In their first home match of the 2019/20 season, Arsenal played against Burnley. The match ended in a 2-1 victory for the home team. The Gunners’ performance was impressive enough although far from dominating. Burnley approached this match like they usually do away matches – with a defensive state of mind. They generated a surprising amount of good shots but the superior finishing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette meant that the Gunners took home all three points. In this tactical analysis, we take a look at how the match played out as well as the key highlights in terms of tactics.
Lineups
David Luiz made his Arsenal debut; Unai Emery evidently preferring him to Calum Chambers for a stronger presence to deal with the physical threat expected to be imposed by the Burnley forwards. In midfield, Dani Ceballos started instead of Granit Xhaka, the latter currently suffering from a minor back injury. Alexandre Lacazette returned from an ankle injury to start as the central striker.
Sean Dyche lined up Burnley in the exact same manner as their last win against Southampton (check out this analysis), making no changes. A flat 4-4-2 with Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes as the forwards and a midfield double pivot of Jack Cork and Ashley Westwood.
Arsenal: Fluidity
Arsenal had lined up in a 4-2-3-1 but this was a lot different from their usual system. The difference was all due to one man – Dani Ceballos.
