Saka double as Arsenal thrash Burnley 5-0 to go second

BURNLEY, England :Bukayo Saka scored either side of halftime as Arsenal crushed second-bottom Burnley 5-0 at Turf Moor on Saturday to go second and keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring in the fourth minute, shooting left-footed from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner, and Saka made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 41st after a foul on Leandro Trossard.

Saka claimed his second two minutes after the break for his 12th league goal of the campaign, Trossard curled one in for 4-0 and Kai Havertz added a fifth as Arsenal chalked up a fifth straight win in 2024.

The London side are two points behind Liverpool, 4-1 winners at Brentford, after 25 games and three clear of champions Manchester City who host Chelsea in the late kickoff.

Arsenal, who thrashed West Ham United 6-0 last weekend, have scored 21 goals in their last five games and they could easily have added to the tally against the Clarets.

Trossard, who has now scored three goals in three games, missed several other chances including one big miss early in the first half.

Saka's second goal was assisted by Odegaard but the England forward's hopes of a hat-trick ended when he was taken off in the 69th with one yellow card to his name and the game won.

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was always going to be in for an uncomfortable afternoon, having to watch from the stands after collecting a touchline ban for his third booking of the season, and it went from bad to worse.

The match was halted in the 63rd minute when Burnley's Aaron Ramsey was given oxygen and carried off on a stretcher after apparently injuring his knee in a tackle by Odegaard.

Burnley remained deep in trouble at the foot of the table,