Ozil 4/10, Lacazette 3/10 as Arsenal toil in draw at Burnley

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Arsenal came into this game off the back of three consecutive draws in the Premier League, and there was little change here, as they added a 0-0 against Burnley to that.

Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made a mess of their chances in the first quarter of an hour, which turned out to be the best they would have in the entire game. Arsenal came very close to losing that point in the 78th minute, when Jay Rodriguez‘s effort from inside the box struck the bar and just about stayed out.

The result leaves Arsenal 10th in the league, level on points with Burnley, Newcastle United and Southampton.

Positives

Dominated the ball for large parts of the first half, which will have been pleasing for Mikel Arteta. More importantly, especially against this opposition, Arsenal often looked confident and assured defensively throughout the entire 90 minutes, dealing with Burnley’s aerial threat well.

Negatives

Arsenal missed some brilliant chances, notably Lacazette’s header and Aubameyang’s wild shot when he was played in behind by David Luiz. They also allowed Burnley to get on top during the first half’s latter stages and start of the second, and even though they stood firm, there was clear difficulty in regaining their hold on the game. The Gunners’ attackers offered very little when the team was under pressure.

Manager rating out of 10

5 — Arteta’s call to play Shkodran Mustafi was a good one, as the German was solid throughout, while he also dealt with Bukayo Saka‘s injury well. However, Arsenal’s attack looked toothless and he did very little to address that through substitutes. His decision to switch Gabriel Martinelli and Aubameyang made next to no impact — should have replaced Lacazette far sooner than he did.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Bernd Leno, 7 — Looked assured in his shot-stopping and when he had the ball at his feet, playing his part in the clean sheet.

DF Hector Bellerin, 8 — Was solid defensively, dealing with Dwight McNeil well and showing real quality with his tackles.

DF Shkodran Mustafi, 8 — He was a surprise inclusion, but Mustafi looked confident in his defending throughout. Dealt with Chris Wood‘s threat very well.

DF David Luiz, 7 — He was booed by Burnley fans throughout, but there are very few criticisms they could have of Luiz’s performance. His distribution of the ball was great and he defended well, though he did get away with losing Rodriguez when his effort hit the bar.

DF Bukayo Saka, 6 — Had a very bright start, putting some superb crosses into the box. However, he was struggling with an injury for quite some time, which seemed to limit his game before he was substituted at half-time.

Mesut Ozil endured a miserable afternoon on his 250th appearance for Arsenal.

MF Matteo Guendouzi, 4 — Gave the ball away cheaply and looked naïve in his passing at times, but carried on commanding it.

MF Granit Xhaka, 6 — A lot of his passing early on was sloppy with very little conviction, but he grew into the game. Moved to left-back for the second-half and picked up a yellow card for a clumsy tackle on Matthew Lowton, though he did give a good account of himself.

MF Gabriel Martinelli, 5 — Looked full of energy, but didn’t carry much of a threat, struggling to get at the Burnley defence and make any real impact on the game.

MF Mesut Ozil, 4 — This was his 250th Arsenal appearance, but Ozil didn’t seem to enjoy it. The Gunners’ defence and holding midfielders really needed him to offer better options than he gave throughout. Let his frustration get the better of him and picked up a stupid yellow card shortly before half time. Was eventually taken off in the 63rd minute.

MF Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 6 — Had a great chance early on but hit a shocking shot, made some intelligent runs, but was unable to make the most of them.

FW Alexandre Lacazette, 3 — Missed a brilliant chance after less than two minutes and things didn’t really pick up from there, as he made various sloppy touches and passes. The Frenchman offered pretty much nothing all game, and should have been taken off far sooner than the 89th minute, when he was replaced by Eddie Nketiah.