Unbeatable Arsenal: Mikel Arteta dreaming of title after Burnley win

8 points clear 

Arsenal roared to their ninth successive win in all competitions with a 2-0 victory over Burnley, a game they never looked like losing from the very first minute. The result itself would have been expected given the disparity in squad market values - Arsenal's €1.31bn to Burnley's €247m - but the manner of how they secured the win will strike fear into their Premier League rivals. When will Arsenal drop points again? At this stage, it's difficult to see it happening.

The first half was as one-sided as any game has been this season. While the visitors peppered Martin Dúbravka's goal with six shots on target - eight in total - Scott Parker's men failed to muster a single effort. In fact, they barely ventured out of their half as Arsenal enjoyed comfortable possession deep into the hosts' half. And it felt like the most inevitable outcome when Mikel Arteta's side opened the scoring on 14 minutes. Declan Rice curled a looping delivery to the far post and Gabriel Magalhães, so often a threat inside the box from set pieces, cushioned the ball back to Viktor Gyökeres who couldn't miss from three yards out.

That was the Swede's fourth league goal of the season, but it was also demonstrative of Arsenal's incredible success from set-piece routines. They have now scored 38 goals from corners since the 2023/24 season, the most of any team in Europe's top-five European leagues, and by some margin too. The next highest? Borussia Mönchengladbach on 26, with Inter Milan on 25 and Bayer Leverkusen - along with Tottenham Hotspur - both on 24. No defender has scored more goals than Gabriel since he arrived in north London in 2020, showing how much of a danger the Brazilian can be in the opposite area, as well as an indomitable presence in his own.

Arsenal continued to threaten with Bukayo Saka going close on two occasions, while the Gunners hit the woodwork in the first half. That was before the second goal arrived after Leandro Trossard's inviting cross found Rice at the front post and the midfielder powered his header past Dúbravka. Given how Arsenal had controlled games this season and the absent threat of Burnley's attack, it would be a smart prediction to suggest that was the game done and dusted. And so it proved to be the case. Arsenal rested Gyökeres for the second half after the 27-year-old did his job early on, with Eberechi Eze and Riccardo Calafiori both also given a breather.

By winning early on Saturday, the pressure tilts back towards Liverpool, who play Aston Villa at Anfield late on Saturday night. Arteta's men have an eight-point lead over Bournemouth in second place, although Tottenham can close that gap if they also win on Saturday against Chelsea. But the fact they have conceded only three goals in 15 games in all competitions - an incredible feat - underlines how difficult they will be to beat this season. It's still early days, but the north London side might never get a better chance to end their 22-year wait for a Premier League title if Liverpool lose a seventh game in eight.