Sign up for Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter delivered straight to your inbox for free
Sign up for Miguel Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Sign up for Miguel Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Arsenal’s longest journey of the Premier League season has once again been the least exciting. Two-and-a-half years ago, their challenge for the Champions League came to a screeching halt against Newcastle at St James’ Park. Now the title challenge may have ended prematurely on Tyneside. Of course, Arsenal have seven months to assess how badly they suffered their third defeat in four visits.
With one point from a possible nine, with their second defeat in a row, they stumbled when they needed to step up. This time, the loss of points is not due to the loss of players. Arsenal finished with a full 11 but with a single shot on target. This too cannot be attributed to the officials, unlike last autumn’s defeat to Newcastle. However, they failed and uninspired, shorn ideas and incision. “We deserved to lose,” Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said. “It’s not about winning the title, it’s about being the best version of yourself every week.” No, he couldn’t say: “We will struggle to find words today.”
He also needs football intelligence. It seems Arteta’s game plan has turned to keeping a clean sheet and scoring quality goals. However, Newcastle did it, Alexander Isak’s early goal stemming from Anthony Gordon’s pinpoint cross. As they did at Bournemouth, Arsenal failed to score.
He never looked like that. He has a lot but not a lot. With Bukayo Saka shackled by the increasingly impressive Lewis Hall, Arsenal sorely missed the class of Martin Odegaard, the captain’s ability to pick passes and unlock defences. Leandro Trossard, who was often a talisman, was ineffective. Arteta may regret not starting Ethan Nwaneri, instead sending a second-half SOS to the youngster. Raheem Sterling is really punishing that his unused substitute doesn’t even get it.
However, collectively, there is a sense that Arteta has focused too much on getting the six-legged strapping. Arsenal have physicality but need creativity. And they met a match in a Newcastle team driven by foot power.
style Sandro Tonali sacrifice, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe likes the Stakhanovite industry of the unglamorous Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock as packed team with workhorses, with Joelinton co-opted into the front three; out of possession, however, Newcastle established a line of five in midfield, challenging Arsenal to pass them. He couldn’t. “We were dragged into a game where we kept looking,” Arteta said. “He’s good at what he wants.”
And Arsenal, their manager admitted, “had no answers”. Declan Rice curled a shot over the post and headed wastefully into added time but Newcastle had the height to defend the corner. Trossard was denied by Dan Burn, with a brilliant challenge. Original possibilities were rare. The best might have been Mikel Merino, but Hall made a goal-saving block with his number on his shirt. The left-back has proven to be a slow burner, but, 14 months into his Newcastle career, he is starting to catch fire.
The same goes for Newcastle. It was a reminder of Howe’s capacity to command a response from his team. Those ambitions seem in danger of being dashed: with five games without a win, with just two points from a possible 15. Now the mood has changed on Tyneside.
The Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea was followed by an even more important victory. Newcastle had kicked off in the 12th and appeared with determination and organization to make a mockery of that. The roar at the final whistle shows how much the north-east community savored the quality of their battling.
It was a scrappy affair, defined as much by Newcastle’s battling qualities as a noble goal. This is a byproduct of Howe’s team selection. The right wing has been United’s problem position this season, an area they need to buy from. The two best wings both prefer to be on the left but, moving to the other side, Gordon reflects what he can offer there. A good, first cross met by Isak, for the third goal in as many games.
It was a relief from Arsenal that Gabriel Magalhaes was not fit, so it was a disappointment that they lost to the Swedes. Gordon, meanwhile, is effervescent and wonderful. A disproportionate number of Englishmen’s goals against elite opposition. Once again, the big game brought out the best in him.
But not from Arsenal. No longer guaranteed a clean sheet, they conceded 10 goals in six league games. No longer the master of efficiency, he now has just three wins in his last eight. And it might be worth noting that Liverpool and Man City have a good record at St James’ Park. It feels like the kind of test a potential champion passes. Arsenal failed.
