Arsenal Analysed: 5 reasons we blew Burnley away

Our incredible form in front of goal continued at Burnley as we cruised to a 5-0 success at Turf Moor to string together five successive wins.

That makes it 21 goals in those matches, and to find out why we've hit top gear since the turn of the year, Adrian Clarke has gone through all the footage and stats to unearth some things you may not have spotted:

Another fast start

On the road we have been fantastic starters this season, and another exceptionally bright opening spell set us on our way to a terrific victory. In all competitions Mikel Arteta’s side have now scored first in 14 of 18 away contests, and seven of our last eight league fixtures which is quite an extraordinary record.

Always on the front foot, looking to set the tone and control matches, we have made a habit of quietening the home support on our travels, and Martin Odegaard’s sweetly struck half-volley in the fourth minute provided the platform for yet another front-running win.

Our captain’s early strike was also a moral booster for himself, as it was his first goal in eight matches since netting against Wolves at the start of December as he continues to recapture the fantastic form he displayed last season.

Premier League 2023/24
Scored First - Away Matches

Arsenal 10/13
Brentford 8/11
Tottenham 8/12
Manchester United 8/13
Bournemouth 7/13

Shutting down Burnley’s attack

Like many of our recent opponents, Vincent Kompany’s team struggled to make any kind of headway as an attacking force, failing to produce a single shot on target, and across our last three matches David Raya has had to deal with just two tame efforts on his goal.

At Turf Moor I felt Gabriel did a wonderful job of nullifying the threat of in-form David Fofana. The Clarets frontman was lively in the opening 15 minutes, but the way our Brazilian defender shackled him tightly was impressive, refusing to give the Ivorian an inch of space.

In this example, Gabriel had to make up five yards to stop Fofana pulling the back ball from the byline…

Shortly afterwards he also followed Fofana into midfield to rob him of possession very easily too…

In the first 10 minutes of this encounter Fofana touched the ball seven times inside the final third. A little disillusioned at Gabriel’s hostile approach and failing to cause any problems, the 21-year-old only touched it eight more times in the final third during the rest of the match. Our central defender snuffed out his threat completely.

Solidity from White

This was another strong performance from Ben White, who did a great job inverting into central midfield in and out of possession. On the ball he was neat and tidy, misplacing just two passes all afternoon.

Below you can see our shape in possession with White sat alongside Declan Rice in a 3-2-5 set-up. You will note how yellow shirts try to station themselves between markers, and how wide Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are in this formation, designed to stretch Burnley’s compact 4-4-2.

White was forceful in his defensive play, regularly following Burnley wide men into central midfield to win turnovers in good areas. This chalkboard highlights how often he tucked inside to help us regain the ball, and White’s role in our excellent defensive record this term should not be underappreciated.

Green = tackles won, Blue = recoveries, interceptions and clearances

Havertz our link man

From his left midfield berth Kai Havertz was a thorn in Burnley’s side throughout this comprehensive victory. The German played a key part in all our last four goals, scoring a quality one himself to make it 5-0 in the 78th minute.

Prior to that he had switched places with Leandro Trossard to great effect to help us win a penalty kick. Moving into a centre forward’s slot he bounced an Odegaard pass off to the Belgian, who was upended for a spot kick converted by Saka…

Just after half-time Havertz controlled an awkward ball brilliantly with his chest, before releasing an early pass to skipper Odegaard, who in turn found Saka who made no mistake with his finish…

Our summer signing was also heavily involved in our fourth of the afternoon. He initially won a header in midfield to spring the attack (Havertz won eight of 10 aerial duels overall) and followed that up by running into the box. His initial attempt was blocked before the ball fell to Trossard, who dispatched a lovely left-footed strike.

Havertz enjoyed a joint-high nine touches inside the Burnley penalty area, constantly asking questions of his opposite numbers in midfield. In the air and on the ground he was strong and caused chaos, making a tremendous impact for Arteta’s side.

Throw-ins our secret weapon

Havertz’s strike 12 minutes from time was the third we have scored from a quickly taken throw-in this season. Following up goals from Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus at Luton Town and Nottingham Forest respectively, it was a strike that once again highlighted how sharp our players’ minds are from all restarts.

On this occasion Havertz made an early, untracked run that was spotted by Jakub Kiwior (below) and after nutmegging a defender quite superbly, the 24-year-old netted his sixth goal in Arsenal colours.

In general, our invention from throw-ins has been much improved this season. Of late we have seen Odegaard receiving many throws on the opposition goalline to good effect, and we have developed a smooth way of switching play from these situations too.

This simple routine (below) sees Havertz run towards the ball, creating a hole for Odegaard to drop into…

And from there we open up the whole pitch via two simple passes. Once released, Martinelli ran upfield at pace to win the team a corner…

Fine margins often decide matches at the highest level, and our intelligent focus on corners, free-kicks and throws this term has been extremely valuable. Look out for more fresh routines and strategies in the weeks to come.

Have a go at your analysis by digging deeper into the numbers or building your own chalkboard with our revamped Stats Centre