Khan: Sokratis could have been off there, should have had a yellow from earlier tangle with Barnes. Arsenal already short on defenders too.

Rachel T: This Sokratis fella does realise it is football and not UFC - right?

Big Pete, Ascot: If the ref had booked Sokratis for the first incident as he should then he would have had to send him off there.

Alexandre Lacazette goes down inside the penalty area and wants a penalty. Replays show it was a well timed challenge by Kevin Long.

Burnley are finishing the half on a positive note and Sean Dyche will believe his side can still get something here.

Barnes versus Sokratis part two!

The feud continues and this time it's a deserved yellow for the Greek defender.

Barnes, who was clawed back by his opponent, almost reacted but just about managed to stop himself.

Will both players be on the pitch at the end?

Image source, Getty Images

Geoff: Any chance we the Arsenal supporters can just support; new manager, half the back-line missing. Love your football.

Anon: All this talk about Arsenal looking shaky at the back. We are forgetting that they are missing some key players through injury.

Arsenal's defensinve injury curse strikes again!

Nacho Monreal cannot continue and has to be replaced by Stephan Lichtsteiner.

That's not the Christmas present Unai Emery wanted!

A proper wrestling match breaks out between Ashley Barnes and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Both players end up flat out on the ground and referee Kevin Friend stops play to allow tempers to cool.

The result is a booking for Barnes.

Image source, Reuters

Arsenal lead but the atmosphere is surprisingly subdued. Burnley are very much in this game.

Damian: Arsenal look shaky at the back & not winning enough 50-50s, especially in the air.

Peter: Games are won by teams that score goals. Leagues are won by that can also defend. Arsenal are halfway there, which is pretty impressive for Emery's first season.

The number of empty red seats in the Emirates is noticeable but what are the chances of another 60,000 crowd being announced?

By the way, credit to the travelling Burnley fans who got themselves to the Emirates for this early kick-off.

Burnley haven't done much wrong but scoring goals away from home has not been one of their strong points in recent weeks. They are going to have to do something about it if they are to return to Turf Moor with something.

Mesut Ozil looks in the mood today and the World Cup winner is in full flight when he crashes to the ground after a challenge by Ben Mee.

Ozil wants a foul but it was a brush more than a foul.

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Hart is tested by Ainsley Maitland-Niles but it's a comfortable save in the end,

Maitland-Niles has been a lively presence.

Image source, Reuters

Chris: If you are looking for a key to unlock any defence, get Ozil.

Ukranam: A lot being said about Arsenal’s defensive woes. But football is a game where the game is won by the team that scores more goals. And this team has goalscorers.

What do Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah have in common?

They both have 11 Premier League goals.

Image source, Reuters

Lee Dixon has every right to be purring at that pass from Mesut Ozil.

Absolutely delicious.

Lee Dixon
Former Arsenal and England defender on BBC Radio 5 live

If you ever wonder why Mesut Ozil is in the team, watch this pass on TV later, pass of the game. He has the angle and curls it into Sead Kolasinac who is coming in from wing back. He pulls it back to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who does the rest.

The pass was perfect, it had bend, the right amount of weight. Aubameyang was not going to miss that. Great goal from Arsenal

Hafiz: As an Arsenal fan i'm already dreading our game against Liverpool should we keep defending like this!