Were it not for the humbling reality check Arsenal received at Anfield last weekend, Mikel Arteta’s side would have gained even more momentum for their top-four challenge with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
The Gunners have never lost a Premier League game to a team that started the day bottom of the table and that run continued, with Eddie Howe – in the dugout for the first time as Magpies boss after missing the Brentford match with a positive Covid test – seeing his side plunged into ever deeper trouble.
Newcastle are now a third of the way into the season, winless and with six points from a possible 39. They have conceded more goals than any other top-flight club and are yet to keep a clean sheet. Even if there are glimmers of hope under Howe – by degrees, they looked more organised and Callum Wilson and Joelinton both found themselves in decent positions in the Arsenal box – the world’s richest club are in dire need of a quick turnaround if they are to survive.
The picture is much brighter at the Emirates, which was treated to another showing of Arsenal’s youthful effervescence. It was Bukayo Saka who broke the deadlock, a 1-2 with Emile Smith Rowe creating the space for Nuno Tavares to play in the final short ball that carved open the Magpies’ defence.
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s assist for the second could not have been more different, an inch-perfect cross from the right into the feet of Gabriel Martinelli. Just moments after his introduction, the 20-year-old lifted the ball over Martin Dubravka to show once again what he is capable of when fit.
Next, Arsenal travel to Manchester United for what is likely to be Ralf Rangnick’s first game in charge, but in the meantime, they remain unbeaten at home since August.
i‘s key performances
Ramsdale 7/10 – Rarely called into action by Newcastle but tipped Jonjo Shelvey’s long-range strike onto the crossbar with the scores level.
Tomiyasu 8/10 – Quite possibly his best game for the club yet. Aside from the assist for Martinelli’s goal, delivering a lofted ball in from the right to the striker, he managed to subdue Allan Saint-Maximin, Joelinton and Matt Ritchie.
White 7/10 – Needed a redemptive performance after a miserable outing against Liverpool. Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, Joelinton is not, but White made more tackles and won more duels than any other player in the first half, completing more passes than the entire Newcastle team.
Smith Rowe 8/10 – Arguably could have done better with a header at Dubravka (though Aubameyang’s follow-up took the blame off him entirely) but it wasn’t Smith Rowe’s own attempts that defined his game. Constantly initiating runs through the middle, he is settling comfortably into the No 10 role and his understanding with Saka in the build-up to the opening goal was characteristically subtle but influential.
Saka 8/10 – Arteta cannot afford for the forward to be injured after he was taken off in the second half. Raced clear of Ritchie, and might have opened the scoring with another opportunity but failed to make proper contact. It was an imaginative drift to the left that bewildered Emil Krafth.
Arsenal player ratings
Aaron Ramsdale – 7
Nuno Tavares – 7.5
Gabriel Magalhaes – 6
Ben White – 7
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 8
Emile Smith Rowe – 8
Albert Lokonga – 7.5
Thomas Partey – 6.5
Bukayo Saka – 8
Martin Odegaard – 6
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5
Substitutes
Gabriel Martinelli – 8
Alexandre Lacazette – 6.5
Mohamed Elneny – n/a
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3p55ATt
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