Photos: Arsenal 3, Burnley 0

After a spirited first half display, which saw Burnley keep the hosts at bay, three second half strikes meant the Clarets remain bottom of the pile.

They say possession is nine-tenths of the law, but that wasn’t enough to condemn the Clarets in the first half at the Emirates as Arsenal dominated.

Arsene Wenger’s Gunners boasted more than 70 per cent possession in the opening 45 minutes but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

Despite the Clarets defending in numbers, the movement and artistry of the home side’s play was mesmeric as they found routes beyond the apertures at their disposal.

Santi Cazorla’s initial warning was mild as the Spaniard swapped passes with Danny Welbeck inside the area from Alesx Oxlade-Chamberlain’s centre, but last year’s FA Cup victors showed more conviction afterwards.

Welbeck, who replaced Robin Van Persie in his final appearance for Manchester United in the 0-0 draw at Turf Moor in August, had Tom Heaton beaten in the 13th minute after skipping past the challenges of Jason Shackell and Stephen Ward but his shot ricocheted off Kieran Trippier’s back and bounced to safety.

After Heaton comfortably gathered Alexis Sanchez’s set-piece on the quarter-of-an-hour mark - with George Boyd booked by Craig Pawson for cynically upending Cazorla - Trippier spared the blushes of team-mate Michael Duff after Oxlade-Chamberlain almost punished the defender’s mistake.

Former Barcelona forward Sanchez was the star of the show. The Chilean’s footwork, acceleration and drive was spellbinding and he almost orchestrated the opener. After averting the attention of David Jones, the 29-year-old magician, who scored twice last weekend in victory over Sunderland, threaded a pass in to Oxlade-Chamberlain whose cross was steered just wide of the upright by Cazorla.

The Clarets, with Marvin Sordell and Dean Marney in the starting XI at the expense of Lukas Jutkiewicz and Michael Kightly, were effective on occasions as they broke from their defensive rigidity and Mathieu Flamini had to be alert to cut out Scott Arfield’s pass with Danny Ings eagerly anticipating the opportunity.

For Sanchez this Premier League fixture was like a Sunday morning kickabout with his mates at a local park, only in front of 60,000 fans. Arsenal’s number 17 crafted a path beyond Duff with ridiculous ease and shaped a shot towards Heaton’s far corner from the angle of the area but the goalkeeper palmed away.

In another rare break, Ings fired over the bar on the turn from Ward’s pass but Wojciech Szczesny was far from troubled.

Sanchez went close again with an exquisitely delicate strike that whistled beyond the upright and as the half closed, Heaton spurned Sanchez once more as the Chilean latched on to Cazorla’s incisive pass only to have his effort blocked by the Clarets shot stopper from an acute angle.

The Clarets held out for another 25 minutes after the break, but the home side were slowly pulling their opponents out of shape.

Heaton saved from Oxlade-Chamberlain after Cazorla’s corner was cleared and Duff produced an incredible block to keep out the Spaniard’s attempt from close range with Heaton already committed to Sanchez’s clipped pass that had assisted Calum Chambers at the back post in the build up.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 70th minute and there were no prizes for guessing the goalscorer.

The miniature Chilean, who scored twice for his nation in the World Cup, pulled away from Trippier and manoeuvred behind Duff to meet Chambers’s centre and head beyond Heaton. It was the ninth time Sean Dyche’s side had conceded a headed goal in five games.

The hosts doubled the lead two minutes later; Per Mertesacker allowed Cazorla’s corner to run, David Jones cleared off the line from Welbeck but £16m summer signing Chambers was on hand to stab home the rebound to register the first goal of his career.

Theo Walcott forced a sublime reflex save from Heaton at his near post to signal his return after replacing Oxlade-Chamberlain with 10 minutes remaining, before Sanchez’s stunningly improvised assist was hammered on to the post by substitute Lukas Podolski.

Arsenal’s third substitute, Aaron Ramsey, also got in on the act when his effort with the outside of his boot was pushed to safety by Heaton.

The third arrived deep in to injury time - and it was one that cost one unlucky punter a £250,000 windfall in Soccer Saturday’s Super Six.

With Burnley’s rearguard disorientated, Gibbs’s run caused problems and his cross found Sanchez who controlled and coolly poked past Heaton.

Ings saw his attempt cleared off the line by Chambers shortly before Pawson’s final whistle but Arsenal comfortably claimed maximum points.