Arsenal hit Premier League landmark in first half during win v Newcastle

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Arsenal hit an Emirates Stadium landmark in the first half of their Premier League clash against Newcastle United on Saturday night.

Arsenal were utterly dominant against Newcastle United in the first half in north London.

After an intense, attacking start from the Gunners, the deadlock was broken in the 18th minute as Gabriel Magalhaes met a Bukayo Saka corner with his head. Lorius Karius was able to claw this initial effort from the Brazilian defender out, but the ball was then deflected over the Newcastle goal-line by Sven Botman. 

Mikel Arteta’s side were fully deserving of this lead, even if the goal did feature some fortuitous aspects from their perspective. This strike also underlined yet again the threat that Gabriel poses from set-piece situations. Arsenal’s set-pieces have garnered plenty of attention already this season, and set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has also proven to be something of a secret weapon for the Gunners.

This goal also had an historic quality. As reported by Opta analyst Orbinho, writing on X, this goal marked the 700th that Arsenal have scored in the Premier League at their Emirates Stadium home.

Arsenal hit Emirates Stadium milestone against Newcastle

Having left Highbury, Arsenal moved into the Emirates Stadium in 2006. Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva scored their first goal at their new ground. In 2022, Emile Smith Rowe struck the 600th. In between those two strikes, the intervening centuries were brought up by goals from Andrey Arshavin, Robin van Persie, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, and Granit Xhaka.

Arteta’s men have certainly been in a free-scoring mood of late. Prior to this match against the Magpies, the Gunners had scored 21 goals over the course of their last five league outings, and had conceded just twice in that period. That prolific run included two separate 5-0 victories, a landmark triumph against Liverpool, and a club-record 6-0 win against West Ham United at the London Stadium. Arsenal kept this form going as they put Newcastle to the sword in front of a raucous home crowd this evening.

The likes of Liverpool and Manchester City will now be eyeing Arsenal’s domestic form with some apprehension, as this season’s Premier League title race approaches the final strait. Just two points separate the three clubs at the top end of the table, but thanks to their recent hot streak, the Gunners boast the best goal difference in the division, which could prove crucial come the end of the campaign.