They did it. Burnley did it. They won.
The Result:
Burnley 1, Arsenal 0. Three points for the Clarets. A lifetime of cheers for Sean Dyche.
How It Happened:
It didn’t look great there for a while. Arsenal was generating a lot of chances. Burnley was hanging in there, but more in a waiting-for-something-inevitable sense than a waiting-for-their chance sense.
But then Granit Xhaka fouled Dwight McNeil, and when the teams did their lil’ scuffle afterwards, Xhaka tried to choke Ashley Westwood. Which, as you might hope, earned him a red card. Fifteen minutes later, Burnley got its goal, with Westwood’s free kick failing to find a Claret only to bounce off Arsenal’s captain’s noggin into the net.
Badoink! Fffft. *groaning*
Of all the ways to win, it was beauteous, and almost assuredly the product of some good vibes. Little bit of spring in the old boots these days. Sorry, haters.
What It Means:
The three points push Burnley up into sole possession of 17th in the table, out of the relegation zone. They’re within a point, still, of 18th, and within three points of 19th, but for now, they’re in the clear, and they’re a lot safer than they were. Entering the weekend, Burnley was 44% likely to be relegated, per FiveThirtyEight. That’s now down to 35%, and Brighton—the next step on the ladder out of the cellar—is only one point ahead.
What’s Next:
We’ve got a lot of matches over the next few weeks, with Burnley visiting Aston Villa on Thursday. Is Aston Villa in London? We’re going to find out.
Other News:
Just the ALK Capital bit, unless I missed something. Sean Dyche is the man, but that’s not new.
General Thoughts:
Trying to decide whether to eat a cookie or not before I go to bed. I think I want it, but I don’t know if I actually want it or not. I’ll probably eat it. Hopefully I want it.
Burnley Thoughts:
A ridiculous win. Good vibes. Sean Dyche, we will repeat, is a wizard. West Brom has to play Man City on Tuesday, so no real threat from them this week. Fulham’s hosting Brighton on Wednesday, so in the best-case scenario, Burnley can pass Brighton with a win against the Astonians. What fun. What fun, indeed.
