Arsene Wenger hails 'remarkable' back three after another clean sheet helps Arsenal past Burnley

Arsene Wenger paid tribute to the “remarkable” work of his back three as Arsenal kept their second consecutive clean sheet in a crucial 1-0 win at Burnley.

Though Alexis Sanchez would prove to be the match winner with a stoppage-time penalty Arsenal could have been facing an uphill task in the second half had their defence, and at times Petr Cech, not held on against a dangerous Burnley attack.

Cech made the most telling contribution of the first half, tipping Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s powerful drive on to the post, but Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal all played their part as the trio extended a five-match league run in which they have kept clean sheets.

Mustafi, fresh from his crucial goal in last week’s north London derby, was particularly decisive as he led Arsenal in tackles and interceptions but Wenger was keen to ensure all of his defence were credited for the important victory.

“We won 1-0, but I’d like to congratulate our three centre-backs again today, because they did a remarkable job,” Wenger told the Arsenal website.

“I give us a merit today because we didn’t concede a goal. Our defence worked well again and we were relentless in the second half. We kept our heads and in the end we got the penalty that we wanted. The first half was an even game but in the second half it was all us.”

Arsenal had needed their defence to be at their best in a first half where Burnley were the dominant force but in the second period it was the Gunners who found themselves in the ascendancy.

They had to wait until the otherwise faultless James Tarkowski bundled over Aaron Ramsey in the 91st minute to claim victory but would perhaps feel vindicated after Hector Bellerin had been denied a penalty earlier in the half after a clumsy challenge by Robbie Brady.

“We changed our organisation a bit at half-time and I told the players that we were at 80 per cent of what we could do,” Wenger said. “We had to get more out of ourselves in the second half and I think we did that much better.

“I thought the draw would have been a disappointment today, even if Burnley are a very good team. You understand, when you look at them, why they are a very good team and why they have 22 points.

“We were on a high after Tottenham and I think it was important to push on again to strengthen the belief and the ambition of the team.”