Arsenal’s win vs. Newcastle proves Prem and UCL up for grabs،
LONDON — Arsenal made sure VAR was not necessary against Newcastle this time.
Their 4-1 defeat to the Magpies at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday was a stark course correction from the reverse match in November, a 1-0 defeat which was Arsenal's first of the season. In that previous match, Anthony Gordon's controversial strike decided a frenzied contest, which prompted Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to brand the referee a “disgrace” amid heated remarks exchanged between the two clubs at all levels.
The defeat left a bitter taste in north London, so much so that a desire to right perceived wrongs influenced the stadium's pre-match preparation on Saturday. Sources told ESPN that while the extra light show, tifos, flags and motivational videos were designed to rally supporters for an unusually late weekend kickoff, they also partly reflected the desire to take revenge on a team that Arsenal grew up with. a surprisingly intense rivalry as of late.
– Live on ESPN+: Carabao Cup Final: Liverpool v Chelsea
– Read on ESPN+: Ranking of Chelsea's 28 signings since Boehly took over
This match last season ended in a 0-0 draw and sparked widespread anger among Arsenal players and staff over what they saw as excessive time wasting: the ball was in play that evening about eight minutes less than the average Premier League match.
It was an example of black magic, which Porto also used in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg against the Gunners at the Estadio do Dragao, where Arsenal were beaten 1-0. Subsequently, the Gunners were accused of naivety and questioned whether their recent goalscoring form was a product of soft opposition rather than a demonstration of their power.
Both received an imposing response here. Arsenal dominated the match, so much so that Newcastle didn't even register a shot in the first half.
“In sport, things happen for a reason, so you have to learn from them,” Arteta said of his team's response after the defeat to Porto. “If you feel sorry for yourself for three days, what happens? It's about learning. We did it. We can't cry. We need to understand why this happened and be better.”
“We fully deserved to win,” he added. “If we want to be the best club in the world, we have to have the best stadium and the best atmosphere in the world, that's for sure. Thank you very much to everyone who came today with this attitude. Thanks to the club like “C It's good that we insisted on that and tried to create that atmosphere, because it has a huge impact on the team. “
The pre-match package helped whip the crowd into a frenzy, which Arsenal replicated on the pitch, producing a blur of motion and high pressing that overwhelmed Newcastle in the first half.
Nowadays, if the Gunners don't get you from open play, they certainly will from set pieces. Newcastle contributed to their own downfall as former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, playing his first Premier League game in six years, made a brilliant save to deny Gabriel Magalhaes' Bukayo Saka corner in the 18th minute, only for Tino Livramento to hit Sven Botman with his attempted clearance. , who crossed the goal line.
Kai Havertz added a well-worked second from Gabriel Martinelli's cutback before Saka scored in his fifth consecutive league game in the 65th minute and Jakub Kiwior struck in the 69th minute from Declan Rice's corner. It was Arsenal's 18th league goal from set pieces this season, a division-high.
Former Arsenal academy graduate Joe Willock headed in a consolation goal six minutes from time to deny the Gunners a clean sheet their performance deserved, but it did not dilute the powerful statement that Arteta's team had made in the title race.
“We are in a good moment,” Arteta said. “The players play individually, it’s no secret. Things are moving.
“We score goals in different ways and above all we want more. When we score one, we want two, three or four. I like this mentality of the team.”
Arsenal have now won their six league matches in 2024 by a combined aggregate score of 25-3. They now have the best goal difference in the league, their plus-39 tally ranking one more than Liverpool and six better than Manchester City – a notable turn in their favor given how close the race threatens to be tight this season.
Just three points separate the top three teams, and using team-specific past disappointments to inspire improvements – adding Newcastle to recent wins over West Ham and Nottingham Forest achieved in part through this methodology – will ultimately be judged on correctness of the biggest failure of last season: failure in the final stages of the run-in.
Impressive performances like this will boost their confidence that they can keep the momentum going 12 months on, and also overturn the slight deficit against Porto in the second leg on March 12. The Gunners failed to have a shot on target in Portugal for the first time in more than two years, after which Rice admitted Arsenal needed more “common sense”.
It was tempting during Saturday's testimony to wonder how different things might have been if Jorginho had lined up midweek at the venue where he won the 2021 Champions League with Chelsea, given the maturity he brought to the home team's midfield here. His 102 touches and 91 completed passes were both match highs, culminating in the excellent ball forward in the first half to find Martinelli for Havertz's goal.
“He’s a top player,” Arteta said. “Especially when the opponents have certain behaviors and certain configurations, the way I imagined the game, he was going to have a big impact. Afterwards, you have to do it at this level. When he doesn't play coherently, it's He deserves the credit because it was still beautiful today.”
Man City are still suspected to have more know-how and Liverpool have news of Jurgen Klopp's imminent departure to keep them at the top. But the longer Arsenal can maintain this form, the harder it will be to stop it.
