Vicky wrote:Talking of Arsenal and penalties..
Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 last season with a penalty scored in the 98th minute.
Burnley's manager is raging about this.
Thats almost correct and this is why many of the reports I'm seeing say Arsenal win with 'controversial last minute penalty' and it gives totally the wrong impression.
Firstly, there was no controversy about the decision, Tarkowski definitely pushes Ramsey to the ground from behind with both hands inside the box as Ramsey is trying to get to the ball, Burnley manager Sean Dyche has admitted that.
The reason the media are calling it 'controversial' is purely based on both games from last season. In the first match at Burnley it was again a hard fought game like yesterday. Arsenal scored the only goal in the 93rd minute, winning 0-1.
Obviously gutted to lose the game in the last seconds, Burnley claimed all sorts of infringements, like the shot from Chamberlain was deflected off Koscielny's arm and that Koscielny was offside anyway. I have to say not many people outside Burnley agreed, it was just one of those scrambled last minute goals where the ball could have ended up anywhere and hit many players before ending up in the net.
The second game at the Emirates is what most are pointing to though. There were a good deal of stoppages in the second half of that game, resulting in the ref awarding a prolonged period of stoppage time.
What they don't like to point out because it spoils their theory is that much of the stoppage time was due to Granit Xhaka being sent off in the 65th minute with an arguable red card after Arsenal took a 1-0 lead 6 minutes earlier.
Arsenal then had to play the last 25 minutes with 10 men and Burnley still couldn't score from open play. In fact the other thing they don't like to mention is, that stoppage time benefitted Burnley because at a goal down and 3 minutes into injury time, Burnley were awarded a penalty, scoring and levelling the match.
Then with added time to the added time because of the penalty, Arsenal's last minute attack drew another penalty, this time from a Burnley side desperate to come away from the game with an away point. Sanchez converted from the spot, Arsenal won 2-1 and Burnley whined as usual.
So there was no 'controversy' at all in yesterday's game or either of those last season, just understandably imagined ones from a Burnley side who for three games against Arsenal got 'so near, yet so far'.