Burnley's defending from the front frightened Arsenal into general dreadfulness.

A quite embarrassing performance tonight saw Arsenal draw 1-1 with Burnley. As stated in the match preview, Turfmoor is a difficult place to come, so the result in itself wasn't embarrassing. It was the manner in which we played. Apart from a period between the 5th minute and the 20th, we could not keep possession at all. Part of that would be down to Burnley's excellent defensive play all over the pitch, but part is also down to Arsenal's dreadfulness on the few occassions we did have time on the ball. There was no penetration or composure, and the defending was quite frankly schoolboy. And that's being kind. Cesc took his goal very well, and perhaps should have had another (or at least got it on target). Having him come off just before half time was a massive blow, as he was our only player who showed class, composure and intelligence. We also madly missed Robin van Persie. As well as envious intelligence and goal scoring ability, van Persie is also a physical presence, and Arshavin (and Eduardo when we came on) could not compete with Burnley's centre backs.

On to the player ratings:
Almunia - 4. Unbelievably dreadful. His insane positioning almost led to a Vermaelen own goal in the opening stages before an admittedly good recovery by the Spaniard stopped this. The disallowed Burnley goal (which was a very iffy decision) should never have been allowed to present itself in the first place as Almunia inexplicably let the ball dribble through his fingers. His kicking was also way off tonight, slicing every ball he could into touch about 20 yards outside his goal area.
Sagna - 5. Rubbish. Found it difficult to go forward and was troubled all night by Chris Eagles (really Sagna?!). On this evidence Tyrone Mears is a better right back than he is.
Vermaelen - 5. Awful start, almost scoring an own goal. He later gave away a penalty with a dreadful challenge. He grew into the game as it went on, and this stopped him getting a lower rating.
Gallas - 5.5. Played slightly better than his centre back partner, but still looked panicked and liable to mistakes.
Silvestre - 5.5. Thankfully for us, not as much went down Burnley's right as it did their left. So Silvestre didn't have the chance to cost us the game. Still managed to be a liability, and showed he has the pace of a Slug being held down by heavy shopping.
Song - 7. Had the most difficult job of the team tonight, trying to compete with Burnley's physical midfield, and he did a goodish job. Him and Bikey were at it all night, eventually coming out about equal. In the second half Song took it upon himself to become the playmaker, as Cesc's absence was becoming increasingly notable, which he did fairly well.
Diaby - 5. Perhaps our worst player in the first half. Responsible for 80% of the times that we couldn't keep possession. As the game went on he became slightly better, and showed he has a physical side as long as he is in possession of the ball.
Fabregas - 7.5. Our best player when he was on. Took his goal very well. Almost managed to manifacture a second with a delightful piece of skill, and looked dangerous when probing forward. Showed some fantastic pieces of skill. Fingers crossed his injury isn't too bad.
Nasri - 6. Found it very hard to compete with the physical nature of Burnley. He showed some very nice touches and glimpses of vision though.
Walcott - 4. Absolutely disastrous. He is obviously still not quite up to pace with the game, but even so, he should have been so much better than he was. In the first half he was isolated on the right, and did nothing with the ball on the few occassions it did come to him. In the second half, he saw a lot of the more coming towards him, and then past him as it (almost with fail) bounced away from him following an abysmal touch. When he did eventually find himself in a dangerous position, he proceeded to blast the ball both high and wide, when a low cross, shot or pass would have been easier.
Arshavin - 6. He was ok. After Cesc, he was our most dangerous player. Again he made good runs, but too often his touch would let him down. Also found it difficult against Burnley's physical centre backs.
Subs:
Ramsey - 6. Came on to be the natural replacement for Cesc, but showed he still has a tiny bit more to learn and develop. Couldn't influence the game nearly as well as the captain. He battled very well though, and showed an excellent physical determination.
Eduardo - 5.5. Eddie came on for Theo and really didn't have much to do. Was put through on a couple of occassions by Song but didn't look sharp enough. His confidence really has taken a knock this season.

Well there we have it. We knew this would be a difficult game, but still it should be one of those that we win. We're going to have to play so much better against Aston Villa on the 27th. Credit must go to Burnley though for their indefatigable defending all over the pitch. However next time, when we're not being closed down, we have to use the ball better.

'Til next time Gooners.