Arsenal vs Burnley. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance59,955.
Monday 23 January 2017 06:16, UK
Alexis Sanchez's 98th-minute Panenka penalty rescued 10-man Arsenal's title charge as the Gunners moved up to second with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Burnley.
In a thrilling finale at the Emirates Stadium, the Chilean struck five minutes after Andre Gray's injury-time penalty moved the Clarets to within touching distance of only their second away point of the season.
Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands for his protests to Burnley's equaliser, but, with seconds remaining, referee Jon Moss penalised Ben Mee's high boot on Laurent Koscielny - who was offside in the build-up - handing Sanchez the chance to restore their lead.
Arsenal went ahead on 59 minutes through Shkodran Mustafi's first goal for the club, but Granit Xhaka's 65th-minute dismissal, for a lunge on Steven Defour, opened the game up for the Clarets.
But the Gunners produced another stirring comeback to seal a fourth victory in their last five league outings that sees them leapfrog north London rivals Tottenham into second, and move to within five points of leaders Chelsea.
Burnley, whose wretched record on the road continued, drop a place to 13th.
Wenger and Sean Dyche named unchanged sides after their impressive victories over Swansea and Southampton respectively.
Burnley started positively with a high press, preventing Arsenal from settling into their fluid passing game.
However, the brilliance of Mesut Ozil and Sanchez almost laid on the opener for Olivier Giroud, Stephen Ward's last-gasp block preventing the Frenchman's glancing header on seven minutes.
Burnley hit back on the counter in the 13th minute, with Ashley Barnes' near-post drive forcing Petr Cech into action.
A minute later, Burnley captain Tom Heaton - unsighted by Giroud - produced a fine save to tip Ozil's curling effort behind.
And that chance seemed to kick Arsenal into gear as Alex Iwobi's deflected effort fizzed wide and Laurent Koscielny headed straight at Heaton from the resulting corner, although Burnley still posed a threat, Barnes' rasping drive calling Cech into a sprawling save on 16 minutes.
It would take the hosts until the 41st minute to register another substantial attempt, Sanchez drawing Heaton into a decent save before the Chilean flashed a great chance wide.
The hosts dominated the start of the second half, Aaron Ramsey first seeing a volley blocked by Giroud before firing a scorpion kick fractionally over.
Sanchez sent a rasping drive inches over on 50 minutes before Gray's barge on Mustafi in the area went unpunished six minutes later.
But Mustafi sought his own retribution, glancing an Ozil corner beyond Heaton as Burnley's resolve was finally broken.
Any momentum gained from scoring was lost when Xhaka, having lunged in on Defour, was shown the second red card of his fledgling Arsenal career.
Arsenal looked to have seen out a gritty victory until referee Moss pointed to the spot after Coquelin's foul on Barnes, boyhood Gunners fan Gray converting from 12 yards despite Cech getting a hand to the ball.
But there was more drama to follow. With Wenger already back in the changing rooms, Moss deemed Mee's kick on Koscielny illegal and Sanchez was left to produce the heroics and keep Arsenal's title aspirations alive.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Cech (7), Gabriel (6), Mustafi (8), Koscielny (7), Monreal (6), Ramsey (6), Xhaka (4), Iwobi (6), Ozil (6), Sanchez (8), Giroud (6).
Used subs: Welbeck (4), Bellerin (n/a), Coquelin (5).
Burnley: Heaton (7), Lowton (7), Keane (7), Mee (6), Ward (7), Boyd (7), Marney (7), Hendrick (6), Defour (6), Gray (7), Barnes (7).
Used subs: Vokes (4), Barton (4), Tarkowski (4).
Man of the Match: Shkodran Mustafi
