What. A. Game. More specifically, what an ending to the game? The results on Saturday had bumped this up from a key game to a must-win, so the stakes couldn’t be much higher. I must admit, I’d reached the stage of the season already where I deliberately avoid the results of our rivals, for fear of it ruining my day with a last minute winner but it turns out, I needn’t have worried!! Crystal Palace did a ‘Liverpool’ on Liverpool by snatching a win at the death (doesn’t really tell the full story though, as Palace were deserving winners based on what I’ve seen/heard) meaning that a win at Newcastle would take us within two points of Liverpool. Given the fixtures we’ve had and the amount of late goals Liverpool have scored, I think this is a decent position to be in. I would certainly have taken it going into stoppage time against Manchester City last week, where the gap was due to open up to six points!!
The line-up
The big headline was the lack of Mikel Merino in midfield from the start, with the much more attacking Eberechi Eze preferred in his stead. With Saka also starting on the right, this looked like an exciting right hand side and gave me hope of some nice interchanges and attacking play. The rest of the team was relatively as expected aside for Cristhian Mosquera, who was included in place of William Saliba, who still appears to be nursing an ankle injury.
First half
After the initial huffing and puffing from a Newcastle side roared on by the home support we actually started the game quite well. We were moving the ball around nicely and Saka was looking lively down the right and Eze had a few nice touches and it didn’t take long for Arsenal to fashion the first real chance of the game and it was a really good one. Jurrien Timber’s deflected cross from the right came to Eze who took a touch with his right before firing towards goal with his left with Nick Pope making an unreal save to get down low to his left to keep the ball from nestling in the bottom right corner.
Shortly after, we were awarded a penalty when Viktor Gyokeres pounced on a loose back pass to round Pope only to be tripped by the big keeper. A red card was also a possibility but after a lengthy VAR check, the decision was taken to overturn the penalty as Pope got a touch on the ball.
This one has divided opinion across the football world but my take is that it probably shouldn’t be a penalty as he did get a bit on the ball and push the trajectory wide of the target but it’s a close one either way and the main talking point is – why did VAR feel the need to intervene in a subjective call at all. We don’t seem to get the rub of the green with these sort of borderline decisions (I still think back to Saliba’s red card at Bournemouth which was probably a red but was certainly enough doubt in it for VAR to stay out of it but we now what happened next!) but even with this chip on our shoulders, I still didn’t feel too down as we were still massively on top in a massive game and looked by far the superior team. The difference with this performance compared to previous years’ was that we were actually creating chances and looking quite menacing. Eberechi Eze was pulling the strings and starting to make things happen, while Saka was still posing plenty of threat with Timber joining in when he can on the outside.
The next chance fell again to Arsenal and this one should really have been 1-0. A promising attack down the right was really opened up when Saka managed to poke the ball across the midfield to Declan Rice to run onto and then all of a sudden we had a 5v3 situation. All Rice had to do was play the right pass at the right time, which he did to perfection. He slipped in Leandro Trossard in the left channel and I was just waiting for the net to bulge before seeing the shot cannon off the near post. Unlucky? I’d be tempted to call this a bad miss as Trossard should go across the goal from there and in any case, he should just score.
There was a period in the first half where Newcastle put Arsenal under a bit of pressure with a few corners and long throw-ins in a row but these were dealt with well by Gabriel and Mosquera and aside from set pieces, Newcastle posed little or no threat to the Arsenal goal.
A few minutes later a long throw from Calafiori was cleared to edge of the area where Eze was lurking with intent. The Arsenal number 10 struck a vicious first time shot towards the Newcastle goal only to see Pope beat it away. It was maybe slightly too close to the keeper but it was really moving and brought a good save from Pope.
Shortly after, Saka forced a comfortable save at his near post from Nick Pope, which the keeper was always favourite for but it was still another chance that went begging.
As Arsenal fans, we could all probably see what was coming next as Newcastle took the lead completely against the run of play.
Cristhian Mosquera made a rare mistake and rushed his back pass to Raya and gave Newcastle a cheap corner which they played short and then whipped in a brilliant cross which Woltemade headed home into the corner. Raya no chance. The Arsenal players complained of a push on Gabriel so I was hoping that VAR might do us a solid and correct the wrong from the first half. The replays quickly dispelled any such hope as Gabriel went down far too easily. No foul for me. I don’t think you’d even get that at Old Trafford. Poor from Gabriel. Should never be going to ground there.
That kind of shocked Arsenal, unsurprisingly, and they didn’t really create another clear chance for the rest of the half. The Arsenal players could however, take some solace in the fact that this was the best Arsenal had played away at Newcastle for a long, long time and they really shouldn’t have been behind in this game.
Second half
There was a change at the break as William Saliba was introduced in place of Mosquera which seemed a bit harsh on the new signing but Saliba’s performance was in and out of possession in the second half more than vindicated Arteta’s decision. Saliba is not one to play raking 50 yard passes but he’s very good at getting us up the pitch, as he’s so calm on the ball which seems to allow him 5 seconds more than everyone else!
The change actually nearly backfired within the first minute of the second half as Saliba made a real mess of cutting out an early right wing cross only for Woltemade to put the ball over the bar from close range. The flag then went up for offside moments later so it wouldn’t have counted anyway but my heart was well and truly in my mouth at this stage.
The next 15 minutes or so were largely uninspiring before Arsenal really started to click into gear and again it was the substitutes who really made the difference. Around 70 minutes, Arsenal made a double change, bringing on Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli for Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka.
The Saka/Martinelli change made total sense as Saka was tiring at this stage and Martinelli has been so efficient from the bench lately but the Merino for Calafiori sub I found very confusing. Calafiori has picked up another booking so he I could see why he was withdrawn and although Merino brings an obvious threat in the air, there were more attacking options on the bench that would be more direct. I also couldn’t see what that meant for us formation-wise. I still don’t really understand it but there’s a reason why I write about football and Mikel Arteta is a world renown coach and that would come to light in the next few minutes.
Arsenal were well and truly on top now but not really creating clear cut chances and it would take one final substitution to swing the game in our favour. The fit again, Martin Odegaard, was introduced in place of Martin Zubimendi in a clear attacking change and he seemed determined to make up for lost time as he buzzed around the midfield, playing intricate passes and driving us forward, albeit from an usually deep position, which was likely because Newcastle were sat so deep at this stage and had recently gone to a back 5.
We were well on top at this stage, dominating both the ball and territory and I said to my nephew that if we were to win the game from this stage, that would truly be the work of Champions. A distant dream at this stage but it felt like a key moment for Arsenal who really needed to make this dominance count and turn it into at least 1 point. Saying that, despite the current state of play being tipped firmly in Arsenal’s favour, it was becoming apparent that it might not be our day today so I was personally drifting towards the ‘I’ll take a point’ territory and doing a few sums in my head to work out how bad a point would be in terms of catching Liverpool.
Newcastle offered very little threat of their own with a swift counter attack from Jacob Murphy in which he looked to be clean through at one stage, only to be pegged bag by the magnificent Declan Rice, their only real attack of note.
Viktor Gyokeres had a great chance to equalise but slipped at the worst possible moment and slashed his effort horribly high and wide but Arsenal didn’t have to wait too much longer to breakthrough.
After forcing a corner from a threatening inside left run, Declan Rice decided to take it short and the ball was then worked back to Rice, in almost exactly the same place as Newcastle’s opening goal was crossed from, and the Englishman delivered an equally impressive cross into the box for Mikel Merino to flick a brilliant header into the far corner to break Newcastle hearts and deliver Arsenal a thoroughly deserved equaliser. It was a brilliant goal that highlighted two key strengths that we all know about already but such is their potency, it’s so hard to stop even when you know what’s coming – Rice is absolutely superb at delivering dangerous balls into the box and Mikel Merino is equally brilliant at attacking them. A simple goal, yet filled with quality of the highest order. The header from Merino cannot be underestimated, that deft flick, putting just enough power/accuracy on the ball to beat Pope, was nowhere near as easy as the big man made it look.
There were a few brief celebrations but Declan Rice, among others, signalled to Mikel Merino that we weren’t done and to get back to halfway for kick off. The goal was timed at 84 minutes and it felt like this had left enough time for a winner without making it a real trolley dash, but every second was now invaluable as we chased all three points.
There was a very worrying moment shortly after our equaliser as there were big appeals for a penalty from the Newcastle players and fans when the ball struck Gabriel on the hand, but as the ball initially hit his shin, the claims were thankfully waved away. That would have been beyond cruel and completely undeserving from a Newcastle perspective but even so, it felt like we had got away with one.
Time was now running out and I was again drifting towards being happy with a point, especially given the penalty scare at the other end but liked all Arsenal fans, I was hoping for a bit more but to be honest, without really expecting anything dramatic at this late stage.
Arsenal continued to probe and won a corner in the 95th minute (of 8 added minutes). No Saka on the pitch so Odegaard took over corner duties and delivered a perfect ‘Saka corner’ for Gabriel to meet, in Gabriel fashion, to head home from close range with Pope left in no man’s land.
WHAT. A. MOMENT.
We don’t do things like this
So that was it. Arsenal took all three points in stoppage time, the day after Liverpool gave up their one point in stoppage time and all of a sudden, roles were reversed and it was Arsenal’s turn to be the last gap winners. Let’s hope Arsenal really do reverse the roles with Liverpool come May and with battling performances like this one, you wouldn’t bet against them at this early stage. MASSIVE three points.
Three key takeaways
The real Declan Rice has turned up
As good as Declan Rice has been since he joined the Gunners, and let’s face it, he’s been pretty damn good, I think few can deny that he starts the season in his best form. I don’t think Rice even gives you any lower than a 6 out of 10, even on his worse day, but as one of our key men in midfield, we’re used to seeing regular 8s and sometimes 9s out of him. However, this is not something we see a lot of in the earlier games of the season as Rice takes a bit of time to find his rhythm and form and feels his way into new seasons relatively slowly in comparison to some of his other teammates. Against Newcastle, Declain Rice produced his first 8 out of 10 for the season as he bossed the game in pretty much all aspect. Helped push us forward with his passing, driving runs and ultimately dragged us level with an inch perfect cross. Also helped keep us in it by tracking Jacob Murphy all the way back to our goal from way inside the Newcastle half and was a usual colossus, covering every blade of grass at St James’ Park. Top, top performance.
Eze looks far better as a central player than from the left (currently!)
It’s still very early days but I’ve not been massively impressed with what I’ve seen of Eze from the left but when he’s moved back into the centre, he’s looked every bit the player that we paid Crystal Palace £60m for. Playing as the right 8/10, he was a constant threat to Newcastle with either his passing, dribbling or shooting from the edge of the box. On another day he would have got at least one goal, probably a couple, but he found Nick Pope in top, top form on the day. His shooting from the edge of the box was a real highlight and as he gets in such good positions and strikes the ball cleanly with either foot, I can see this being a really productive weapon for Arsenal for the rest of the season. Again, it was only brief, but when Martin Odegaard entered the fray, you could already see really positive signs that they can play as a two rather than an either/or situation, so that’s another really exciting proposition for those games where the opposition sits in deep with a low block.
This team has serious character
A lot of cliches will be thrown around about this performance, including classics such as ‘that’s what Champions do’ and ‘they showed the spirit of Champions’ and it’s hard to not get dragged into this way of thinking as Arsenal did something that you don’t always associate with this Arsenal side – winning from a losing position. I’m trying desperately to keep my feet firmly on the floor as we’re only 6 games into the new season but even I have to admit, this team has a special look about them. They’ve got leaders all over the pitch – Rice, Gabriel, Raya, Eze – to name but a few and they faced some old demons by going behind away at Newcastle – again, in a game when they were mostly on top – again, with a borderline refereeing decision going against them – again…yet, they found a way to turn it around and bring home the points anyway. Something that they haven’t done before. We’ve been blessed with some really good teams these passed few years but I’ve not seen many of them do anything like what I saw today. That sort of character and belief can go a long way in a gruelling 38 game season so now it’s up to Arsenal to push on and make this really count…West Ham up next.