Sanchez snatches win for 10-man Gunners

Arsenal survived both the dismissal of Granit Xhaka and the concession of a late penalty to beat Burnley 2-1 in dramatic fashion on Sunday, Alexis Sanchez’s last-gasp spot-kick keeping the pressure on their Premier League title rivals.

Shkodran Mustafi opened his Gunners account after the break at Emirates Stadium, where Andre Gray equalised from the penalty spot in injury time.

Arsene Wenger’s team refused to be denied though, Sanchez restoring the lead with a spot-kick of his own in the 98th minute as Arsenal snatched back the victory to climb to second in the table.

The hosts saw midfielder Xhaka sent off for the second time in his debut season before Burnley lost Dean Marney to a potentially serious injury.

The time added on as a consequence of that incident served to provide an extraordinary conclusion to the contest, in which the Clarets thought they had grabbed a point, when substitute Francis Coquelin fouled Ashley Barnes inside the area.

Another twist arrived in the dying moments, though, when Ben Mee was penalised for a high boot on Laurent Koscienly. Replays later showed the centre-back was offside when the ball was played in to the back post, but referee Jon Moss had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, Sanchez coolly dispatching the ball down the centre of the goal to regain maximum points.

Arsenal now have an FA Cup tie away to Southampton and home game against Watford to come before a crunch meeting with league leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on February 4.