Arsenal were able to do one thing against Newcastle United on Saturday night that hasn’t happened to them in the Premier League for ten years.
Arsenal were utterly dominant against Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.
Mikel Arteta will have been delighted with how his side put the Magpies to the sword. The Gunners continued their magnificent recent Premier League goalscoring form as they secured a 4-1 win against Newcastle.
A Sven Botman own goal in the first half marked the 700th time that Arsenal have found the back of the net at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League. Kai Havertz then doubled the Gunners’ lead before the break. Bukayo Saka and Jakub Kiwior added gloss to the scoreline in the second half, before Joe Willock netted a late consolation goal against his former club.
To a man, the hosts were excellent. Arsenal fans were particularly impressed by Jorginho, but the likes of Havertz, Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Declan Rice, amongst others, also caught the eye. This was particularly true in the first half, when Arsenal simply blew Newcastle away.
The extent of Arsenal’s dominance in the opening period is underlined by the fact that, as reported by talkSPORT, Eddie Howe’s men failed to register a shot of any description in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time since 2014.
Arsenal defence imposes dominant form on Newcastle
Arsenal were able to stifle the Tyenside to such an extent with the aggressive, relentless nature of their pressing play. Every time Newcastle found themselves on the ball in their own half, they were immediately swarmed by the Gunners’ attacking players. This forced the Magpies into plenty of mistakes and stopped them from ever being able to effectively play out from the back.
On the few occasions that the visitors were able to get into Arsenal territory, the likes of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, and Jakub Kiwior were in no mood to give them any time or space. If Newcastle ever tried to bypass this defensive unit with a ball over the top then David Raya was reliably alert and quick off of his line to deal with the danger.
Arsenal’s defence has been remarkably solid in recent weeks, and this performance continued that trend to the extent that Newcastle suffered an indignity which they hadn’t previously endured for the last decade.
The Gunners now boast the best goal difference in the Premier League, which could prove decisive come the climax of this title race, which promises to go down to the wire.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
