Arsenal fell to a damaging loss on Tuesday night against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup at the Emirates Stadium, beaten by goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.
Isak gave the Magpies the lead shortly before half-time, slamming home unchallenged from close range after Jacob Murphy turned nicely inside the Gunners box.
Eddie Howe’s team then doubled their advantage six minutes after the break, with Gordon tucking into an empty net, following David Raya’s smart save from Murphy.
Newcastle ran out comfortable winners in North London, despite a late storm from Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta’s side now have a mountain to climb in the second leg at St. James’ Park in early February.
The Spaniard was left ruing his side’s lack of efficiency in the Tynesiders’ box, and wishing he had a player of Isak’s calibre to call upon in the final third in high-leverage moments.
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Mikel Arteta praises Alexander Isak while lamenting his own players
Arsenal managed 23 shots on goal against Newcastle, amassing over three expected goals, and yet they were unable to find the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Isak had just two shots in his 65 minutes on the pitch, and was able to convert one of them with an emphatic finish.
These telling statistics encapsulate Arsenal’s issues, with Arteta’s outfit lacking the bit of firepower required to burry teams, while Newcastle’s talisman is able to do so in one moment.
Isak has been the subject of Arsenal interest this month, and Arteta’s words on the Swede after the clash on Tuesday certainly appear to have confirmed this interest.
Asked about the prolific number nine in his post-match press conference, the tactician said: “The ball arrived to him and he had one of the big chances. That’s what you have when you have real quality up front.”
“The reality is that Newcastle were super-efficient with the chances they had, and we weren’t. Isak scored with the two chances they had. At this level you need to be clinical.”
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Arteta is sending transfer message with comments
Not only was Arteta praising Isak and possibly hinting to the Arsenal board that he wants the club to bring the player to North London, this was also a subtle dig at the current crop of attackers he has at his disposal.
By implying that he doesn’t have ‘real quality’ to work with in his squad, the head coach was calling on the Arsenal hierarchy to support him and reinforce his ensemble this month.
Bukayo Saka is out for several months after undergoing hamstring surgery, and thus the Gunners are already light on forward options.
Matheus Cunha has been identified as a target, while the likes of Nico Williams, Igor Jesus and Lee Kang-in have all been linked with a switch to N5.
Whether Arsenal will make an addition this winter remains to be seen, but they’re evidently in dire need of one.
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