Arsenal on Saturday was handed their first defeat of this season’s Premier League by Newcastle at St. James Park. A second-half goal from Anthony Gordon secured a crucial victory for the Magpies in a tightly contested tie. Arsenal on the other hand suffered consecutive defeats after their midweek EFL Cup exit against West Ham.
Despite several fringe players making huge impressions against Manchester United in midweek, Eddie Howe kept faith with the side that started Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Wolves in their last league game. Callum Wilson’s first-half brace got the Magpies off to a strong start in the West Midlands, and he was looking to have the same impact in this match, flanked by Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron.
Arsenal, meanwhile, made six changes from their 3-1 League Cup loss, with only Ben White, Gabriel, Jorginho, Kai Havertz and Eddie Nketiah keeping their places. The latter scored a superb hat-trick against Sheffield United at the Emirates last week.
The first half was marked with chances for both teams but was high on drama. Neither goalkeeper were really tested, with Raya diffusing a close-range effort from Gordon and Martinelli shooting straight into the gloves of Pope. However, the cards began to flow with half-time approaching, particularly after a reckless lunge from Havertz. He was lucky to only pick up a yellow card, but the reactions of Gordon, Longstaff and Schar also earned the three Newcastle players bookings, while Guimaraes was lucky to avoid a sanction for a late elbow on Jorginho.
Newcastle scored the only goal of the match just after the hour mark. Willock kept Murphy’s prior effort in play and crossed back into the middle, where Joelinton contested Raya for the ball. It ricocheted on the goal-line, but Gordon was there to tap into an empty net and put the Magpies 1-0 up.
Arsenal tried hard to get back into the game, but Newcastle were resilient enough to block those advances. Howe’s men defended with all their might and held on to the slender lead to script a memorable victory in front of home supporters.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United XI
Arsenal – Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
Newcastle United – Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon
