Arsenal player ratings v Newcastle: Just one player gets 8 as Noni Madueke and Declan Rice struggle

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Arsenal got through another nervy afternoon in the sun at The Emirates Stadium as they saw off Newcastle United to keep their title hopes alive.

Eberechi Eze’s stunning goal early on settled the nerves but as we’ve seen so often, the Gunners just could not get the second goal to make things more comfortable.

Still, it is a crucial three points in the bag and now the pressure moves back to Man City, who were in FA Cup action and pushed all the way by Southampton.

As for Arsenal’s players in this one against Newcastle, there was little to write home about, albeit some shone more than others.

Arsenal’s player ratings against Newcastle

David Raya – 6

Had little to do in the way of making saves but played some excellent passes and his distribution with his hands was excellent. One particular long throw to Gabriel Martinelli caught the eye.

Ben White – 6

Wasn’t overly troubled but looked back to being somewhere near his best after a rocky few weeks.

William Saliba – 7

Dealt comfortably with the threat of William Osula’s pace and looked a class above any other defender on the field at times.

Gabriel – 6

Was a solid presence yet again for the Gunners. Tried to impact the game in the final third too as he strode forward a few times.

Piero Hincapie – 6

Defended well against Jacob Murphy and was rarely beaten. Another solid display for the South American loanee.

Martin Odegaard – 7

Was a spark all day for the Gunners as he probed around and looked to make things happen.

Declan Rice – 5

Was quiet by his usual standards. Kept things simple in the midfield but might have produced more in a big game where he was needed.

Martin Zubimendi – 6

A return to some sort of form for Zubimendi but he was guilty of a few bad passes in the second half when things looked like opening up.

Ebere Eze – 8

Was the best player on the pitch for a lot of the first half and scored a wonderful goal before being taken off with an injury early in the second half.

Kai Havertz – 4

Left the field early with injury in a worrying sign for both Arsenal and Germany.

Noni Madueke – 5

Another pretty poor display from Madueke. Needs to do more and with Bukayo Saka now back, he’ll be lucky to keep his place going forward.