London : A 97th-minute penalty by Alexis secured a hugely-dramatic victory against Burnley that moves Arsenal up to second in the Premier League table.
As the game entered the seven minutes of injury time, the 10-man Gunners – Granit Xhaka had been sent off for a lunge on Steven Defour – were having to hold on to the lead given to them by Shkodran Mustafi.
But it looked like we would be denied the victory we had worked so hard for when Jon Moss awarded the Clarets a penalty for a Francis Coquelin trip on Ashley Barnes.
Andre Gray kept his cool to convert from the spot and it appeared that we would have to settle for a highly-frustrating draw.
But in almost the last kick of the match, Alexis swung in a cross from the left that arrowed towards the far post, where Ben Mee caught Laurent Koscielny in the face with a high boot.
Moss awarded Arsenal the penalty and Alexis, showing incredible composure, sent a panenka down the middle from the spot to seal a precious victory.
There are sure to be many more twists and turns in this title race, but surely nothing will compare to the drama on offer on this chilly afternoon in north London.
Having seen their title rivals all drop points the day before, this match offered a big opportunity for the Gunners to make some headway at the top of the table.
Burnley seemed like inviting opponents too, with a huge discrepancy between their form at Turf Moor and what they have produced on the road this season.
The Clarets had only secured one point away from home – albeit at Old Trafford – and arrived in north London having lost six of their past seven matches against Arsenal. But Arsène Wenger was not leaving anything to chance, and named an unchanged side from the one that beat Swansea City so convincingly.
