Premier League: Arsenal’s top four hopes fade after Granit Xhaka’s mistake sees Gunners in the hands of Burnley

Chris Wood celebrates after scoring against Arsenal. AP

Burnley: Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka compromised his team’s feeble hopes of finishing in the top four in the Premier League when the Swiss midfielder’s embarrassing mistake gave Burnley a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put Arsenal ahead early on at Turf Moor, but Xhaka’s howl allowed Chris Wood to equalize before the break.

Xhaka foolishly tried to pass the ball out of his own six-yard box instead of clearing it and his failed effort bounced off Wood into the Arsenal net.

Mikel Arteta’s team could not make up for Xhaka’s mistake and tenth-ranked Arsenal are now nine points behind fourth-ranked Chelsea.

Arteta had warned Arsenal players this week that their position in the league was unacceptable for a club with such a rich history.

But, with their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four result, Arsenal will have to prioritize their trip to Greece to play Olympiakos in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday. .

Aubameyang’s own goal had given Burnley their first victory at Arsenal since 1974, when they last met in December.

But this time the Gabonese striker made his presence known on the far right to open the scoring in the sixth minute.

Chosen by a pass from Willian after a strong rest from the Brazilian, Aubameyang attacked from the left flank and used a nimble step to pass Matt Lowton into the Burnley area.

With six Burnley players too slow to respond to the danger, Aubameyang had room to hit a 12-yard low shot that overcame Nick Pope’s feeble save attempt at his first post.

It was Aubameyang’s fourteenth goal of the season in all competitions and the eighth against Burnley in his career at Arsenal.

Arsenal were well up, but Xhaka gave Burnley his comical draw in the 39th minute.

Pablo Mari passed Bernd Leno back and the Arsenal goalkeeper chose to find Xhaka inside his own box rather than clear the ball.

Xhaka had to get rid of the ball quickly when Matej Vydra pressed, but the woeful pass from the midfielder hit Wood on the hip and he crashed into the net.

It was Burnley’s last nightmare for Xhaka, who was sent off for grabbing Clarets midfielder Ashley Westwood by the neck in December.

Since the start of 2016-17, Xhaka has made more mistakes leading to goals in the Premier League (8) than any other outfield player.

He returned for the second half with a torn shirt, prompting mischievous suggestions on social media of a locker room fight with his teammates.

Martin Odegaard forced a big save from Pope early in the second half, but as Arsenal lacked a leading edge, the on-loan Real Madrid midfielder was replaced by Alexandre Lacazette.

Nicolas Pepe was also introduced by Arteta and the Ivorian saw a controversial penalty appeal rejected after Erik Pieters extended an arm to block his movement.

Pieters almost added to Arsenal’s frustration when he forced Leno to capsize before the German jumped well off Wood.

In a thrilling finale, Pepe’s volley was blocked on the line by Pieters.

Andre Marriner initially awarded a penalty and a red card, but the decision was overturned when the VAR showed the ball hit Pieters’ shoulder and not his arm.

There was still time for more drama when Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos hit the post in injury time.