Alexis Sanchez hits late penalty in dramatic Arsenal finish to deny Burnley a point

Arsenal 2 Burnley 1: The visitors looked to have earned a draw when Andre Gray converted from the spot in stoppage time until referee Jonathan Moss awarded the hosts a penalty of their own

Alexis Sanchez kept his nerve to cheekily lob the ball past Tom Heaton in stoppage time (Getty)

Burnley must be sick of the sight of Laurent Koscielny. The Arsenal captain won the reverse fixture at Turf Moor earlier in the season with an injury-time goal from an offside position, and after earning a penalty seven minutes into time added on here at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners were left celebrating the most unlikely of victories.

Such a dramatic finish did not seem possible when Shkodran Mustafi headed the home side in front just before the hour mark, but the game turned when Granit Xhaka was sent-off six minutes later. His manager, Arsene Wenger, also received his marching orders after Andre Gray scored an injury-time penalty to equalise for the visitors. At that stage, it looked to be a case of same old Arsenal, always the bridesmaid and never the bride.

Instead, Alexis Sanchez converted a match-winning penalty that ensures the Gunners end the weekend second in the Premier League table and the likeliest challengers to Chelsea for the title over the remainder of the season, given all of their rivals failed to win this weekend.

Shkodran Mustafi broke Burnley's firm resistance with his header off a corner (Getty)

However, Wenger must now seriously ponder if Xhaka can be trusted at this level, with the Swiss midfielder sent-off by referee Jon Moss for the second time at the Emirates, following his dismissal in the 3-2 win over Swansea last October. He also faces the possibility of a touchline ban, after twice pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor in the aftermath of Burnley's equaliser.

Burnley were seconds away from adding to their one lone point away from Turf Moor, the worst record across the top four divisions along with Rotherham this season, and their misery will only be multiplied given they deserved to take something from the game.

It proved to be an unusually open first 45 minutes, and Arsenal’s best chances were coming when they were able to break from the visitors' own counter attack. The first real chance came after a Petr Cech save, with the goalkeeper triggering an attack that ended with Alex Iwobi feeding Mesut Ozil from the right, only for the German’s effort to be pushed wide by Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Jonathan Moss sent Granit Xhaka off for the second time this season after his tackle on Steven Defour (Getty)

Burnley also had their opportunities, both Gray and Ashley Barnes seeing half-chances saved by Cech, but the game was lacking the quality needed to provide a breakthrough. The most alarming moment for Arsenal fans came when Gray accidentally caught Cech as they contested a loose ball, with the goalkeeper lying motionless on the floor after the collision. Thankfully, Gray’s boot appeared to catch the Czech’s shoulder, and after a minute of treatment he was fit to continue before the two sides headed in for the break.

Wenger seemed to trigger a response from his side at half-time, and appeared to have the biggest impact on Sanchez. First, the Chilean laid the ball on to Nacho Monreal to draw a regulation save from Heaton, then it was his cross which allowed Giroud to nod the ball down towards Ramsey. Perhaps taking inspiration from his teammate’s wondergoal here on New Year’s Day, Ramsey attempted a scorpion kick, only to flick the ball over the crossbar. Sanchez also saw a chance of his own blaze narrowly over.

Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands for his protests against Burnley's penalty (Getty)

But the danger signs were mounting, and Arsenal should have received a penalty in the 56th minute when Gray tripped Mustafi in the area after missing the ball. Moss turned down the appeals, but three minutes later the Germany international would have his justice.

Again, it was Sanchez at the centre of things. It was he who sparked a move on the halfway line that allowed Xhaka to carry the ball forward. Xhaka released Iwobi, and the winger dribbled all the way to the Burnley area before Boyd blocked his shot for a corner. Ozil delivered the ball from the right, and from the set-piece, Mustafi rose the highest to glance the ball past Heaton and into the net.

The action was only just beginning, though. On 15 October, Moss sent Xhaka off after he dived into a tackle two-footed. Wenger spoke at length afterwards that he wants his Swiss midfielder to learn that he can’t get away with those type of challenges, but it would appear he still hasn’t learned his lesson. After giving possession away to Steven Defour, Xhaka jumped into another dangerous lunge that sent the Belgium international sprawling.

Moss calmly walked over to his linesman, Andy Halliday, and turned around to produce a red card. The challenge was two-footed, but replays showed contact was minimal and Defour had made the most of it. Xhaka will now miss the FA Cup fourth round tie with Southampton, plus Premier League matches with Watford, Chelsea and Hull, unless an appeal is successful. It would be unlikely.

Sean Dyche responded by going on the attack, Joey Barton and Sam Vokes being thrown on in quick succession, while Wenger removed Iwobi to introduce Francis Coquelin and plug the gap left by Xhaka.

Burnley's looked dejected at the final whistle after the sudden turnaround (Getty)

Despite the numerical advantage though, Burnley were hit on the counter as Ozil broke free, and Dean Marney’s cynical foul brought down the German and ended his own game at the same time, the 32-year-old being shown a yellow card as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher with James Tarkowski replacing him.

A late scramble in the Arsenal box saw Vokes nearly force the ball in, only for Cech to save as Mustafi was left in a heap on the turf, but the next time the ball visited the Arsenal box, Coquelin rashly swiped at Ashley Barnes and gave Moss no alternative other than to award a spot-kick that Gray sent left as Cech dived right. Before play restarted, Moss sent Wenger to the stands after he said something to fourth official Taylor, and the Arsenal manager, attempting to watch from the tunnel, was told to leave again by Taylor. Wenger responded by pushing him not once but twice, and now faces a touchline ban that will see him banished to the stands fro next weekend's FA Cup fourth round tie with Southampton.

It appeared as though Burnley had picked up their second away point of the season, but a late Sanchez cross saw Koscielny, from an offside position, draw a high foot from Ben Mee to win a penalty. Sanchez calmly stroked the ball home to somehow salvage the three points that keeps Arsenal’s title challenge alive.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Xhaka, Ramsey; Iwobi (Coquelin, 68), Ozil (Bellerin, 88), Sanchez; Giroud (Welbeck, 87).

Subs not used: Ospina, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Perez.

Burnley (4-4-2): Heaton; Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward; Boyd, Marney (Tarkowski, 76), Hendrick (Barton, 72), Defour (Vokes, 77); Barnes, Gray.

Subs not used: Robinson, Flanagan, Darikwa, Kightley.

Referee: J Moss (W Yorkshire)

Attendance: 59,995