Arsenal had to show a different side of their character against Burnley, insists Laurent Koscielny

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Sam Long24 January 2017

Arsenal had to show a different side of their character in Sunday's victory over Burnley, according to Laurent Koscielny.

Shkodran Mustafi's first goal for Arsenal looked set to send the Gunners towards a comfortable victory at Emirates Stadium.

But Andre Gray equalised from the spot in the 93rd minute, prompting frantic scenes on the touchline as Arsene Wenger was dismissed.

Alexis Sanchez eventually fired home a last-gasp 'Panenka' penalty to secure a crucial victory for the hosts and Koscielny is adamant Arsenal proved they can dig in and grind out results when they need to.

"We needed to show another character - not just play nice football but fight together," he told Arsenal's official website.

"We did the job well defensively. We didn’t just play well with passes, sometimes you need to work hard for your club, for your team-mates.

"You need to win your duels and the second balls, and I think we did it.

"We pushed ourselves more to have the three points and it’s good for our confidence to have a win like this.”

Arsenal's victory helped the north Londoners cling onto the coattails of pacesetters Chelsea, who boast an eight-point lead at the top of the table.

But it could be costly for Wenger, who has been charged with misconduct after clashing with fourth official Anthony Taylor in the tunnel.

The Frenchman has until Thursday to respond to the FA.

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