ARSENAL were held to a 1-1 draw after a Granit Xhaka gaffe and VAR drama at Burnley.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sauntered towards goal to fire the Gunners into an early lead at Turf Moor, before Bukayo Saka missed a golden chance to double their advantage.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beat Nick Pope with a low drive to open the scoringCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
A comedy error from Xhaka levelled the scores as the Arsenal man fired his pass into Chris Wood, which bounced straight into the net.
And the Gunners were denied a penalty for handball by Erik Pieters before seeing VAR overturn another one in late drama.
Here, SunSport’s Marc Mayo delivers his individual ratings from Saturday’s match.
Bernd Leno – 6
Must take some blame for the equaliser, having sold Xhaka down the river instead of launching the ball clear. Produced a pair of key saves late on.
Calum Chambers – 6
In his first league appearance for the club in 15 months, the right-back put in a perfectly steady performance at both ends of the pitch.
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Calum Chambers’ return was a welcome sight for Arsenal fansCredit: AP:Associated Press
David Luiz – 7
Marginally the better of the two centre-backs, using his experience and not overcommitting as he has previously been guilty of.
Pablo Mari – 6
A touch of worry over the Spaniard with the ball at his feet and in the air, but overall solid enough.
Kieran Tierney – 7
Provided a vital outlet in attack but Burnley’s wingers are among the best at tracking back in the league, making for a good battle down the left wing.
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Kieran Tierney put in another good attacking display for ArsenalCredit: AP:Associated Press
Granit Xhaka – 4
There was a sense that Arsenal were overplaying it at the back but no one could have seen the mad equaliser scored off Wood from Xhaka’s bonkers pass across the face of his own goal… least of all Xhaka himself!
Thomas Partey – 6
Perhaps the sort of game Arsenal envisaged Partey dominating yet he did not particularly stand out in any of his battles.
Bukayo Saka – 5
Left his shooting boots in London and a number of failed openings, including a huge miss at 1-0, meant he couldn’t mark his 50th league appearance with a goal in an otherwise sound display.
It was not Bukayo Saka’s day in front of goalCredit: EPA
Martin Odegaard – 6
The Norwegian wanted the ball and was perfectly sparky, but lacked the killer ball or finish to make it a 7/10 performance. Subbed on the hour mark as the only viable straight-swap option for Lacazette.
Willian – 5
Without an assist since November, Willian now has two in two games and perhaps a strong end to the season will mean all is forgiven with the Emirates faithful? Alas, having set up the early opener, he produced little else and was taken off.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7
Yes, Burnley’s defending provided a simple route to goal for Aubameyang but it is no coincidence that, since being returned to the central striker’s role, he has six goals in his last five starts. The Clarets got a better grip on him from then on but he remained a constant threat.
Subs
Alexandre Lacazette – 6
Top marks for producing the yelp of the match after being caught by Erik Pieters. Produced some nice link-up play when dropping into the hole.
Nicolas Pepe – 5
Had two chances to win the game, yet failed to make a true connection with the shot laid on a plate by Tierney and saw a better finish deflected onto the bar by Pieters’ shoulder.
Dani Ceballos – 6
Played only ten minutes after replacing Partey, whacking the post with the last attack of the match.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
