Arsenal left Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Burnley relieved by three points but troubled by two injury withdrawals, manager Mikel Arteta revealed. Viktor Gyökeres did not return after the interval and Martín Zubimendi was replaced with around 15 minutes remaining.

The result moved Arsenal seven points clear at the top of the table ahead of Bournemouth’s meeting with Manchester City on Sunday, but Arteta warned that the win came with fresh fitness questions. “Before that I think [Gyökeres] was one of the best games he’s played,” Arteta said. “I think overall his performance was exceptional. A part of the goal, and we had to take him off because he was feeling a little niggle. So we’ll have to wait and see.”

Speaking to Match of the Day, Arteta confirmed Gyökeres’s complaint was muscular. “We have to wait to learn the extent of that,” he concluded.

Arteta gave a similar diagnosis for Zubimendi after the midfielder “asked to be subbed, so we’ll have to wait and see.” He added: “Muscular, yes. I don’t know. Muscular, yeah.”

On the match itself, Arteta singled out the first half as the stronger period of play, crediting the team’s control and attacking threat. “His high press, his position and his touches, his threat in behind, the way he linked play, the way he gets us from these situations to transition moments… A lot. I think he was in a really good moment. It’s a shame that he felt something.”

He also reflected on the overall performance: “I think we started the game exceptionally well. I think the first half was one of the best that we’ve played. Scored two goals, generated another two or three big chances and conceded nothing.”

Arteta conceded that Arsenal dropped their standard after half-time but praised the defensive display that ensured a comfortable outcome. “That was a platform because in the second half we dropped the standard, especially with the ball and with our intentions to take more risks, to play more forward. But again, defensively, we were exceptional.”

Arsenal relied on two decisive moments to secure a 2-0 victory away to Burnley as the leaders stretched their run to nine consecutive wins and moved seven points clear at the Premier League summit. An early corner delivered by Declan Rice led to Viktor Gyökeres tapping in close to calm nerves. Rice added a second with a header on the counter in a dominant first half.

The win produced another clean sheet and left David Raya largely untroubled. Raya was rated 7.1 in a game in which Arsenal controlled possession and territory. Defensively, William Saliba and Gabriel impressed; Saliba was composed and Gabriel was a constant aerial threat. Jurriën Timber and Riccardo Calafiori offered width and balance, with Calafiori’s positioning causing problems for the hosts.

In midfield Martín Zubimendi kept the tempo with efficient passes, while Declan Rice stood out with a commanding 8.9 rating and a goal. Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka were less influential; Eze produced another quiet display and Saka laboured to find the final ball. Viktor Gyökeres combined hold-up play with an eye for passes before his half-time substitution. Leandro Trossard offered technical quality on the left.

Substitutes included Mikel Merino, Piero Hincapié, Ethan Nwaneri and Christian Nørgaard, who were brought on as the team managed the game. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman remained unused.

Burnley began compact and had early hope, but momentum shifted after Arsenal’s first corner. “There’s a confidence and buzz around the place,” Burnley’s Scott Parker beamed as the Clarets bounced into Saturday’s clash buoyed by back-to-back wins. Turf Moor briefly rallied late, with Marcus Edwards striking the post in stoppage time, but Arsenal controlled the outcome and kept Burnley at arm’s length.

Key match figures show Arsenal with 62% possession and an expected goals total of 2.32 to Burnley’s 0.00. Arsenal managed eight total shots, six on target, to Burnley’s none in the first statistical summary, underlining the leaders’ superiority on the day.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made clear the club will resist moving its Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace to Dec. 23, after Palace asked for an alternative date amid a severe fixture pile-up.

The quarter-final is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16. Arsenal and Palace reached this stage by overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool in the fourth round respectively. Palace say the proposed date leaves them with three matches in five days: Manchester City are due to visit Selhurst Park two days prior in the Premier League and Palace then face KuPS in the Conference League two days after the scheduled cup tie.

Palace sought options after playing on Christmas Eve was ruled out following consultation with the Metropolitan police and Transport for London, and the Eagles proposed Dec. 23 as a possible alternative. Arsenal, who face Wolves a day before City travel to south London, have not agreed to that change.

“I don’t think that’s fair, because we have other competitions as well we have to try to accommodate,” Arteta said at his news conference. “We knew at the start of the season the competitions that each club is playing in … On balance we have to try to accommodate the best possible way for everybody.”

Asked specifically about the Dec. 23 option he added: “No, there are others. There are others, believe me, there are other options much better than this one. We already suggested that.”

The EFL, which governs the Carabao Cup, has yet to make an official ruling and both clubs expect a decision in the coming week.

Concerns about fixture congestion and player workload are not new. This summer’s Club World Cup provided little respite for players from Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and other leading clubs, and there have been suggestions that strike action might be needed to force governing bodies to listen.

On that point Arteta was clear about his hopes and priorities: “Hopefully not. If we look after the players’ welfare and our supporters, I think we’re never going to get to that point. And that’s it. We have to close the window there. We cannot open that window. It has to be closed. It’s our most precious value.

“We have the best league in the world and we cannot just open any window for anything just to lose that because we don’t respect that, and we forget what we are made of and what makes this game and this league so, so special. And if we respect that, I’m sure we’re going to be totally fine.”