End of an era! Emotional scenes at the end as a great five-star attacking display saw Arsenal beat Burnley 5-0 in Arsene Wenger's final game in charge at the Emirates.
The performance raised questions as to where on earth this has been all season and why we couldn't play like this more often and earlier in the campaign?
Wenger is set to step down after 22 years at the helm, with only trips to Leicester and Huddersfield remaining before the end of a roller coaster of an era with the Gunners.
Maybe it was tiredness from other events, but I didn't feel the same emotion as I was expecting to during the match. This could also be because, although it was his last at home, it isn't his last game so the era isn't over just yet. When his speech started after the game though the emotions definitely emerged! Bob Wilson did a speech, the players lined up for him and Pat Rice presented the Arsenal boss with a special gold trophy, which commemorated the Invincibles season.
Wenger divided sections of the fan base in the latter half of his reign, but there was no denying that on this one day the stadium was united, with chants of 'There's Only One Arsene Wenger' coming from all over the ground. The players of both sides gave him a guard of honour as he walked out onto the pitch before the match.
There are still two away games to go, but Wenger's reign is nearly over. He is Arsenal's greatest ever manager in my lifetime and our fans will be forever grateful for what he did, such as the Invincibles, doubles and multiple FA Cups and some top class players (and some bad ones ha!).
The second half of his reign has been tough to watch at times and he maybe should have left sooner, which is a shame he didn't as it tarnished the opinion of some fans.
Regardless of what different fans think and how frustrating recent seasons have been, there is no denying what he has done for our club and I'm glad we could give him a positive Emirates farewell.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed two of the goals, with Alexandre Lacazette, Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi also getting their names on the scoresheet.
Per Mertesacker came off the bench with 13 minutes remaining and took the captain's armband on what was also his Emirates farewell.
Arsenal started brightly with Iwobi showing a burst of pace in the opening minutes and picking out Lacazette who was eventually crowded out in the box.
Iwobi failed to trouble Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope with a shot soon after, but the Gunners continued to look lively and deservedly opened the scoring after 14 minutes. Lacazette and Bellerin exchanged passes before Iwobi touched it back to the French striker, who arrowed a shot across goal and Aubameyang slid in to add the decisive finish.
There was a delay after 19 minutes as Granit Xhaka and Ashley Barnes clashed in mid-air, with the latter needing to be substituted.
Arsenal were a constant threat in attack with Henrikh Mkhitaryan sending a volley just over the crossbar, before Lacazette's effort was blocked by Burnley defender Matthew Lowton.
There was another stoppage five minutes before half-time as Dino Mavropanos and Sam Vokes collided in mid-air, but fortunately both players were able to continue.
Mkhitaryan's deflected strike forced a decent reaction save from Nick Pope soon after, but the Gunners were not to be denied a second goal as they doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time. Iwobi set up Bellerin who burst down the wing to meet the ball and cross for Lacazette to score on the volley.
Arsenal nearly made it three within a minute of the restart as Aubameyang set up Jack Wilshere, but the midfielder's first-time strike went over the crossbar.
One of Burnley's best chances fell to Vokes, but his header was comfortably saved by Arsenal's captain for the day Petr Cech.
The Gunners grabbed a third after 54 minutes when Wilshere made a great driving run through the midfield before setting up Kolasinac, who took a touch and slotted a shot beyond Pope and into the far corner.
Mkhitaryan sent a curling shot just wide as Arsenal continued to attack and play with more confidence than had been on show for the majority of this season.
At the other end Jeff Hendrick tried his luck for Burnley, but his shot deflected off target.
At times this season Arsenal have struggled to score with as much fluency as has been seen in previous seasons, but against Burnley the attack was on fire with the fourth goal arriving after 63 minutes. Iwobi picked up the ball on the halfway line and ran at the Burnley midfield before putting it out wide to Aubameyang. The Gabon striker then raced into the box and passed it back to his team-mate to rifle an unstoppable shot beyond Pope and into the roof of the net.
Arsenal completed the scoring 15 minutes from time when a good passing move released Bellerin to cross for Aubameyang, who doubled his tally by stabbing the ball home from close range.
Mertesacker came on for his final home performance for the club two minutes later and he took the captain's armband from Cech for the remainder of the game.
Bellerin shot over before Danny Welbeck nearly scored an absolute screamer, only to see his effort hit a post, but it didn't stop it from being a great performance to ensure Wenger's last home game ended on a high.
The result also means that Burnley cannot now catch Arsenal, who will finish no higher or lower than sixth regardless of the results of their last two games.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Oliver Gilford believes it was a very "un-Burnley" type of performance from his side at the Emirates.
"Despite not expecting anything from this game, especially with it being Arsene’s last at the Emirates it’s always disappointing to lose by so many and so very un-Burnley," said Gilford. "Some of the defending was very static and passive, which again is unusual.
"To put it into context though, Europa League football was confirmed before kick-off, which maybe influenced motivation against Arsenal, but we were also up against a team who have single players that cost more than our whole squad.
"I don’t see this type of performance happening often so let’s just move on and take three points at home to Bournemouth next weekend."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As good as the performance was against Burnley I'm not going to get carried away. It was one game and I am very aware how quickly things can change, but it is great that we were able to give Wenger a fitting Emirates send off.
There isn't anything other than pride to play for in the remaining games, but let's at least try and ensure Wenger's reign ends with two more victories.
As for what will happen after that, I'll back whoever takes over!
Merci Arsene! We love you, but now it's time for a new era!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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