ARSENE Wenger believes it will be a ‘shame’ if Burnley are relegated this season after admitting he was impressed with the Clarets’ quality on Saturday.

Wenger’s Arsenal side were 1-0 winners at Turf Moor thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s early goal, but they struggled to add to that solitary strike as the game progressed.

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The win was the Gunners’ eighth in a row and 16th in their last 18 games, but Wenger revealed it was one of the toughest tests they had faced, and he was full of praise for Sean Dyche’s side after the game.

“I’m pleased with the performance because it was more a fighting performance than a fluent performance and many people question us on that side,” Wenger said.

“I must say that I’m surprised by the quality of Burnley.

“It would be a shame if they go down because they are fantastically well organised, they press very well, they have a great solidarity and they are very fit.”

The fixture was the last of eight successive games for the Clarets against the top eight sides in the league, and they have taken five points from that run, including a Turf Moor win over Manchester City and a draw with Tottenham.

Those results mean Burnley head into the final six games of the season with survival in their own hands. Sean Dyche’s side are two points behind Hull City, who they still have to play.

After Saturday’s game Wenger could see why the Clarets have a good record against the league’s elite sides, and believe his defenders played a crucial role in securing the win.

“I understand now why they took points from the big teams here,” said the Frenchman.

“We had to fight; we had to be combative until the end - we couldn’t score the second goal.

“Our defenders played well and that got us the three points. Our defenders, keeper included, deserve credit.”

The win cemented Arsenal’s second place in the Premier League and their role as Chelsea’s nearest challengers for the Premier League title.

But Wenger is adamant that the good run of form has come too late to mount a realistic challenge to Jose Mourinho’s side.

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “They are still too comfortable, Chelsea.

“We need a perfect run and we need a non-perfect run from them. So we cannot master that. We can only master our own attitude. I feel they are still in a comfortable position.”

The Gunners’ star man on Saturday was midfielder Francis Coquelin, and he believes the three points was amongst the toughest Arsenal have secured in the last couple of months.

“It was probably one of the hardest victories in this run,” he said. “Lots of teams have dropped points here and they played direct football, but I think we coped well.”