Arsenal 3-1 Burnley: Gunners Move Level With Chelsea

Goals from Cesc Fabregas, who limped off ominously before the break, Theo Walcott and Andrei Arshavin secured victory for Arsenal, who should have won by a far greater margin after a succession of astonishing second half misses from Nicklas Bendtner that gave Burnley hope of a point until the dying seconds.

The home side took to the field before kick-off sporting t-shirts in support of the injured Aaron Ramsey, whose horrific injury overshadowed a fine 3-1 win at Stoke that breathed new life into the Gunners' hunt for the title, and Arsenal continued in the vein of last week's powerful finish at the Britannia Stadium with a bright start.

Nicklas Bendtner should have done better when a lofted Cesc Fabregas through ball found the Dane in space, but the striker's shot diverted wide of Brian Jensen's goal for a corner, from which a Tomas Rosicky's strike distance ballooned high and wide.

Theo Walcott, having faced criticism in midweek following a poor display for England, twice found himself in space beyond Daniel Fox down the right hand side in the early stages, but on both occasions the former Southampton winger struggled to find a red and white shirt in space.

The English winger's fortunes in the final third reflected that of his team-mates', who dominated the opening twenty minutes with trademark one-touch passing, but found a beleaguered Burnley backline in resolute mood with attacking moves well smothered on several occasions.

A clever cut back from Emmanuel Eboue presented the in-form Fabregas with the game's best chance, but the Spaniard screwed wide when under little pressure at the edge of the area.

The visitors made little forward impression of their own, reliant solely upon sparse strikes from distance to test Manuel Almunia who comfortably collected a Martin Paterson drive.

Burnley's lack of ambition and urgency afforded Arsenal time on the ball, and the home side finally pried open their opponents backline with a swift move involving intricate play between Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, with the former assisting the latter with a perfectly weighted pass before the Spanish captain slotted beyond Jensen with ease.

The opening goal should have been followed almost immediately with a second after another measured delivery from Eboue found Bendtner in space, but the Dane blew wide from close-range.

Arsenal were dealt a further frustration when goalscorer Fabregas limped off the pitch to be replaced by Abou Diaby with what appeared to be a thigh injury.

The Spaniard's enforced substitution, days ahead of the must-win Champions League tie against Porto, put a dampener on an opening half that Arsenal comfortably controlled, although the home side should have gone into the break with more than just a one goal lead. Bendtner and Walcott in particular were both culpable of wasting chances and possession in dangerous areas on several occasions.

The Danish striker's shoddy shooting continued in the early stages of the second half, with what should have been a simple finish struck wide after a superb Walcott cross, and a second close-range shot shanked over the bar from another cross from the English winger who himself came close to adding a second.

Burnley punished the home side's awful finishing soon after, after an Eboue clearance was returned to the Arsenal half via Leon Cort, whose header found David Nugent in space. The one-time England striker lifted the ball over Almunia, levelling the score well against the run of play.

The goal left Arsenal temporarily dumbstruck, and jaws dropped once again as Bendtner saw a shot cleared off the line from yet another Walcott cross.

The England winger should have scored when one-on-one with Jensen, but the big Dane saved well and infuriated the home support who had seen several clear cut chances spurned.

However, Theo Walcott would find his accuracy after dribbling beyond Fox, cutting inside onto his left foot and drilling the ball into the far corner to restore the lead.

Bendtner, yet again, wasted clear chances to get on the scoresheet, first with a scuffed shot wide from six yards following excellent work between Eboue and Walcott, before blasting straight at Jensen from a similar distance.

Having spurned four or five simple chances to score, the Danish striker was hauled off to sympathetic applause from the Emirates crowd to be replaced by the Croatian Eduardo who came close to alleviating the tension, but the substitute failed to meet a Nasri cross that sliced through Jensen's six yard area.

Despite the dominant display, the home support looked on anxiously as Burnley, who should have long been out of the game, clung on to the hope of heading home with a point.

The away side finished with a flourish of chances, amongst them a Steven Thompson shot that flew just inches over Almunia's goal, with the pace and trickery of Christopher Eagles a thorn in the side of the Arsenal defense.

Walcott and an unusually quiet Andrei Arshavin had further chances to seal the three points, with the former forcing a smart save from Jensen with a low shot on goal.

Andrei Arshavin eventually sealed the points with a last minute strike into the far corner that saw Jensen well beaten.

Whilst the three points are vital for Arsenal's Premier League aspirations, Arsene Wenger will no doubt rue the multitude of missed chances that would have seen the Gunners go top of the table on goal difference.