pope at his near post and Arsenal had the chances to put the game to bed before another shocking individual error gifted Burnley an equaliser.

Instead of clearing his lines, Bernd Leno passed out to Granit Xhaka inside his own box and the Swiss midfielders attempted pass to David Luiz bounced straight off Chris Wood’s hip into the net. It was a woeful error from Xhaka as there was no need to try such a dangerous pass across the face of his own goal.

Arsenal should have had a stonewall penalty in the second half when James Tarkowski handled in the area but the VAR turned it down. A scandalous decision as they’ve been given all season and even the BT pundits and former ref Peter Walton thought it was a pen, so we know it must have been.

We were then awarded a penalty when Nicolas Pepe’s goal bound effort cannoned off Tarkowski onto the bar. The Burnley man was initially sent off but VAR correctly overturned the decision as it hit the defenders shoulder. Still, very unfortunate for Arsenal not to score.

There was more late drama as Dani Ceballos smacked the post in the final seconds following a goal mouth scramble but Arsenal had to settle for a point.

Here are my ratings:

Leno  6/10 | Partially at fault for their goal as he should have cleared his lines. Made a few good saves though.

Chambers  6/10 | Solid enough in defence but offered little going forward.

Luiz  6/10 | Decent game from the Brazilian. Kept the Burnley attack reasonably quiet.

Mari  7/10 | Impressive. Didn’t put a foot wrong and was a calming presence at the back.

Tierney  6.5/10 | Was a constant threat down the left but deliver wasn’t always on point.

Partey  8/10 | A monster in midfield for most of the game. Dominated the match in the first half and played a key role in the Aubameyang goal.

Xhaka  4/10 | No matter how much he plays well for a few games, Xhaka always lets us down in the end with basic errors.

Saka  5/10 | A rare off day from the youngster. Couldn’t have a positive influence on the game and missed a couple of good chances to score.

Odegaard  6/10 | A few nice touches and link-up play. Also hit the target with a decent strike.

Willian  6/10 | Got the assist for Auba’s goal and was OK for much of the game before being taken off.

Aubameyang  7/10 | Another well-taken goal but missed a good chance to make it 2-0 and was pretty quiet in the second half.

Subs:

Lacazette   5/10 | Didn’t make much impact.

Pepe   5/10 | Missed a sitter to win it for Arsenal.

Ceballos   5/10 | Smacked the post in the final minute.

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