Arsenal have beaten Burnley 3-0 thanks to an Alexis Sanchez brace and a Calum Chambers strike this afternoon, despite some impressive initial resistance from Sean Dyche's men.
Burnley struggled to get a hold of the ball early on as Arsenal made a commanding start to the match, with the Gunners passing the ball around with ease in the Clarets' half.
For all their control of the ball, however, Arsenal rarely tested Burnley keeper Tom Heaton.
It was the visitors' Danny Ings, in fact, who threatened to open the scoring when fed by George Boyd, but the striker's effort was blocked by Nacho Monreal.
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Arsenal's response came in the form of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who raced down the right flank and floated a cross in towards Danny Welbeck, but Kieran Trippier was there to clear.
Welbeck then drove high over the crossbar before Alexis missed a couple of good opportunities as the hosts struggled to find their finishing touch.
Mikel Arteta tried his luck from the edge of the area moments after the restart, but the ball again sailed over the crossbar in what was emerging as a common theme for his side.
Burnley grew into the game as a result, and Ings was unlucky to not chase down Per Mertesacker's weak pass to Wojciech Szczesny, who got there first to hoof the ball away.
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With Theo Walcott watching on the sidelines, Santi Cazorla spurned a fantastic opportunity to put his side in front after Chambers's cutback, but Michael Duff slid in to make a block on the line.
It seemed as if Burnley might have secured an unlikely result given their heroic defending, but Alexis eventually powered a header past Heaton to lift the growing tension at the Emirates.
Chambers, who had set up his side's first goal, added a second after prodding in from Welbeck's initial effort before Sanchez wrapped up the win with a third.
The goals resulted in a markedly different mood inside the stadium, as Arsenal sent their fans home happy.
Benjamin Topliss
