Phew! That's how I would sum up my thoughts of Arsenal's late 2-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates.
Yet again we needed a late goal to beat them. Laurent Koscielny's 90th-minute winner was the difference at Turf Moor back in October and this time a dramatic injury time penalty from Alexis Sanchez won the three points for the Gunners.
Shkodran Mustafi's headed goal put Arsenal in front shortly before the hour mark, but the dismissal of Granit Xhaka after 65 minutes gave Burnley hope of a comeback. It looked like the Clarets had done enough to seal a point when Andre Gray netted a penalty in injury time, but there was still time for Sanchez to turn the game on its head.
It was a huge three points and moves Arsenal up to second in the table, but Chelsea's 2-0 win over Hull means their London rivals still have an eight point gap over them.
I can't see us catching Chelsea, but you never know, and we just have to keep focusing on our own game. Although it was an excellent result, we do need to become a lot more clinical in attack - 24 shots and only 8 on target isn't really good enough and had it not been for Sanchez's late intervention it could have come back to haunt us.
Until Xhaka's red card we had looked fairly comfortable and in control of the game, but we should have put the result beyond doubt earlier rather than having to rely on the penalty.
Mesut Ozil was denied by Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal before later having two efforts blocked. Koscielny sent a header over the bar and Sanchez curled a shot just wide as the Gunners failed to make the most of their chances in the first half. At the other end, Ashley Barnes' fierce drive was turned away by Petr Cech.
Arsenal started the second half brightly, but still continued to waste chances as Aaron Ramsey and Sanchez both sent efforts off target.
The Gunners finally broke the deadlock after 59 minutes when Mustafi headed home his first goal for the club from Ozil's corner. It was a good finish by the summer signing, who has yet to lose when on the field for Arsenal.
But Arsenal's hard work was undone when Xhaka was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Steven Defour six minutes later. What had looked comfortable for Arsenal was now set to become a nerve-wracking final 25 minutes.
Burnley nearly made their numerical advantage count via a Defour free-kick, but Cech produced a great saved to push the midfielder's effort over the bar.
Arsenal also came close to scoring when Francis Coquelin tried his luck, but Heaton produced a fine save to keep the substitute out before an excellent tackle from Ben Mee denied Danny Welbeck late on. But the Gunners still led as the game entered seven minutes of injury time, only for Burnley to snatch what looked like a point from the penalty spot. Coquelin fouled Barnes in the box and it seemed like it would be a big two points dropped as the striker fired his spot-kick up the middle of the net.
There must have been a sense of déjà vu for the Burnley supporters as yet again they lost against Arsenal this season following a controversial late goal. Koscielny attempted to meet Sanchez's cross, but was caught in the face by the high boot of Mee in the box. There is no doubting that it was a very silly foul from Mee, but Koscielny appeared to be in a slightly offside position before this and that is what frustrated the visiting supporters. Sanchez then cheekily chipped his penalty beyond Heaton to win it for Arsenal, who also saw manager Arsene Wenger sent to the stands in the closing stages.
Yes we got some luck at the end, but I do also feel that we were wrongly denied a penalty earlier in the match. Either way it was a huge goal and a big three points and I am delighted with the result.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Chris Horner felt his side were unlucky to come away with nothing to show for it and believes referee Jonathan Moss had a poor game.
"Arsenal had more possession and plenty of shots compared to us, but we gave a good account of ourselves," said Horner. "I'm not really sure how it's a penalty at the end when there is an Arsenal player offside before the foul is committed.
"Ultimately that decision has cost us a point. I thought the officials had a poor game all round. If we carry on playing like that then I think we'll stay up."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We probably haven't heard the last of the penalty debate, but we did what mattered most and got all three points to keep us in contention in the title race.
Although I think our title chances are slim and I can't see Chelsea dropping enough points for us to overhaul them, we have at least given ourselves a glimmer of hope.
We need to get better at taking our chances and will need a strong and fast start in our next league game when Watford visit the Emirates. But before that our focus must switch to the FA Cup and our fourth-round tie at Southampton. Being away from home makes it harder and I know Southampton are likely to be tough opponents, so we will need to produce a very good performance if we are to progress. Southampton have the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final prior to their match against us, so hopefully Liverpool can tire them out for us.
The Premier League and Champions League are the priority, but I would argue against anybody who says the FA Cup doesn't matter. It is still a wonderful competition and the magic of it is still very much alive, proven by the fact that my local side Lincoln and their National League rivals Sutton are still in it. The FA Cup is important to me and I hope we can produce a performance to be proud of at St Mary's.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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