For connoisseurs of modern-day Arsenal’s foibles, this came close to a full house. A slickly worked opening goal, a parade of missed chances, a quite astounding act of self-immolation and enough late controversy to leave a legitimate sense of grievance hanging in the air: it was all in 95 minutes’ work against Burnley but the bottom line was that, unless afternoons like this become consigned to the past, the hard-luck stories will translate into a mid-table finish that seems their likely resting place.
When Dani Ceballos battered Nick Pope’s left post with the final action of a chaotic added-time spell,
Arsenal had to accept they had contrived their own misfortune. What a way they chose to do it and what fresh ignominy it was for Granit Xhaka, who was sent off when Burnley won at the Emirates in December and this time undid 39 minutes of complete control with a mistake no historical knowledge could quite foreshadow.