Burnley Fan View: Arsenal defeat won't affect us

Burnley fell to a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at home in agonising fashion, after Alexis Sanchez converted a 90th minute penalty to secure three points. To add insult to injury this is the third consecutive game between the sides where the London outfit have secured victory in the dying moments through a controversial decision.

Let’s be clear though – it was a penalty. I have seen stills and slowed videos and while I would say the contact with Aaron Ramsay was not enough to sent him sprawling, Tarkowski did clip his leg. Ramsay was also likely to get a header on target from the ball into the box. I can see why Dyche was frustrated but safe to say had the decision not been given at the other end we would have been outraged.

That does not take much of the shine off a polished performance however. A month or so ago i complained that we couldn’t win at home, but performances had also slipped massively. This was the second week in a row we turned out in style.

Last week Swansea were no match for our slick passing and we handled them like a top 7 team would handle a relegation threatened side. This game followed a similar pattern. We played every bit like a side on the fringes of Europe, and Arsenal won’t have a tougher game all season. We pushed them to the limit.

We started very brightly and frankly we were the dominant force in the first half. Gudmundsson in particular was outstanding, wriggling free and making direct runs at the Arsenal back four. The stats will tell you Arsenal had 55% possession in the first half but that’s because Arsenal were playing passes around the back four.

Our passing was superb. We moved the ball around midfield with confidence and verve. Jack Cork continued his inspuring run of form with some great touches and movements. If the strips were reversed you wouldn’t have thought our squad was in the championship two seasons ago.

Come the second half Arsenal came out fighting but didn’t make much in the way of clear cut opportunities. We held on and started to grind away once more.

With ten minutes left Dyche opted to switch out Defour for Wood, a bold move. As it happened Barnes dropped back so our shape was solid, but it gave us more height up top.

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It was not to be. A late freekick saw Tarkowski tumble forward and clumsily bringing down Ramsey. Sanchez converted the resulting penalty although Pope got a hand to it. It was a really gutting moment for the Burnley fans who had turned out in force and made the ground shake. Arsenal fans deserved nothing after travelling so far to sit on their hands and make no noise at all. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

We should be immensely proud of the performance most of all, it’s just one game and one point lost and if we can play like that for the rest of the season we will be comfortably slotted in the top half. Next up is Bournemouth away on Wednesday and we should be looking to bag another three points on the south coast.