Arsenal delivered another blow to their own hopes of playing European football next season as Granit Xhaka gifted Burnley a bizarre equaliser in an eventful 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.
Xhaka received a pass from goalkeeper Bernd Leno inside Arsenal’s penalty area and attempted a pass around Burnley striker Chris Wood to teammate David Luiz with his weaker right foot. The ball went straight to Wood and deflected into the net off the striker’s hip in the 39th minute.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Herdsmen Kill Two Farmers In Isaba, Ikole Ekiti.
That cancelled out a fifth-minute opener by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a game that only really came to life in the final 15 minutes.
READ ALSO: Daddy Freeze In Adultery Scandal, Fined N5Million
After Arsenal was denied a penalty for an apparent handball against substitute Erik Pieters, the Burnley defender seemed to give away a spot kick in a separate incident in the 84th when a goal-bound volley from Nicolas Pepe appeared to strike Pieters’ arm and deflect onto the crossbar.
Pieters was also shown the red card, but VAR looked at the incident and deemed the ball hit his shoulder, so both the awarding of the penalty and the sending-off were overturned.
Burnley came close to snatching victory, with Leno first tipping over a dipping long-range effort from Pieters and then saving with his feet from Wood.
Then, in the final seconds, Arsenal substitute Dani Ceballos struck the post following a goalmouth scramble.
Burnley moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.
© ControlTV 2021.
