WITH Hollywood actor Kevin Costner in the Emirates crowd, Burnley were hoping to experience their own Field of Dreams in north London.

For over an hour a result seemed possible. The Clarets had done well to meet the Gunners’ pressure, power and prowess with resistance.

But for all their manful defending beforehand, two goals conceded in two second-half minutes was the stuff of nightmares as the execution followed an all too familiar pattern.

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Crosses and corners have been Burnley’s undoing on many occasions this season. Headers have given them a headache.

The fact that Alexis Sanchez – at 5ft 7ins the second smallest player on the pitch behind Santi Cazorla – beat the back line to another rubbed salt in the wounds.

A quickfire second from a corner smarted, with Calum Chambers scoring his first professional goal, before Sanchez put the seal on it in stoppage time from Kieran Gibbs’ cross.

Defender Michael Duff felt it was “not a 3-0 game” and there are many reasons to concur.

Burnley’s tactics were to stop Arsenal from doing what they are good at, and for so long it worked.

They got men behind the ball, blocks and body parts got in the way of Arsenal advancing.

Their determination and doggedness were admirable. But ultimately superior quality took its toll.

Arsenal were once dubbed the Invincibles. On Saturday they were quite simply irresistible, with Sanchez the leader of the pack. Had it not been for the heroics of Tom Heaton in goal, with notable saves from the Chilean, as well as substitutes Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott – making his first appearance for nine months, the scoreline could have been even more convincing.

These are not the games that will shape Burnley’s season. Those will come in the next month or so when it is hoped they will chalk off that first Premier League win with three out of the next four games are at home – starting with Hull City on Saturday, followed by Aston Villa and Newcastle after the trip to Stoke City at the end of the two-week international break.

And while mistakes an lapses must be eradicated, there is plenty about their Emirates experience that they will hope to replicate going forward in the process of trying to pick up points. They can feed off the frustration they induced for keeping Arsenal at arm’s length for as long as they did.

Arsenal, though, were just much better, producing wave after wave of attack.

Danny Welbeck looked like making an early breakthrough as he got away from three defenders on an angled run into the box. His shot was on target, but blocked by Kieran Trippier.

George Boyd then had a lucky escape from a corner as, already on a yellow card, he diverted Cazorla’s corner with his fingertips as he jumped.

The let-off brought respite, but not for long.

In the blink of an eye Sanchez turned David Jones, slipped a pass for Oxlade-Chamberlain on the overlap and Cazorla whistled an instinctive volley centimetres wide.

Heaton was called into action as Sanchez unleashed another rasping right foot effort that arced around the outside of the post.

It was relentless, but Burnley remained resolute, Heaton spreading himself to make a brave block from the Chilean and preserve parity at the break.

With no goals to show for their first-half dominance, and with three consecutive home draws from four Premier League games at the Emirates, Arsenal fans vented their disapproval – disregarding a 22-game unbeaten home run. Burnley were able to utilise the discontent after the restart.

They had not entirely sacrificed their attack to defend and go in goalless but Wojciech Szczesny had not been tested. Danny Ings, Marvin Sordell, who had replaced Lukas Jutkiewicz, Scott Arfield and George Boyd had made occasional advances but hadn’t got the breaks.

There was more to come in the second half as Dyche’s side began brightly.

But then Arsenal started to turn the screw, inspired by Sanchez.

His sumptuous ball into the box met the run of Chambers from right back and he squared for Welbeck.

Shackell’s heel stopped the ball from reaching the striker but it ended up with Carzola to hit with force. Duff matched it with a goal saving block.

But then the goal came. Chambers turned provider again, this time for Sanchez, who timed his run and leap to perfection to meet the cross.

Duff, with half an eye on Welbeck, did not get far enough off the ground to reach it, Trippier was knocked out of the way as Sanchez thumped in a downwards header.

Within two minutes a corner had been cheaply conceded. Cazorla’s delivery went through Shackell’s legs at the near post and stopped with Welbeck, whose shot was stopped on the line by Jones, but Chambers reacted quickest to the rebound to score his first professional goal.

Walcott, coming on for his first appearance since January, made his presence felt and fellow substitute Podolski seemed destined to make his mark too with a venomous volley from a corner, but it bounced off Heaton’s solid left wrist.

Szczesny applauded his opposite number, who produced an equally impressive save to tip over from Walcott at his near post.

Walcott then turned provider for Podolski, on the volley again. The German struck it with such incredible force that it could well have damaged the post it cannoned off.

Sanchez did the damage to Burnley, almost walking in his second and Arsenal’s third after Kieran Gibbs picked out the Chilean in the box.

His agility left Ward flat-footed and the Clarets, despite all their earlier defensive discipline and endeavour, conceded a third.

Although the underbelly of unforced errors must be addressed, Burnley were in no way bad.

Arsenal were just too good.