ARSENE WENGER enjoyed a winning farewell in his final home game in charge as Arsenal eased to a 5-0 thumping of Burnley at Emirates Stadium. The Frenchman, who will leave at the end of the season after nearly 22 years at the helm, saw his side seal sixth place in style, thrashing their nearest rivals in the table Sunday. While the midweek Europa League defeat to Atletico Madrid ended his hopes of finishing his reign with a trophy, Wenger was rightly the center of attention in his 606th and last home fixture. The outgoing manager was given a guard of honor prior to kickoff before witnessing his side cut loose against a Burnley side, who arrived still harboring hopes of leapfrogging their opponents. A pair of goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — Wenger’s final signing — ended efforts from Alexandre Lacazette, Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi, as Arsenal made hay in the capital sunshine. Only the woodwork denied them hitting half a dozen, with Danny Welbeck seeing a thunderbolt kept out by the crossbar on a day of celebration for Arsenal’s longest serving manager. They went ahead in the 14th minute when Lacazette’s attempt to score from a tight angle on Arsenal’s right instead set up Aubameyang for an easy tap-in. The Frenchman turned from provider to scorer for Arsenal’s second, poking in a left-footed volley towards the end of a first half extended by four minutes due to a shoulder injury to Ashley Barnes. The striker went off with his right arm in a makeshift sling following a heavy collision with Granit Xhaka and, minus both Barnes and Chris Wood, their joint top-scorers, Burnley struggled to make an impact in attack, failing to even muster an attempt at goal before halftime. (SD-Agencies) |