Arsenal 2-1 Burnley: Alexis Sanchez scores last-gasp penalty winner as 10-man Gunners secure dramatic victory to keep Premier League title hopes alive

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This should feel like an afternoon that gave Arsenal some fresh momentum in the Premier League title race.

After this late and controversial victory, Arsene Wenger and his players are back up to second position and there is a game with leaders Chelsea now looming.

Somehow, however, this still felt like a game that was truly interesting only in isolation.

Alexis Sanchez dinks his stoppage time penalty down the middle to claim all three points for Arsenal in dramatic fashion

The Chile international takes the acclaim of the home fans after securing victory on an extraordinary afternoon

Laurent Koscielny has his head in his hands after receiving a boot to the face from Burnley defender Ben Mee

Andre Gray punches the air in celebration after appearing to have secured Burnley a vital point late in the game

Shkodran Mustafi heads Arsenal ahead just before the hour mark to break down Burnley's stubborn resistance

Mustafi wheels away in delight after scoring his first goal for the club since joining from Valencia in the summer

The German defender is congratulated by team-mate Alex Iwobi after finally breaking the deadlock for Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka receives his marching orders after a two-footed challenge on Steven Defour

The Swiss midfielder trudges off after being sent off for the second time already this season for Arsenal

It was certainly dramatic. Two late penalties and all that came with them made sure of that.

Wenger may have written his own headlines with his momentary loss of control and reason in the players’ tunnel but it was actually Burnley manager Sean Dyche who had reason to feel aggrieved. He will have been stewing all the way back to Lancashire.

For for Wenger this all looked a little embarrassing. The Frenchman has been no stranger to controversy during two decades here but putting his hands on a match official represents a low moment. He has apologised and rightly so.

But in terms of the bigger picture, this result falls short of feeling really significant. Arsenal don’t look any more capable of catching Chelsea than anybody else. Crucially, there was no sense around the Emirates yesterday that anybody believes they can.

MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE 

Arsenal (4-3-2-1): Cech 6.5; Gabriel 6.5, Mustafi 6, Koscielny 6, Monreal 6.5; Xhaka 5.5, Ramsey 7; Iwobi 6.5 (Coquelin 68min, 6), Ozil 7.5, Sanchez 7.5; Giroud 6 (Welbeck 86, 6)

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

Sent off: Xhaka

Booked: Mustafi 

Burnley (4-4-1-1): Heaton 7; Lowton 6.5, Keane 8, Mee 7, Ward 6.5; Boyd 6.5, Marney 7 (Tarkowsksi 74min, 6), Defour 6.5 (Vokes 76, 6), Hendrick 6 (Barton 71, 6); Barnes 6.5; Gray 6  

Subs not used: Robinson, Darikwa, Flanagan, Kightly

Booked: Lowton, Marney, Barnes

Man of the match: Michael Keane

Referee: Jon Moss 7

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Shkodran Mustafi heads Arsenal ahead just before the hour mark. CLICK HERE for more from MATCH ZONE.

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At the end this place felt like a cauldron but that was only because of the way the game finished. Before that, the atmosphere was subdued. Expectant but not particularly demanding.

It changed simply because the football delivered a charge of electricity in injury time.

When 90 minutes passed, Arsenal were a goal up and on route to victory.

Shkodran Mustafi’s second-half header had given them the lead and, despite Granit Xhaka being sent off for the third time this season soon after, Burnley were not exactly hammering down the door for an equaliser.

Xhaka slid in with two feet in a bid to win possession from Defour after giving the ball away to his opposite number

Xhaka is shown the way to the touchline by the assistant referee after he received his marching orders

Francis Coquelin left an outstretched leg in an attempt to win the ball but could only bring down Ashley Barnes in the area

Aaron Ramsey and goalscorer Mustafi aim their displeasure at referee Jonathan Moss after his decision to award a spot kick

The France defender was standing in an offside position when Alexis Sanchez floated a cross towards the far post

Laurent Koscielny went down to head the ball and in the process collided with the outstretched boot of Ben Mee

But when Francis Coquelin felled Ashley Barnes early in seven minutes of time added because of an injury to Dean Marney, Burnley’s Andre Gray converted a penalty that seemed set to give his team only their second away point of the season.

There was, however, to be another twist before we were done and this time the match officials got things desperately wrong. Referee Jon Moss awarded Arsenal a penalty for a high kick on Laurent Koscielny by Ben Mee and Alexis Sanchez eased the ball past Ben Heaton to give Arsenal a victory.

Was it the right decision? Was it really dangerous play? Possibly not.

Koscielny’s head seemed as low as Mee’s boot seemed high and it was difficult to see how Moss could possibly make the call, given his position some 20 yards away with bodies between him and the incident. Certainly, Wenger’s subsequent assertion that Mee should have been sent off was strange. Maybe the Arsenal manager’s thought process had been impaired by his brush with the officials in the tunnel.

Meanwhile, what was beyond argument was that Koscielny was offside in the first place. When the ball was delivered towards the far post by Sanchez, his team-mate was at least half a yard the other side of the deepest Burnley player. It was not debatable, he was just offside.

Arsene Wenger clashes with fourth official Anthony Taylor following the awarding of a spot kick in stoppage time

The Arsenal manager appeared to shove the fourth official as he was asked to walk down the tunnel at the Emirates

So another poor weekend for the Premier League’s beleaguered match officials and the two main beneficiaries would appear be Arsenal and their neighbours Tottenham.

It is hard to envisage any of it making that much difference to Arsenal, though. Not in terms of winning the league. They go to Chelsea on February 4 and that may well be a win-or-bust visit to Stamford Bridge. After this — and indeed after much of what we have seen this season — it would be foolhardy to back Wenger’s team.

They were OK on Sunday. They were the better team and created the better chances. Had Xhaka not been sent off for a lunge at Steven Defour six minutes after Mustafi had headed Arsenal into the lead from a corner just before the hour, they would doubtless have eased to victory. Until that point, Burnley had been organised and energetic and had tried to break whenever they could. But on the whole they hadn’t looked like scoring.

Olivier Giroud attempts the spectacular as Arsenal search for the breakthrough during a frustrating first half

Alexis Sanchez curls an effort towards goal as Burnley's defenders watch on at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday

French striker Giroud shoots at goal during the opening 45 minutes as Arsenal attempted to move up to second in the table

Arsene Wenger cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Arsenal struggled to break the deadlock at home to Burnley

Aaron Ramsey looked to keep hold of the ball as he is crowded out by Michael Keane and Matthew Lowton

Burnley's Ashley Barnes tangles with Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka during the opening 45 minutes on Sunday

Alex Iwobi goes down clutching his face after receiving a strong challenge from an opposition player

Burnley defender Ben Mee slides in to take the ball off the toes of Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud during the opening 45

Alexis Sanchez goes flying as he tries to get on the end of a cross as Arsenal search in vain for a first half goal

Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal slides in to take the ball away from Burnley midfielder George Boyd

Arsenal defender Gabriel, playing at right back on Sunday, controls the ball and keeps it away from Ashley Barnes

So, yes, Arsenal deserved to win over the course of the 97 minutes. Burnley’s Tom Heaton was the busier goalkeeper by far and had produced the save of the game from Coquelin moments before the Arsenal player hacked down Barnes so clumsily at the other end.

There is no great devil about Arsenal, however. They still play some lovely football. Aaron Ramsey was full of tricks — one scorpion kick looped over the bar — while Sanchez despatched his penalty in the style of Antonin Penanka. It takes some nerve to do that.

There was no menace, though. They turned up, won the game — just about — and went home.

The lion’s share of the emotion was probably felt by Burnley. A great run of home results since Christmas — added to earlier victories at Turf Moor against the likes of Liverpool and Everton — have ensured that they are all but safe already. At home, they are formidable. But to see a rare away point taken away from them at the death was cruel.

There had been some excellent individual performances from Dyche’s team — Heaton and central defender Michael Keane in particular — and they deserved better than to be undone in this manner. Moments like this can change seasons. In this instance, it is unlikely to do so for either club and it is this, rather than issues with stewards and match officials, that may bother Wenger this morning. 

German international Mesut Ozil looks to pass the ball forwards as Arsenal attempt to take control of the game

Burnley substitutes Joey Barton and Jon Flanagan share a joke as they warm up on the touchline during the first half

The referee gave eight minutes of stoppage time as Dean Marney received treatment following a collision with Mesut Ozil

Burnley manager Sean Dyche points at something on the ground as he watches his side hold Arsenal at bay in the first half