Arsenal moved level on points with Chelsea after they defeated Burnley 3-1 with a dominant performance.
Walcott grabs crucial goal in 3-1 win
Arsenal moved level on points with Chelsea after they produced a convincing 3-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates.
The hosts enjoyed almost complete dominance in the first half but had to wait until the 34th minute to take the lead.
Midfield duo Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas linked up when the former dinked a ball over the Clarets back-line and the latter slotted the ball into the net.
The Gunners continued to have the upper hand after the break but were pegged back against the run of play when David Nugent stole in behind the defence and lobbed the ball over Manuel Almunia.
But Arsenal provided the perfect response when Theo Walcott cut in from the right and rifled the ball home with his left foot.
The margin of victory could have been far greater but Nicklas Bendtner spurned several gilt-edged chances before being substituted, with Andrey Arshavin then scoring a late third.
Ramsey tribute
The events of last weekend at Stoke were still on the minds of Arsenal fans as a large banner was also displayed in support of the Wales international while the players wore 'Get Well Soon Aaron' T-shirts during the warm-up.
Arsenal started brightly, with a last-gasp tackle from Tyrone Mears denying Bendtner in the six-yard box before Tomas Rosicky fired a 20-yard effort over.
Walcott - who came in for some criticism after his midweek outing for England - looked lively down the right, but lacked a decent final delivery.
On 13 minutes, Emmanuel Eboue and Fabregas played a neat one-two which released the Arsenal captain into the penalty area, but his low shot fizzed wide.
Danny Fox relieved the pressure when he fired in a 25-yard effort, but Almunia collected it comfortably.
Arsenal appealed for a penalty when Walcott went down under a shoulder charge from Mears, but referee Chris Foy was not interested.
The one-way traffic continued until Arsenal took the lead through a superbly-crafted effort.
Chances
Nasri made space for himself on the edge of the Burnley box, before chipping the ball over the defence.
It had the perfect weight for Fabregas to get ahead of Alexander and place the ball through Brian Jensen's legs for his 17th goal of the season.
Bendtner then fired wide when sliding into the six-yard box as the Gunners looked for a quick-fire second.
Fabregas, who had not been running freely for some time, was then replaced by Abou Diaby after he aggravated a hamstring problem.
After half-time, Walcott whipped over a fine cross from the right, which Bendtner somehow glanced wide from six yards out.
The Dane's miserable afternoon continued as he then blazed over after Walcott had cut the ball back from the goal-line following Gael Clichy's deep centre.
Walcott then had a go himself after being released by Nasri, but his angled 20-yard drive flew just over.
Equaliser
And on 50 minutes, Arsenal were made to pay for their wasteful finishing when Leon Cort's header caught the defence off-guard and Nugent lifted the ball beyond Almunia.
Arsenal suddenly had more urgency, but were now faced with a determined Clarets rearguard.
Walcott was away again down the right, and his shot was parried behind by Jensen before the England forward finally found the net on the hour after cutting inside and stroking a low, left-foot effort inside the far post.
Arshavin came on for Rosicky as Arsenal looked to up the tempo. However the Russian, blazed over after more industrious work from Walcott.
Bendtner once more stroked the ball wide from six yards out when it looked a certain goal after Walcott's low centre.
The hapless Dane's afternoon was eventually ended when he was replaced by Eduardo with 17 minutes left.
Burnley continued to look for an equaliser, and substitute Steven Thompson fired over after Almunia had fluffed his catch from a corner.
Arsenal finished strongly, though, as Jensen pushed Walcott's curling effort behind before Arshavin stroked in a third during stoppage-time.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Burnley |
| 3 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 8 |
Corners |
2 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 83.1 |
Passing Success |
68 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 70 |
Tackles Success |
68.4 |
| 65.7 |
Possession |
34.3 |
| 51.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.2 |
|
