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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: 5 talking points as Mikel Arteta's squad issues on full display

Arsenal's hopes of Champions League qualification were damaged after taking on Burnley at the Emirates.

The Gunners were held to a 0-0 draw by the Clarets in a clash that saw the attacking impotency on full display.

The first half passed by with very little to report as neither side managed to create any real meaningful chances or enjoy a period of sustained pressure.

The majority of the second half was much of the same, though Arsenal clearly upped the ante as they became more desperate for a goal.

The bets chance of the game fell to the right-foot of Alexandre Lacazette, but the Frenchman could only flick his effort wide of what was a gaping goal.

It is most likely moments like that that have sparked Arsenal's search for attacking reinforcements.

Mirror Football has analysed the talking points from a hard fought affair in north London.

The Clarets physical approach

Ashley Westwood was fortunate not to see red after this stamp on Kieran Tierney (Sky Sports)

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At times, Arsenal have previously been accused of play-acting by Burnley boss Sean Dyche and have been guilty of going down too easy by the Clarets manager.

However, the tables were firmly turned at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon in a contest that saw a number of bone-crunching tackles made by Burnley throughout the clash.

Ashley Westwood can consider himself fortunate to have remained on the pitch after he appeared to stamp on Gunners full-back Kieran Tierney in a challenge that came long after the Scotland international had released the ball.

The defensive midfielder could have received his marching orders for that, but David Coote deemed a yellow card sufficient.

The official kept his cards in his pocket when Westwood seemingly elbowed Gabriel Magalhaes just minutes later.

Josh Brownhill was also cautioned after thwarting an Arsenal counter-attack by tripping Emile Smith Rowe from behind.

Arsenal’s lack of depth

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta named a very young bench ((Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images))

If ever the Arsenal hierarchy needed a sign to prove further additions are needed before the transfer window’s close, it was the amount of inexperienced teenagers on Arsenal ’s bench.

Of the nine players named on the home bench, five of them had not played a single minute of Premier League football.

Undeniably more damning is the fact that four of them had yet to actually play any form of senior football for the Gunners full-stop.

As a collective, all nine players have played less than 2000 minutes of Premier League football this term with all four of Anass Salah-Eddine, Omari Hutchinson, Mika Biereth and Ryan Alebiosu boasting zero league minutes.

The clock reached the 75th minute before any substitution occurred, though it was not any of the teenagers that were introduced.

Eddie Nketiah came on for Emile Smith Rowe in a bid to bolster a misfiring attack.

Ben White forced wide

Ben White, pictured with Burnley's Dwight McNeil, was deployed at right-back for Arsenal ((Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images))

Takehiro Tomiyasu played like a man who had been prematurely rushed back from an injury during Thursday night’s home defeat by Liverpool and has aggravated a calf injury as a result.

The Japan international has been one of the brightest shining lights for the Gunners this season and Ben White was forced to deputise for the crocked right-back as a result.

Though White is a central-defender by trade, he has sufficient experience when it comes to operating as a right-back from his days at Brighton & Hove Albion.

The £50m man was tasked with facing a familiar foe to the Arsenal faithful in the form of Aaron Lennon, one of just two players still plying their trade in the Premier League old enough to have played at Highbury – Cristiano Ronaldo the other.

White fared well for the most part, rarely troubled the Clarets attack and was more reliable than his teammate on the opposite flank in Tierney.

Aaron Ramsdale’s jitters

Aaron Ramsdale displayed some nerves against Burnley ((Photo by MB Media/Getty Images))

The former Sheffield United stop-stopper has been such a positive for Arsenal this term he made Jamie Carragher’s half-team of the season last month.

World class saves against Leicester City and Newcastle will live long in the memory of all who witnessed, but the 23-yeear-old may just be entering the worst form of his very short Arsenal career.

Ramsdale was very fortunate early on in the first-half after his attempt to punch a corner clear backfired and struck defender and teammate Rob Holding rather than one of the Burnley players who were on the prowl.

Famed for his world-class distribution, Ramsdale’s passing remains accurate but at times slow and unnecessary.

His passes found their intended target but came a few seconds too late and by that time the attack had lost momentum.

It was a similar story in the recent clashes with Liverpool, where Ramsdale looked particularly shaky when dealing with crosses.

Burnley's survival prospects

Sean Dyche will have taken positives from the clash at the Emirates ((Photo by MB Media/Getty Images))

The Clarets arrived in north London bottom of the Premier League table, though they still have a mountain of fixtures to work though due to the amount that have been postponed in recent weeks.

Five points from safety before kick-off, Burnley are desperate to start getting points on the board regardless of the number of games in hand they have over those around them and that gap has since been reduced by one.

Dyche has done an incredible job to keep the club competing in the manner they have over the years given their budget and will have quite the task on his hands yet again this term.

However, if they display the kind of resilience and defensive grit they did on Sunday against Arsenal, there is every chance they will fare just fine.

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