You will be surprised to know what Koscielny has to say about the alleged ‘handball goal’

The Gunners struggled to break down a resilient Burnley side and it appeared as though they would have to settle for a point, but they eventually prevailed when Koscielny bundled home following a header from Theo Walcott.

There were suggestions that Koscielny handled the ball before scoring, while there were also claims that he was in an offside position, but the 31-year-old was simply delighted to grab the winner.

Koscielny told Sky Sports immediately after the game: “I don’t know if it was handball. I tried with my right foot and I don’t know if I touch it with my hand. The referee gave the goal and you need to respect the decision.

“It was a hard game. We had the chance to score but we have to push ourselves on the pitch and it arrived at the end. It keeps our run going.

“We wanted to finish before the international break with a win. It’s important to keep our feet on the ground. You could see against Burnley they played well. We needed to push ourselves more and more and in football, the aim is to win and keep the quality of our football at the same time.”

Koscielny, who’s been Arsenal’s on-pitch captain for much of the season, has made an impressive start to the campaign, averaging 10 defensive actions-per-game in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s victory extended their winning run in the Premier League to five games, as Arsene Wenger’s men will now go into the international break in buoyant mood. Their next fixture is a home game against Swansea City.

However, even Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal were lucky to come away with a narrow 1-0 victory over Burnley after a disputed injury-time winner took them within two points of the Premier League summit.

Arsenal have made failing to win this kind of game into an art-form. And, with seconds to go, it looked as though Manchester City’s defeat at Spurs earlier this afternoon would go unpunished.

But, somehow, Theo Walcott played Steve Bould, his flick-on setting up the most un-Arsenal of goals and the players celebrated like a team starting to believe. It is, though, just the first week in October.