Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United
A comfortable bounce-back victory for Arsenal in the end. Newcastle remain the only winless club in the top four divisions, and are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.
Arsenal 2 – 0 Newcastle United
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tavares, Partey, Sambi, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Saka, Aubameyang
Subs: Leno, Tierney, Lacazette, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Pepe, Elneny, Nketiah, Martinelli
Arsenal went back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium. They were blunt in the first half but a much improved second half saw two scintillating goals.
The opening goal by Saka was the culmination of a 16-pass move and the second, a lovely dink by Martinelli who scored with his first touch of the game as a substitute.
Pre-Game
Arteta made just one change from the big loss against Liverpool with Odegaard taking Lacazette’s role as the playmaker and connecting point between midfield and attack.
Despite making errors at Anfield, the manager placed his faith in keeping young guns, Sambi and Tavares, in the team with Maitland-Niles and Tierney looking for an opportunity to impress from the bench.
First Half
Arsenal have been starting quickly during their recent unbeaten run but Newcastle made sure the Gunners couldn’t pass and dribble through a wall of white and black.
Our centre backs had a lot of the ball and had to be patient in distribution as the passing lanes to their teammates were blocked at almost every angle. It didn’t help too much that the Gunners were also a little too static off the ball which slowed the game down.
Arsenal needed a jolt to their senses and it came on the 15th minute. Sambi spotted Saka running in behind the Newcastle defence and lofted in a lovely pass only for the ball to spin away from the English international by a mere inches.
ARSENAL VS NEWCASTLE LIVE MATCH COMMENTARY #ARSNEW
Newcastle still winless in EPL after 2-0 loss at Arsenal – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Newcastle’s winless start to the Premier League season extended to 13 games after a 2-0 loss at Arsenal on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka and the player who replaced him as a substitute, Gabriel Martinelli, scored goals in the second half to consign last-place Newcastle, which has recently come under Saudi ownership, to a seventh loss of the season.
Arsenal stayed in fifth place but is now level on points with fourth-place West Ham as the team continues its recovery from losing its opening three games of the season.
Saka ran onto a deft pass from left back Nuno Tavares and shot low and across goalkeeper Martin Dubravka into the far corner to put Arsenal ahead in the 56th minute.
Saka appeared to hurt his left leg soon after his goal and, after briefly playing on, was replaced by Martinelli in the 64th. The 20-year-old Brazilian scored within two minutes.
Sprinting onto a lofted pass from right back Takehiro Tomiyasu over the Newcastle defense, Martinelli sent a volley past Dubravka with one of his first touches of the ball.
Magical Martinelli offers Arsenal reminder of quality after Aubameyang misfires again
The Arsenal attacker had only been on the pitch for 93 seconds when Takehiro Tomiyasu floated a sumptuous pass over the top of the Newcastle backline.
Yet he showed no sign of rustiness as he watched the ball drop over his shoulder before planting a fabulous volley past the onrushing Martin Dubravka and into the far corner to seal a 2-0 win for the hosts.
It was Martinelli’s first Premier League goal since he struck away at Crystal Palace during the penultimate game of last season, and his first at Emirates Stadium since he found the target against Sheffield United in January 2020.
For a player who started his Arsenal career in such impressive goalscoring fashion, those are remarkable statistics – but they also underline the way in which his time in north London has flatlined since that blistering start during the opening months of the 2019-20 season.
When he first arrived in England from Brazil, it looked like Arsenal had unearthed a diamond. He scored seven goals in his first seven games, including netting twice against Liverpool at Anfield.
“Martinelli’s a talent of the century,” Reds boss Jurgen Klopp enthused. “He’s an incredible striker.”
However, since then, the young Brazilian has found things difficult.
Having scored 10 times in his first season, he found the net just twice in 2020-21 and had failed to score in his first eight appearances of the current campaign.
Arsenal eventually broke Newcastle United down to leave Eddie Howe’s side bottom of the Premier League without a win.
Jonjo Shelvey’s long-range drive was tipped on to the bar by the diving Aaron Ramsdale – and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit a sitter off the post from six yards out.
Arsenal remain fifth in the Premier League, while Newcastle are five points adrift of safety with just over a third of the season gone.
A lot to do for Howe and Newcastle
Newcastle are on their longest ever winless run from the start of a league season. Only one side has ever stayed up in the Premier League after failing to win their opening 13 games – Derby County in 2000-01.
The Magpies know the further adrift they are on 1 January, when they have a chance to spend some of their Saudi owners’ money, the harder it will be to attract quality players.
It is unlikely though that Howe will have identified Emirates Stadium as a place to pick up points. The Gunners have won their past 10 home games against Newcastle in all competitions, and have never lost a Premier League home game against the team bottom of the table.
The side he put out looked attacking on paper but on the actual pitch they sat in and tried to frustrate Arsenal.
Shelvey was their main threat when they went forward with five of their nine efforts on goal, including a fine strike tipped on to the crossbar by Ramsdale.
Callum Wilson was isolated up front, with only 13 touches, but he felt he should have had a penalty when he was nudged over by Tavares in the box – moments before Arsenal’s second goal.
The Gunners’ quality eventually showed when Saka finished off a nice passing move, which also involved himself, Emile Smith Rowe and Tavares.
Martinelli’s glorious volley past the onrushing Martin Dubravka – making his first Newcastle appearance of the season – wrapped things up.
Arsenal are back to winning ways now, after last weekend’s 4-0 thrashing by Liverpool ended a 10-game unbeaten run.
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