Eighth minute of injury time decides second place for Arsenal

Playing with one less player and then equalizing in injury time, Alexis Sanchez and his teammates still won 2-1 against Burnley in the match of round 22 of the English Premier League.

Arsenal won a match that will be talked about for a long time. Photo: Reuters.

Goal:Mustafi 59', Sanchez 90'+8 penalty -Gray 90'+3 penalty

Arsenal and Burnley produced one of the most emotional matches of the season, especially the ending. In the eight minutes of added time, there were two goals scored from the penalty spot, the first being Andre Gray's equaliser for Burnley, afterFrancis Coquelin fouledAshley Barnes in the penalty area. It seemed like they had to accept a draw, but surprisingly, Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the last seconds. In an attempt to block a corner kick,Ben Mee got high and grazed Laurent Koscielny's face as he attempted a close-range header. From the penalty spot, Alexis Sanchez coolly slotted the ball into the centre of the goal.

Earlier, Shkodran Mustafi opened the scoring, but another Arsenal new signing this season, Granit Xhaka, put the home team in a miserable situation with an undeserved red card midway through the second half.

This victory helped Arsenal climb to second place with 47 points after 22 rounds, one point more than third-placed Tottenham and five points less than Chelsea - the team playing the latest match of this round against Hull City.

Mustafi headed the opening goal for Arsenal.

A day after witnessing Liverpool and Tottenham or thewhiteor have to share points, Arsenal understand that the match at Emirates Stadium this round is a great opportunity for them to narrow the gap with the top team Chelsea. Burnley is inherently not a very difficult opponent for coach Arsene Wenger and his team. In five clashes in the Premier League, Arsenal drew one and won the last four matches. In the last three confrontations, Burnley did not even score a goal. This team also has a very bad away record recently, when they lost all five matches and furthermore, only earned one point in nine away matches this season.

The way Wenger arranged his players also showed that his goal for this match was three points, when Olivier Giroud entered the field from the start with the support of the trio Sanchez - Mesut Ozil - Alex Iwobi. Playing in the center were two midfielders with good attacking ability, Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey. And in fact, Arsenal dominated the game for most of the match. At times, they had possession of the ball up to 80%.

However, that did not mean the home team could play leisurely. Burnley had a bold approach to the match, attacking from the start and causing Arsenal's defense many difficulties.

Within three minutes, from 12 to 15,Barnes twice shot, forcing Petr Cech to push the ball away. In the 27th minute, Gray fired a powerful shot straight atthe home team's goalkeeper. And in the 44th minute, Arsenal fans couldn't help but gasp when they saw Cech lying on the ground holding his head after rushing out to block Gray. The away team's striker's leg hit Cech's head - who many years ago suffered a serious skull injury and has had to wear a helmet when playing since then. After being treated, Cech returned to continue playing.

Burnley made Arsenal sweat.

On the attacking front, the flexibility and class of Sanchez and Ozil also helped Arsenal have many opportunities. However, most of the final shots were not sharp enough to penetrate Burnley's net. In the 14th and 15th minutes, after a left-footed shot forced Tom Heaton to dive to save, Ozil twice took a corner kick for Iwobi to finish and then Koscielny headed right at the goalkeeper's position. Before the end of the first half, Sanchez had a clever dribble and then carefully curled the ball just wide of the post.

When the attack could not create a breakthrough, a central defender scored to help Arsenal take the lead. In the corner kick phase in the 59th minute, Mustafi jumped higher than everyone else, headed the ball into the far corner from Ozil's cross.

However, when holding all the advantages, Arsenal suddenly found themselves short of a man in the 65th minute. Xhaka lost the ball in the middle of the field and then launched himself at the opponent with both feet, leading to a straight red card from referee Jon Moss. This is the second time the Swiss midfielder has had to leave the field in the Premier League this season.

Despite his scholarly appearance, Xhaka has a very fierce playing style, and is currently the player with the most sent offs in Europe's top five leagues.

From there, Arsenal lost the game, although two of the three substitutions Wenger made were to bolster his defence: defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin and right-back Hector Bellerin. It was Coquelin who made the mistake in the third minute of stoppage time that led to Burnley's equaliser. Wenger reacted so strongly that he was sent off by referee Moss. Before going into the tunnel, the Frenchman even argued with the fourth official.

But that was not the dramatic climax. With only seconds left in stoppage time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty, and Sanchez calmly converted to keep the three points for his team.

According to VNE