FROM ST JAMES’ PARK – Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season as Newcastle United claimed a hard fought 1-0 win.
A niggly, even bad-tempered game was settled just after the hour mark as Anthony Gordon fired home from close range after Arsenal failed to clear their lines.
The win, which ends a brilliant week for Newcastle after their Carabao Cup triumph over Manchester United, sends Eddie Howe’s men into sixth place – just three points off the top four.
How the game unfolded
Both sides struggled to create much in the final third and that was summed up by the fact that the only shot on target in the opening half came two minutes into stoppage time when Gabriel Martinelli cut into the box and fired straight at Nick Pope.
However, the first half was not a dull affair with referee Stuart Attwell the busiest person on the pitch. On 35 minutes, the game erupted when Havertz threw himself into a reckless looking challenge on Sean Longstaff and the players had to be separated on the sidelines. Havertz was booked for the tackle which just about looked the right decision as contact was minimal, but it could have gone either way.
Newcastle’s players and fans alike were furious and Longstaff, Gordon and Fabian Schar were booked in the aftermath but that set the tone for the rest of the half. Declan Rice got away with a strong challenge in the midfield on Guimaraes, who himself was soon lucky to stay on the pitch.
Just before half-time as Jorginho cleared a ball, Guimaraes caught the Arsenal man with a forearm but VAR official Andy Madley did not take things further when he could easily have asked for a red card.
At half-time, Newcastle were forced into a change with Dan Burn, who was struggling with his back, departing and Tino Livramento coming on.
Just after the hour and Eddie Howe made two further changes as he introduced Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock and they had an immediate impact as Newcastle were soon ahead.
Newcastle pushed forward and the ball fell for Murphy, whose shot at goal fizzed well wide, but it did not go out and was chased down by Willock, who crossed into the six-yard box. Raya missed the ball, Joelinton challenged Gabriel and the the scraps ultimately fell to Gordon to fire home from close range.
VAR took over four minutes, checking the ball going out from Murphy, a possible foul from Joelinton and then offside against Gordon, but VAR official Madley awarded the goal and St James’ roared with delight.
Mikel Arteta reacted by bringing on Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Fabio Vieira and that resulted in Arsenal turning up the pressure. The final ten minutes saw Newcastle camped in their own box, but they were happy to do so as the visitors created all too little and the Magpies comfortably saw out the game to clinch a famous win.
GK: Nick Pope – 7/10 – Stood strong but the England international in truth was rarely tested by Arsenal.
RB: Kieran Trippier – 8/10 – Solid throughout, firstly on the right and then switching to the left. Didn’t give his man any joy.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles (c) – 8/10 – Headed everything thrown at him and marshalled his team well. An excellent performance.
CB: Fabian Schar – 8/10 – Outstanding. His distribution was sublime at times and was never panicked into make the wrong choice.
LB: Dan Burn – 6/10 – Did well against Saka but injury forced him off at the break.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 7/10 – Worked his socks off and allowed others to get forward, but more than pulled his weight.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – 7/10 – Combative from the Brazilian star. Lucky to stay on the pitch but didn’t give Arsenal’s midfield a moment of peace.
CM: Joelinton – 7/10 – Played a key role in the goal as he was switched to striker. More than did his job either in midfield or attack.
RW: Anthony Gordon – 9/10 – Outstanding display from the former Everton man. A constant menace all over the pitch and got the goal.
ST: Callum Wilson – 6/10 – Battled well with Gabriel and William Saliba. A true focal point.
LW: Miguel Almiron – 6/10 – Tried to be an outlet and made some nice runs in the first half.
Substitutes
SUB: Tino Livramento (45′ for Burn) – 6/10 – Really solid when he came on.
SUB: Joe Willock (62′ for Almiron) – 7/10
SUB: Jacob Murphy (62′ for Wilson) – 7/10
SUB: Matt Ritchie (79′ for Murphy) – N/A
Subs not used: Martin Dubravka (GK), Paul Dummett, Emil Krafth, Lewis Hall, Lewis Miley
Manager
Eddie Howe – 9/10 – Brought on both Murphy and Willock and they created the winner – wonderful decision to make the changes.
GK: David Raya – 2/10 – Looked unsteady for most of the game but his hapless attempt to come for the ball and miss it for Newcastle’s goal was just amateurish. Awful.
RB: Ben White – 5/10 – Given a tough time by Anthony Gordon and did little to help with the goal.
CB: William Saliba – 7/10 – Some lovely defensive work, close control and nice passing but also battled when needed with Wilson.
CB: Gabriel – 5/10 – Some great clearances but he will feel he should have done better on the goal, although he will also think he was fouled.
LB: Takehiro Tomiyasu – 6/10 – Was solid enough in defence but going forward did not offer enough.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10 – Was the heartbeat of the team without Martin Odegaard and he drove forward whenever he could. Tried to lead by example but just a shame others could not match his commitment.
CM: Kai Havertz – 4/10 – Offered little and was lucky to stay on the pitch.
CM: Jorginho (c) – 6/10 – Some decent play, and was dictating the play for chunks of the first half, but he dropped off.
RW: Bukayo Saka – 4/10 – Looked a shadow of the player we know. Offered very little.
ST: Eddie Nketiah – 4/10 – A hat-trick against Sheffield United does not an Arsenal striker make. Looked way off it and never looked like getting a shot on target, let alone a goal.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli – 5/10 – Showed some willingness to get forward in the second half but not enough. Pretty poor.
Substitutes
SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (72′ for White) – 5/10
SUB: Leandro Trossard (79′ for Nketiah) – N/A
SUB: Fabio Vieira (79′ for Jorginho) – N/A
Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Karl Hein (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Cedric Soares, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 6/10 – Some strange decisions from the off and maybe waited too long to make changes.
Player of the match: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
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