All the noses are still pointing in the right direction
A 1-0 win for the Clarets at Arsenal and home boss Mikel Arteta believed it was the red card shown to Granit Xhaka that cost them the game.
He’s having a difficult time there just now and they sit only four points ahead of us and he said after the game: “It’s another really disappointing defeat because of the way we performed, the way we completely dominated the game, the chances we generated. They had zero shots on target but instead we lose the game.
“Burnley made us pay. It’s our mistake. In the Premier League you have to win the game. It’s not a question, it’s not a doubt. You have to go and win the game. That’s it.”
He did admit that Xhaka deserved the card. “He’s made a mistake, clearly,” he said. “The way the game was going, the dominance that we had. It was a game we had to win and with ten men it makes it much more difficult. You give the opponent a chance and you end up losing.
Yes, but honestly, I think it was unacceptable to do that action and the players are in the moment that they are so willing to do more and fight more and show how committed they are, to be alive in the game, that on this occasion Granit has overstepped the line. It’s another action with Mo that I haven’t seen, but it looks similar. We cannot make those mistakes because they’re the wrong approach to what we are trying to do.”
Sean Dyche finally got his first win against the Gunners and he was delighted with our second Premier League win of the season.
“There is a bit of noise about Arsenal at the minute, and when you come to these places, the first thing you want to do is make it awkward for them,” he said. “You want to make the game as different as possible, and not try and out-possession these teams, because that’s just not going to work.
“You have to make life awkward by being hard to break down, which we did, but then you have to try and stamp your authority on the game. That’s not easy in an attacking sense, but we had one golden chance in the first half through Chris Wood and even though we didn’t open them up too much, we looked strong as an outfit.
“Even big players, and they have plenty, find it awkward when things aren’t quite going well and the confidence isn’t flowing through the club, but I have the utmost respect for Arsenal and you can’t come here and expect them not to be a good outfit, because they are and we’ve had to work very hard for it.
“We know they have quality individuals and that you are going to have to defend well against them, and I thought we did that. They had a good flurry ,after they went down to 10 men, but overall you have to get on the right side of the margins. Earlier in the season we weren’t doing that, but we are getting people fitter and sharper and it’s no surprise that now we are coming out on the right side.”
Arsenal had Granit Xhaka sent off but for some reason the officials didn’t get the red card out again for Mohamed Elneny. Dyche said of that: “I’m confused because if the first one is a sending off, which by the rules it has to be, then the second one has to be too. Whether the ball is in play or not, you can’t go around pushing people in the face, when you are not even looking at the ball. I’m a big fan of VAR, but they are making it so difficult for themselves because that is so simple and obvious.”
Nick Pope did everything asked of him again and recorded his fourth shut out of the season. “Clean sheets are important to us and we’ve got back to that again,” Dyche said. “But we won’t get carried away because we know we’ve had to fight for everything and we’ll have to do that again in the next game.
“But it’s pleasing for the players after the work they have put in. We’ve had a tough start, but no heads went down and all the noses are still pointing in the right direction. That was a clear sign of that tonight.”
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