Arsenal and Arteta frustrate Newcastle’s defensive prowess Premier League

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No one should be surprised, Newcastle were the first visitors to slip away from the Emirates by a single point this season. They put a masterclass in their frustration with the toothless Arsenal who struggled for fashion opportunities, and turned long runs into exhibitions of laughter that made the contest so intriguingly engaging. It is perhaps unsurprising that two teams with only one defeat to their name could not find a victor and the result leaves little dent in Arsenal’s title hopes, even if the chance of a 10-point lead looms large. Newcastle’s hopes of qualifying for the summit are far away, but it seems highly poised for a coordinated tilt in the Champions League positions.

In August, the possibility that this clash could carry serious repercussions on both sides was hard to register. But they are here on merit and the quick and open start showed why. Most of the runs came from Arsenal, as it always happens these days, and they created three fantastic openings in the first ten minutes.

Martin Odegaard’s touches are all turning silk these days, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him strike a volley from 15 yards out, although it wasn’t more than half a chance. Moments later, Bukayo Saka destroyed Dan Byrne with a sensational run, ripping off the outside and sprinting along the sideline. The resulting shot was blocked by Nick Pope from a corner but the home team quickly bounced back, Saka driving another break which saw Granit Xhaka running out of space to put pressure on Pope.

Newcastle needed to ride out the early storm. They, like their opponents, have only lost once all season, so they can be backed to find a foothold and discover one of a kind. You have to price in a few close calls after Arsenal’s run from the blocks and Eddie Howe was clear: they began to explode the ball, and even if Callum Wilson’s weak shot to Aaron Ramsdale was the sum of their attacking endeavours, they fell into the half. Successfully stayed in the game for an hour.

Their tendency to leave a foot in helped: Bruno Guimarães and Wilson were booked for doing so in quick succession and, to Mikel Arteta’s annoyance, Joelinton avoided a similar penalty for the third such offense. Breaking Arsenal’s flow seemed an essential part of the plan and it was paying off; Gabriel Magalhaes headed in not far from Odegaard’s free kick but a junk shot, the Emirates crowd howled as Miguel Almiron tried to come back to rob Xhaka before taking too much from the man.

Oleksandr Zinchenko and Granit Xhaka chase Andy Madley hoping to get a penalty decision. Photo: Mark Atkins/Getty Images

They were angry too, when Odegaard was shown a yellow card for sending him back to a broken Guimarães, but he couldn’t complain when Xhaka dived woefully late on Fabian Scheer. It was the fifth time the half had been booked, and the little flashpoints were piling up, and Newcastle were denied the advantage of one when a penalty from a Byrne stumbling in the penalty area achieved nothing. By the interval, they could have thought they had completely disrupted Arsenal’s fluency, and could have moved on when Joelinton missed a wide header after the whistle.

Four minutes into the second half, Wilson fouled Ramsdale but Almiron couldn’t find the way to capitalize. Within seconds, after Paraguay reached the right sideline, he blundered in the middle an inch further than his teammate and Arsenal, who also used to emerge quickly, have yet to regain any momentum. Ødegaard sinks violently after shaky work from Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko; Jolinton and Almiron soon added themselves to Andrew Madley’s Book of Misdemeanours, and while tense and stressful, the proceedings were considerably tense.

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Howe and his assistant, Jason Tyndall, clapped vigorously as another pass from Arsenal came through. Saka’s insignificant strike allowed Arteta to deliver a dedicated training session; Saca responded with a run not the first time Joelinton had stymied her so nicely covering the struggling Burn.

Joelinton seemed lucky to avoid probing for an arm across Saka’s face as the tension showed few signs of cooling. Gabriel Martinelli thought he had run off the left flank but Scheer responded cleverly. Then the Brazilian flashed a header across the goal from a corner kick. The pressure was now more or less constant and there was a feeling something was going to fall Arsenal’s way. When that happened, Eddie Nketiah was banished by Pope. Newcastle had what they came for.

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