Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal: Spirited Magpies beat Gunners
Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal: Spirited Magpies beat Gunners. Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side have now gone three Premier League games without victory after falling to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James’ Park in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Alexander Isak found the back of the net in a third consecutive match as he headed the hosts in front early on, with Arsenal unable to respond before the half-time whistle.
The Gunners’ woes continued after the break as they struggled to break down a committed Newcastle side, stumbling to an ultimately deserved defeat as they drop more points in the Premier League title race.
How did the game unfold?
Arsenal who sought for their revenge for last season’s controversial defeat at St James’ Park, ultimately made the worst start imaginable on Tyneside. Newcastle only needed 12 minutes to find themselves in front of a cacophonous home crowd as Isak powered home an impressive header following a Anthony Gordon’s exceptional delivery into the penalty area.
The visitors however came close to an equaliser before the half-hour mark, but were still struggling to find their rhythm in the final third. Mikel Merino almost provided a second successive Premier League goal as his close-range effort was blocked on the line by Lewis Hall following a testing Arsenal corner.
The continued absence of Martin Odegaard was felt as the Gunners struggled to breakthrough a stubborn and resolute Newcastle defensive unit. Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope left the field at the break with his gloves unmuddied as those in front of him kept a tame Arsenal side at bay.
Mikel Arteta will have had strong words for his side during the half-time break but they had little impact as Arsenal continued to underwhelm after the restart. It was Isak who forged the first real opportunity of the second half, forcing David Raya into a diving save with his effort from outside the box.
Declan Rice’s deflected shot trickled just wide of Pope’s far post as Arsenal pushed for an equaliser but the Gunners looked alarmingly toothless when they reached the Newcastle penalty area. Bukayo Saka did his best to spark a comeback and looked the most likely route to goal as the visitors desperately sought a point.
However, the goal never arrived as Rice headed a glorious opportunity wide in stoppage time, with Arteta’s side dropping points for a third successive match in the Premier League to dent their aspirations of a first title in over two decades.
