Arsenal vs Newcastle: Gunners Dominate with 4-1 Victory, Reinforcing Premier League Title Contention
Witness Arsenal’s commanding 4-1 triumph over Newcastle as they assert their dominance in the Premier League title race.
Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Jakub Kiwior shine in a spectacular performance, reaffirming Arsenal’s prowess on the field.
Bukayo Saka scored for a fifth game in a row as Arsenal moved to within two points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with a dominant 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday night.
Inspired by wingers Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who had battled in that Champions League match, Arsenal transformed from the sluggish team defeated in Porto on Wednesday night. From the opening whistle, they were explosive, and before 24 minutes, they were duly ahead.
With Martin Dubravka out due to illness, Loris Karius, Newcastle‘s unexpected goalkeeper, saw minimal protection in his first Premier League game in nearly six years. When Martinelli cut back for Kai Havertz to score the second goal, he was left entirely exposed and unable to stop Gabriel’s header from a corner that Sven Botman had punched into his own net.
After the visitors finally gained some momentum in the second half, Saka struck again, this time cutting back on his left to score a spectacular goal, and Jakub Kiwior headed home a header off another corner from Lewis Miley that Karius could only mishandle through.
With six minutes remaining, Joe Willock headed in against his former team, providing a late consolation for the travelling supporters to celebrate. It was Newcastle’s first goal in more than nine years at Arsenal. However, their loss drops them to eighth place, 15 points outside the top four and 10 behind Tottenham in fifth.
Arsenal may have felt like they had a score to settle after that heartbreaking loss, but the main statement they made with this performance and result is that they are firmly in the three-horse race for the title. Arsenal was incensed by VAR’s decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winner to stand at St. James’ Park in November.
How Arsenal swiftly routed Newcastle
The most notable pre-match team news was Karius’s debut in the Premier League for Newcastle. It was only his second game for the team, and it came nearly a year after his debut in the Carabao Cup final. The goalkeeper would have been relieved to have stopped an early Saka shot and to block a drive from Declan Rice. However, that was only a sign of what the enraged Gunners were about to unleash.
Arsenalapplied constant pressure, and their set-piece expertise was what eventually broke the deadlock. Gabriel forcefully flicked Saka’s corner at Karius, whose parry was unintentionally pushed in by Botman as Newcastle tried to clear their lines.
Soon after, the hosts scored their second goal as Martinelli raced over the penalty area, latching onto a pass over the top and cutting the ball back for Havertz to make the easy finish and once more take down Newcastle.
The guests were reeling, having just managed to escape their half. Shortly after the restart, Sean Longstaff made a diving move to stop Martin Odegaard from setting up Havertz once more. As Arsenal pushed for additional points, Karius made a great stop to deny Saka’s effort from the edge of the box, and Martinelli headed over after another clever move.
On minute forty-three, Newcastle managed to get a touch inside the Arsenal area, but David Raya was out fast to thwart Miguel Almiron’s advance. All they wanted was to hear the whistle at halftime. However, the second half got off to a similar start as the first. Just seconds after the break, Havertz had a good opportunity to put Arsenal ahead, but he missed the target after Martinelli set him up one on one.
Soon after, Anthony Gordon cut in and fired across Raya to give Newcastle their first chance. Alexander Isak followed suit on the hour mark before blazing over as Newcastle started to establish a foothold in the game. But Saka’s show-stopper put an end to the opposition.
The winger for Arsenal and England knew exactly what he intended to do, which was cut back onto his left to fire across goal, but Tino Livramento was powerless to stop him. A sophisticated play by the highly skilled Saka.
It was game, set, and match when Kiwior got on the end of Rice’s corner and the ball bounced in off Miley and Karius’ left hand, allowing Arteta to substitute Saka, Havertz, and Odegaard for a rest.
Newcastle has lost all 12 of their previous visits to this stadium, but they did manage to salvage something with a wonderful play down the left that set up Willock for a looping header on his old home field thanks to a replacement Dan Burn. Arsenal was denied a club record eight straight home clean sheets against Newcastle by that late goal, but Arteta’s team proved their real mettle and the outcome was never in doubt.
Arteta applauds Arsenal’s aggressive play
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal: “We performed really well. Impressive work for the boys, considering they had only 2.5 days to get ready. They played with a great deal of bravery in the manner they carried out everything—they were aggressive and determined. We really should have won the game, in my opinion.
They are coming up with different strategies to score. Though we could have scored a lot more today, it is still incredibly pleasing. We still need to make some improvements and get gamers back.
“The staff deserves credit for getting the players back, but I could see we were prepared for the match as soon as we arrived in Porto. It’s wonderful to witness that response and the stadium’s support as we move on once more.
“The team is playing well right now; we’re in a terrific spot. When a player performs on their own, we want to go for the second, third, and fourth goals after we score one. I really enjoy that mindset. In Porto, we lacked the bravery necessary to do the actions we performed today.”
Regarding Jorginho: “A superb player.” An opponent can have a significant effect when he exhibits specific behaviors, set-up, or how I envision the game. Once more, he was outstanding today. Though individually we were excellent today, he is undoubtedly of the highest caliber. Once more, we set the bar higher. It’s hard to accomplish what we did today and make them suffer because they are well-coached.”
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Howe feels dissatisfied with Newcastle’s performance in the first half
Eddie Howe, the manager of Newcastle: “I’m disappointed, especially with the first half. We never really got going, in my opinion. We were under duress from them, and although I had assumed we would withstand it and grow stronger, we never recovered from that. That initial 45 minutes will teach us a lot.
“It’s concerning that we give up goals in every game we play. Although there are a number of things we’re working on behind the scenes to attempt to enhance it, the performance today probably didn’t reflect that. There was insufficient defense against set plays.
“There was a mix of direct honesty and how we were going to play in the second half at halftime. It was much better; we had several opportunities and were the more powerful team. You could feel that the game may change if we could score the next goal.
“The guys that have been healthy this season have performed incredibly well under extremely difficult conditions. Although it was a challenging day, I believe that in the second half we demonstrated our character. This is an important game for our season against Blackburn.
Next Challenges
On Monday, March 4, Monday Night Football returns to Bramall Lane in the Premier League as Arsenal takes on Sheffield United. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
Newcastle will play Wolves in the Premier League next Saturday at 3pm, after visiting Blackburn in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday at 7.45pm.
