There is nothing wrong with the foundations in the house that Eddie Howe built.
Consider this: despite a worrying start to their Premier League campaign Gabriel Magalhães’ late, late header was only the fifth goal they have conceded this season.
It meant Arsenal joined Liverpool as only the second team to breach Newcastle’s defence in the league.
So far only four teams have conceded fewer and the three teams that have beaten the Magpies sit in the top two positions in the Premier League and at the summit of La Liga.
So it is definitely not time to panic, even if Newcastle really need to sign off for the international break with a pair of wins against Union Saint-Gilloise and Nottingham Forest to soothe nerves on a testy Tyneside.
The Magpies lie in 15th place heading into a pivotal week of their season but this is not Graham Potter face-swap territory.
They sit below a desperate Manchester United side but the problems at Old Trafford are undoubtedly more profound.
Ruben Amorim is trying to bash square pegs into round holes – Howe has spent weeks of this campaign without any pegs at all.
We know he has a formula to win and they probably deserve more points than the six they have so far.
Does that mean the Newcastle manager will check in for the flight to Brussels on Tuesday with a bounce in his step? Of course not. He cut a devastated figure at St James’ Park and spoke of “distress” and “absorbing blows” in the aftermath of the Arsenal game.
The mood music undoubtedly feels glum and Newcastle have some major issues to solve. Moreover it is still a few weeks yet until the cavalry, in the shape of big striker hope Yoane Wissa, arrive on the scene.
Nick Woltemade, for all that he has two goals in three Premier League games, is going to take months to look truly at home in a system that is particular and exacting and doesn’t look a natural fit for a player whose natural inclination is to drop deep.
It is tempting to lay the blame for all of this on Alexander Isak’s departure but perhaps the problems lie a little bit deeper. Construct a Premier League table over the course of the calendar year and Newcastle are only a smidgeon above mid-table.
Their 40 points from 25 games have them sitting eighth, just a point above Brentford and two above Everton. They are below Brighton, and no one is making much noise about the Seagulls right now.
To emerge from the mid-table pack Newcastle need to start packing a punch. More specifically their established players need to step up because Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Elanga, Harvey Barnes, Bruno Guimaraes and Jacob Murphy have a single goal between them. For all the pace, poise and attacking potential of that pack it feels like a risible return.
Gordon was especially below-par on Sunday and remains a shadow of the player that stole the show in the 2023-24 season. We have heard much about the work that has gone into preparing for this campaign but against Arsenal, a team who have seriously considered signing him, he too often took the wrong option and was hauled off with 23 minutes remaining.
What happens from here will be fascinating and tell us much about how far Howe has improved as a manager since Newcastle were last in the Champions League. Last season they hauled themselves back from a mediocre mid-season position to win silverware and return to Europe’s top table.
But that was on the back of time spent on the training ground reinforcing fundamentals and giving players some home truths in crucial one-on-one meetings. With such a hectic schedule, micro-management might be tougher. A difficult season isn’t about to get easier for Newcastle’s manager.
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