Newcastle showed exactly why they deserve to be in the top three of the Premier League as they held Arsenal to a 0-0 stalemate at the Emirates.
The Gunners move eight points clear of Manchester City after the latest result, whilst keeping the Toon as far as nine points behind. Whilst we had gone into the game going in search of the win, our rivals proved to be too tough to break down, and deserved their share of the spoils.
We started brightly as you would expect, but we were not allowed much space in the final third, much to the credit of the visiting side. Despite our dominance in possession, we could only muster the single shot on target in the opening half, with our rivals matching that with an effort on the break.
We tried to up the tempo after the break, and we really began to pile the pressure on. We were making clever runs to get in behind, but struggled to find that final ball, although we at least managed to test the goalkeeper a little more in the second-half.
The most excitement came in the dying minutes of the game however, when Granit Xhaka ran past his man in the box before firing in a cross, with the defender turning away from the ball whilst sticking out an arm to block the effort, but VAR failed to make a key decision, and we were forced to settle for the 0-0 draw.
It certainly wasn’t the result we were looking for, but it definitely wasn’t one which will hurt us currently. The draw is fair in all honesty, but what is telling is that this team is one to worry about in the coming years.
Patrick
Tough game. Newcastle were very organized and good in duels
And good at time wasting technique as well
Yup
We could not win but we played well. Restricting Newcastle potent attack at bay showed we are real deal. Not satisfied by the results but satisfied by the display and commitment. So let’s hope we can build on that and get results in upcoming games
Agreed. The FA Cup match will be a good exercise before the NLD
Yes….. We are not going to win all our game for the rest of the season…… But if we are gonna drop points, I want see us play with our heart. And we did that, for me another test passed
I think you are right, Savage. They fought to the end
The best defence in the league manage to prevent the only team in the league who had scored every game from scoring. Whilst timewasting from minute 1. Newcastle will be happy but hardly something to be proud of. Like us they have lost 1 all season, they are 3rd they are not battling relegation.
I think Howe had prepared his players very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish above Liverpool and Chelsea
i just dont think anyone says this if this were Chelsea. Newcastle is really getting their grace period from everyone before they become another City/Chelsea/PSG.
Yeah, they remind me of Chelsea when Abramovich just bought it. Chelsea and Man City weren’t good enough when the oligarchs just purchased them, but they were gradually becoming stronger in each transfer window
Similar story would likely happen to Newcastle. Unless we could replace fossil fuels with nuclear fusion in the next five years, which will hurt the sheikhs’ oil businesses
The quality of the game would have improved significantly if the officiating was better
I was thinking the same thing. after that game… Newcastle is the new Chelsea. I don’t mean that as a compliment either, but their fans are happy (After a very long time) so I guess it will take them where it takes them.
gai, I will be VERY surprised if they DON’T! And I am a realist!
They used all the dirty tricks in the book to secure that draw. The referee was ass as well. Arsenal should have won a penalty for a clear handball.
Here’s why we struggled so much today:
– Ode always drifts to the right leaving the centre vacant, not a criticism but it’s simply true
– The difference this season is that Xhaka has been pushing into that space and assistingour attack, today he did not he sat deep like his old self.
– This left Ode against a very mobile, strong midfield alone and you could see it as clear as day.
– With Xhaka sitting deep it also left Martinelli very isolated, was also clear to see
– On top of this Zinchenko has a shocker so Martinelli was against 2-3 guys alone most of the game.
All of the above points are what made us so slow and predictable today. Newcastle has tons of time to simply drop deep and double up on Saka and Martinelli. They crowded the box because we gave them time to do so.
I will say that Saliba and Gabriel has really good games, Partey as well.
Ref was poor but I wouldn’t say he was the reason we didn’t win, thats on us. They prepared well, we didn’t. If we don’t beat Spurs I’ll fear for our title challenge.
Hopefully Chelsea will beat Man City at Stamford Bridge…
Don’t bet on it. 😀
We couldn’t win because we didn’t prepare right?
Let’s ignore the fact Newcastle have conceded a league-topping 11 all year whilst usually playing nowhere near as defensive as they did today and certainly except for City not timewasting as they did.
You praise Newcastle who are 3rd for showing no ambition. If Arteta sets us up that way in the away game at Newcastle for a 0-0 you will crucify him for it, why the double standard?
If so poor and so predictable why couldn’t Newcastle win or ever really look like winning? They are not relegation candidates or even midfield fodder. They are top 4 challengers this year.
I really don’t know why you get yourself so worked up? Very strange behaviour for a grown man.
I never once said Newcastle were bad or easy to beat or that struggling to score against them was shameful. We wanted 3 points, they were happy with 1….in other words they succeeded today and we didn’t.
I gave them credit for having a game plan and executing it well. If you can’t give otherscredit that just shows poor character.
Making sure certain narratives do not overtake reality. It’s not worked up at all.
Can you not let people think for themselves? Every thread you try and bash people that differ from your point of view. Very poor personality traits, are you that insecure?
Are you so arrogant that you believe your opinion is 100% fact and everybody else that differs in opinion is simply wrong?
They need to add like and dislike buttons to the comments, it really helps spare too much typing sometimes.
Veenzee, Only for LAZY , BONE IDLE FANS(Ozil imitators in fact) who have neither energy nor wit enought to write something worthwhile of their own. It would be a shame to wear out your poor delicate fingers with all that tedious typing!
Without the personal attack which is rather ironic given your post what say you to the actual points I made?
We will crucify him because we are in a winning position not on a campaign for top4, Newcastle is only trying to clinch top4 as their start to rise to Elite level…Aside against Mancity,every game is ours to lose
Odegaard never stands out against tough opposition. He is always next to Saka
@PJ-SA
Very sound assessment Gooner…👍🏾
If you have been watching our games this season you will know that Odegaard doesn’t play in the No 10 role again, he occupies the R8 close to Saka that’s why they combine very well. Odegaard didn’t do that against Newcastle because the Castle players covered the spaces between our 8’s and our wingers.
In the first half knowing fully well Trippier and Almiron are on fire this Season Xhaka took the safe route of containing them/covering the space in between the lines which ended up neutralising Almiron best attributes which is to cut in and shoot. Then in the second half he occupied the L8 position which brought the Nkethia chance and also the late penalty shout.
I don’t know the game you watched but the only player that had a shocker was Martinelli. He had more easy 1v1 situation to dribble past Trippier but he ended up crashing at Trippier. Zinchenko had one of his best games for Arsenal, first half he wasn’t releasing the ball on time because there were no runners ahead of him but in the second half he was totally magnificent and gave sever between the lines passes to Xhaka/Nkethia.
Gabriel, Partey and White were the best all game
Lack of squad depth was evident today.
Lets hope Chelsea can do us favors on Thursday! We have massive games coming up against Spurs and United.
That was not the cause of anything, people are in their heads trying to explain away why the best defence in the league was the 1st team to prevent us from scoring all season whilst riding their luck at times and wasting time. It’s not that deep.
The bench needs improving regardless. Still disappointed Vieira didn’t get on but I guess Newcastle’s physicality counted against him. ESR would have been nice but too soon. The lack of options was glaring. Mudryk and another Midfielder I’m happy. Someone who could cover striker maybe move elsewhere further on lovely. Absolute perfection LCB that sees Cedric sold, he gets more game time which he deserves given how low it will be for us in most scenarios and we get a small fee.
Viera cant last against teams like newcastle. Shouldn’t he be working on his physique? I mean it’s very clear he’s sooo lightweight! even for a normal man you need some steel! You cant survive in the epl for long without putting in the effort in the gym, Ozil is a classic example.
He said in one interview that he was working on his physique, whatever that means! anyway it’ll be probably next season until we see him bulk up a bit.
yup looked at our bench and there were no game changers. Need ESR back and another attacker.
If the referee was intelligent he would have booked Newcastle more and given s penalty for the shirt pulling of Gabriel.
Box was extremely crowded, don’t blame the ref for not seeing it. I blame the VAR officials.
VAR will never give us anything that is easy to explain away. They didn’t give Martinelli the opening goal at United by their own rules and had to admit it afterwards. Clear and obvious exists so corruption can still exist, creating that grey area.
People complain all the time about a toe offside with the new technology but there is no grey area with it. It either is or isn’t sometimes that will be close to the margin but it’s still over the margin and you’re not relying on a linesman anymore or replays without lines. Fundamentally better.
The obvious handball too. I’m surprised that no one is talking about it.
@PJ-SA Your takes on this game are so weird. The ref clearly saw it. Studio pundits even wondered how the ref sees it and completely ignores it! It also explains why VAR didn’t intervene ’cause that fool had clear visibility of the shirt pull but chose to ignore it thus VAR had no grounds to go against him. Trust me if his view is obscured as you claim, VAR is referring him to the monitor 100%.
I think they should change that rule.if VAR officials spot a foul in the box and either a penalty or a goal is at stake, they should intervene.
Was that not a penalty???
Someone should please explain the handball rule?
I’m giving credit to Newcastle through gritted teeth. They were defensively very good and the few chances we had weren’t taken.
The amount of yellow cards impacted on the game negatively
No obvious stand out player for me but I thought Ramsdale was sloppy occasionally when under no real pressure
Deserve credit for their defensive display. Deserve a certain amount of commendation for their lack of ambition which seems nonexistent in media and even Arsenal fan comments. Not like we ourselves were considered a City or Liverpool before the season started. They are 1 point behind City and owned by Saudi Arabia.
You’ve lost me Angus
I gave them credit because their plan worked. Not good to watch I agree
Not sure how.
Deserve credit for their defensive display. Deserve a certain amount of commendation for their lack of ambition.
Which hasn’t seemed to be mentioned by the media or Arsenal fans by and large. Like us, Newcastle was not expected to be where they are. Yet one of us is getting credit for being dominated all game and hanging on for 0-0.
Would Arteta and Arsenal get credited if we play the exact same game as Newcastle at St James’ basically?
I don’t think that matters Angus. EH had a plan and it worked for what was required for Newcastle last night. We didn’t score.
IF we had gone to Newcastle and done the same thing and it was a definite plan by Arteta (for whatever reason) then credit should be given for the approach adopted.
Did it work? They got dominated that wasn’t the plan.
If we play that way against Newcastle not just set-up but the way the games plays ( and it is still to come) exact same performance, the comment section will be littered with more complaints about how dire we were
We should have had two pens , one for grab on Gabi and second bit harsh but we have seen them given for handball at the end. EPL should really follow what they did at worldcup for extra time. This will stop all this time wasting. I think we played well its just Neecastle just decided not to play and park the bus.
The grab on Gabi could have been a penalty but the “handball” would have been harsh if given.
Newcastle just about deserved their point as we did not create enough chances.
I agree that the approach adopted at the World Cup to manage time was quite good and should be used more widely.
Newcastle was like watching Stoke at times 🤣🤣🤣not enough squad depth for us. Could easily have had a penalty at the end. Red was very poor but it’s not a excuse. Eddie should’ve scored but was a good save from pope
Both teams were wasting so much time and the ref was booking slightest fouls, game was not very good apart from the first 10 minutes. Went to crap after that. Oh well, 8 points in front and 14 ahead of our little neighbours!
I was surprised with the 5 mins additional time. Man City or Liverpool under the same circumstances would have gotten 11 mins. The time wasting etc.
That handball was a penalty.
Our players need to shoot more from outside the box. That is why we should sign Tielemans.
In fact, we need to sign 3 players this January
Tielemans
Douglas Luiz
Mudryk
We weren’t great but a cynical performance by Newcastle and a poor referee. Tactically Newcastle were good but the petty fouls and timewasting from kick off lowered my estimation of Howe as an exciting manager because he only came to spoil and get a draw. They will beat a lot of top teams but they are an ugly side and I hope they don’t make top 4. Ode had one of his poorer nights and Eddie miscontrolled or was muscled off the ball far too often – if Jesus had played we would have competed up front and I’m confident we would have got 3 points. No disgrace – we played whenever they stopped wrestling us.
Great comments guy
Shows how much we need Mudryk.
Not a bad point in bigger picture
Exactly. Jesus there would have given us options. A day we missed him so badly.
Baffles that we has no player on the bench to come change the game just those to close the game at the end. That is not a quality of side aiming for the title. When the first 11 find it hard, that’s it, nobody on the bench to turn to.
yup Jesus would’ve made a huge difference. i dont think eddie played poorly tho. Just wasn’t our night. We’ll need to make up the points by beating Spurs and United now.
Agree it lowered my estimation of Howe too. Also, Newcastle was not good you’re judging them by the previous standards. Judging them as a title contender and top 4 challengers they were atrocious and got away with one.
Disagree with Eddie. I doubt anyone could watch the game again and point to those things being excessive with him. The times I saw him muscled off was when there were literally 2-3 players blocking him after he beat another, Jesus doesn’t go through that he’s can’t phase through people like Vision from Marvel.
The game was primed for Jesus’ lower centre of gravity and dribbling ability at times but that has nothing to do with muscle. Even then there was only twice and once before 80 min that I saw that moment. To be fair Jesus would create other situations for it but again not muscle or muscle out at all.
Was Jesus not there when we drew Southampton?
Best comment yet, but to be fair, i’ve never known Newcastle, nor Burnley of old or Westham to play good looking football. It was always expected.
I am not sure what peoples beliefs are about EH. These tactics are not unusual for Newcastle this season. They used a similar approach against Liverpool but were undone by a late goal.
I agree that the referee’s decisions were inconsistent however and his performance affected the game.
I haven’t watched Newcastle much this season but they’ve had some great reviews as an exciting team going forward. They wasted time vs Liverpool, granted, but they looked way more ambitious than against us.
Anyone tell me why Marquinhos is not being used as a super sub? Or if Ode not playing well then put on Viera who can score from 30 yards as we have seen!
Because no matter the hype he’s still raw and this was not the game for that.
Marquinhos is not ready.
Marquinos is nowhere near ready and Vieira gets blown over by a puff of wind and still makes careless mistakes – absolutely not the game for him.
The pull on Gabriell was 100% a pen
I just don’t get Var
It probably was but the foul that lead upto the free kick wasn’t a foul as he took the ball and got yellow carded .
And the handball?
@Dan Kit you of all the people should know football officiating doesn’t work that way, a foul is a foul regardless of what preceded it.
Newcastle reminded me of Croatia in the world cup, well organised and hard to catch on the rebound. Having said that we were too predictable. There was little on offer besides the Odegaard and Saka show which Newcastle were mostly able to contain.
Croatia had someting going forward usually let down by their forwards. Newcastle don’t have a lack of forward they were way way way more predictable than us and timewasted for a draw. Lets have it right. We have not scored in our 1st game in 17 and people are calling us predictable when it came against the best defence in the league who played significantly more defensive than they normally do. Confuses me. Even then Newcastle were very lucky we didn’t score at some point, very lucky.
That’s correct!
Predictable you say? Do you people actually study our patterns of play or just post whatever you believe with zero evidence to back it up? We are one of the toughest sides to play against ’cause we’re unpredictable! Xhaka’s (and ode’s?) usual positioning coupled with our inverted fullbacks is a nightmare to any tactician worth his salt ’cause they pop up in very unexpected spaces. That’s why we’ve made teams look so average ’cause they’re caught in a catch 22 do they track these players or just sit back and wait for what’s coming!
Probably deserved the 3 points but cannot complain with a good point against a well organised team .
Shame the game was spoiled for me by play acting from both sets of players and a weak referee who didn’t stamp down on it .
We might see those 2 transfers come in quicker now seeing how weak our bench was tonight .
Good thinking DK – could be a silver lining after all!
Did we really only use 1 sub or did I miss the others?
Some of the comments on BBC page are really funny. Both sets of fans seem to be having ago at the ref, and we can’t blame them.
There was one comment that stood out from an Arsenal fan, “When our plan A works, we are the best in the league and it’s worked almost every game this season, but when we need a plan B it simply doesn’t exist”
Giroud would’ve been handy in a game like today.
Yet Arsenal chose to sign another LW, instead of keeping the money to recruit Giroud 2.0 in the summer
I believe Arteta wants his LW to be always at full throttle, hence an intense one like Mudryk
it looks better in your head than it actually is. An average target man would’ve done nothing in this game. Playing to your strengths makes more sense. A more decisive Martinelli and we would’ve created better chances.
I meant someone like Vlahovic, who would likely not want to come because of Xhaka
Hi gotanidea..I’m curious to know why…
Yes, Martinellii far from sharp and somewhat off the pace. Don’t understand why Tierney was not brought on to give him some space. I would have taken Xhaka and Zivchenko off in the final ten, and brought on Tierney and Vierra. A definite gamble, so it depends on how badly Arteta wanted the three points or whether deep down he was satisfied to consolidate with at least getting something from the game.
Joe, that was well thoughtful of u. Nice 1 mate. I think arteta didn’t mind d draw much coz he’s worried we are not so dominating d game in terms of creating scary chances to dampen Newcastle spirit and ofcoz we all know arteta doesn’t trust his bench for such mission and fears we may loose d match if d likes of odegard, martinelli leaves for say viera marquinos. Anyway we are still not doing bad until we fail to bring mudryk n rowe in time to support d 3 front lines as it’s evident today we need quality squad depth bt I trust arteta to do d right thing. UP GUNNERS!
Agree. With that type of player would mean we would have to change our whole way of playing. A big target man wouldn’t be able to run around closing down opposition players.
True RSH – Gabi was really timid tonight. If you want to develop Eddie and Jesus is back in a few weeks you don’t waste money on a third top class striker, and tonight it would have made no difference.
That’s the predictability the team is trying to get away from. Trust me a Grioud wouldn’t do shit in that game considering newcastle’s setup! In fact that’s what Newcastle would’ve prayed for! See how they’re dismantling teams with “traditional” tactics?
Yeah couldn’t agree more
Crap……. Just give credit to Newcastle and forget this crap. They are in 3rd for a reason
If you read the comments Savage, we ARE giving Newcastle credit. Does that mean we can’t say they’re unattractive to watch, that the ref was poor, that we need to buy as we have zero impact subs? Or are all those statements “crap”?
There was one comment that stood out from an Arsenal fan, “When our plan A works, we are the best in the league and it’s worked almost every game this season, but when we need a plan B it simply doesn’t exist”
Utter nonsense. Newcastle is the best defence in the league. We failed to score for the 1st time this season, now level with City who also has failed to score once (Liverpool, although they drew 3-3 with Newcastle accounting for nearly a 1/3rd of Newcastles conceded goals.)
People say things like this and then facts get in the way and they are angry and defensive. Why not look into your opinion 1st before declaring something that doesn’t add up (directed at the BBC fans although you felt the need to share it)
Do City lack a plan b? Newcastle literally today when they got dominated. That is 2nd and 3rd. Should we go further down the league for the plan b?
Agree Angus. Does everybody vilify Man City or Liverpool for always playing the same way? Now if they said “when we need an impact sub we don’t have one because we have so little depth” they would have a point.
Giacomakis on the cheap from Glasgow Celtic; a proven, goal scoring centre forward in both the Eredivesie and Scotland.
Not sure the Celtic connection is much of a testamonial these days Oz! Remember Odsonne Édouard?
Seriously a Giroud type of player would have given us serious options today.
Of course. Considering that Newcastle is one of good old Giroud’s favourite opponents.
The officiating was below standard, Newcastle was disgusting to watch what’s the real purpose of VAR if it can’t assist an incompetent referee.
Just hope am not sounding biased but I want to speak on behalf of neutrals, who pays their hard earned money to watch two teams that are in the top three , IT’S CRIMINAL
You’re not biased at all. I too thought the ref was ass. He’s lucky this is the old times, he could have been pelted with stones.
It’s funny how we can all watch the same game and see some things completely different. I thought Zinchenko was one of our best players tonight.
Zinchenko was outstandingly the best player
He kept throwing those tricky passes that found Xhaka, Eddie in a space though a small space that still needed them to quickly do something smart
Eddie would beat his first man then struggle as they overcrowd him afterwards or make taking a shot difficult for him
Xhaka will try to look for that splitting pass which will almost go through but their defense quickly recovered
In essense, a couple of our best chances were created by Zinchenko
I tell ya, he surprised me because I’ve never been convinced with Zinny playing at right back even for City, knowing there’s a fine midfielder in there. But he’s adapted his game, he now plays his fullback role like a midfield role. He does not rely on pace but rather creates those defence breaking passes, very direct and accurate passes with good measure of power on the ball.
It’s not a terrible outcome. Newcastle are a quality side.
We need to learn and move on
Yes Stephanie. There are still more points to play for. If we win our next 3 games, that will be massive.
He did the job defensively but we needed someone on the overlap. Neither of our three wing backs today are up to running forward and putting in decent crosses.
I would have liked to have seen Tierney for the last 20 and was surprised he didnt come on.
A healthy ESR would have helped as well. Imagine in six week’s time if we have Jesus, ESR and Mudryk (getting ahead of myself I know) to bring on for the last 20.
On another note – does Frank last until morning? I got a feeling Dyche is perfect for Everton.
Crossing was never going to work today
Or would have also been difficult
Thats why I support the idea put forward by some that a Giroud type of striker would have given an extra option today
But there wasn’t so crossing would meet an overcrowded box of Newcastle player
Eddie did well today
Saka annoyed me at times
I think Zinchenko, Eddie, Partey were our Okay-Players too …plus the defenders
Newcastle have conceded fewer goals than any other side in the League which is hardly surprising when they defend deep with 10 men behind the ball.Apart from high balls from set pieces they rarely threatened and played a brand of football that I would not pay to watch.As far as we are concerned,with Odegaard being nullified for most of the game we were unable to create many clear cut chances.I thought Arteta might have switched our wingers as our attacks were becoming predictable but he chose to stick with his “inverted” tactics with little overlapping from our full backs throughout the match.A draw is not the end of the World, against a side who took every opportunity to slow down any momentum we were building up by fouling and feigning injury..I thought Joe Willock was their most effective player and I was impressed by both our centre backs, particularly Gabriel who was immense in the face of the aerial threat which seemed the only attacking tactic open to the opposition.
They are not normally that deep and certainly do not normally drag the midfield back early for double-ups. Guess we should be proud of that. Odegaard caused them massive problems 1st half, less so 2nd but to claim they nullified is ridiculous given the joy himself and Saka had 1st half down the right.
How can you say we are predictable it’s getting annoying now (especially when you accurately point out why the game was disjointed), you already stated Newcastle are the best defence and we are still the 2nd best attack in the league. We scored 4 against Brighton 3 days ago who won 4-1 today.
We are predictable Angus. But we do it so well that they know what’s coming but can’t usually do anything about it. The ref ruined it as a game of football. Apparently the ball was in play for 43 minutes of the 90 and we get 5 mins injury time. Allowing all the rolling around, slowing the game down and then booking everyone that moved played right into their hands. And we had no subs when they were dead on their feet. A “Plan B” would have made no difference tonight.
Are we though? As of writing we are top of the league by 5 points with the 2nd best GS and the only team to stop us from scoring all season has the best GA?
I’m surprised that the writer didn’t even talk about the Gabriel push in the boss. That was more a penalty than even the handball incident. But Var even refused to review it.
Disappointed not to collect all 3 points but we still extended the lead to 8 points and you never know Chelsea might take points off Man City. Again emphasizes the need to sign two forwards imho to give the opposition something else to think about when the main front 3 are struggling. One thing I’m a bit miffed about is Viera not coming on when Odegaard is not having his best game. He is not afraid to take long range shots, there seems to be a slight reluctance to use him which I don’t get but we move on to the Fa Cup before the big one against our arch nemesis who will no doubt use the same tactics as Newcastle tonight but have a more potent frontline.
Can’t really believe people are saying Zinchenko as Xhaka had a poor game just to protect Martinelli.
While being super pressed, Zinchenko and Xhaka created 1v1 chances for Martinelli close to 4 times!!!! All he had to do was beat his man. He couldn’t beat his man even once today, Saka on the other hand even though he had 2 men on him each time, beat his men multiple times.
Obviously this has to be another reason Mudryk is being chased.
I’m not laying into Martinelli or blaming him, I’m just saying his decision making sometimes are still poor. His best attribute is that he’s a good finisher. Holds on to the ball far too long when a simple pass could’ve worked. Zinchenko basically drew Almiron out multiple times and him and Xhaka teed up Martinelli 1v1 vs Trippier.
Nelli couldn’t beat him once.
That being said, hope we get Mudryk in ASAP. None of that Vlahovic dirty talk. Get Mudryk and Felix.
Can’t believe a draw would get me do mad and have me feeling like it’s a loss.
That’s how very good we’ve become. Next we play Spurs. If we replicate tonight’s performance, we should be coming away with the 3 points because their defense is terrible
I don’t think Mudryk and Felix would have done anything today even if they were available to us. Felix is struggling for goals and assists, Mudryk has not really been scoring tonnes in his poor league either. If you guys expect some next level football from these two at this moment of time then you will be disappointed. They are not really on top of the football tree at the moment interms of performances.
Exactly how I saw it Eddie – Gabi was timid and ineffective, Zhin was our most progressive passer and Xhaka was more incisive than Ode around the box. And yes, I too am way too pi**ed of at drawing with the third place team!
A game between 2 of the top 3 in the league was always going to be tight and it was. Newcastle got a deserved point and we were not able to make sure they didn’t. I thought Nketiah, Saka, xhaka and Partey played well, the rest didn’t quite do enough. Odergaard and Zinchenko were passive to disappointing most of the night, so little of note was created. Not a bad point at all but do we need Mudryk, or do we need a plan b. I also think Arteta needs to calm himself down, he was a little embarrassing. I know he is passionate but he sometimes borders on out of control. Next up in the league is limping spuds, i hope we stuff them, they are there for the taking at the moment.
Leave Arteta alone, he is playing the game, he is on the pitch, he is in the crowd, and I am glad it winds rival fans, good to see Wrighty sticking up for him, don’t hear Shearer slagging off Klopp, Pep, and Mourinho when he was here. We are getting under their skin because their beloved predictions could all be wrong
Its not a good look, he will end up getting sent off and the biggest thing is, he will expect his players to keep their heads, well so should he. He needs to sort himself out and calm down. He was embarrassing. Any other manager acting the same way you would be the first to complain. There is passion and there is losing it, two different things. He needs to be level headed to make level heade decisions.
Funny just read the Sky article they mention both the fact it’s the 1st time we haven’t scored and Newcastle’s defensive record meaning unsurprisingly these were known facts to the sky team (which was ignored by commentary by and large throughout.) Still felt the need for “Arsenal miss chance to go 10 clear” headline to drive that part home. It’s not like Newcastle is plucky Leicester either, they are owned by Saudi Arabia.
Made a point of not commenting on referring decisions directly during the game as that usually gets me too heated but there are questions in that regard.
Overall disappointing because we are so used to winning now but nothing deeply concerning happened in context. We have things to improve but that was always the case before the game. If anything for me this game underlined how far we have come. Newcastle had to play that way to get a 0-0 and were not that convincing doing it.
I think tonight’s game show us again that Arsenal are ready for next step. It was disappointing not to gain 3 points but in such high stake games you need to make sure if yiu don’t win it then you don’t loose it either. We had some good spells but fail to break down a team who were there not to play football but to park the bus. So I was glad we did not concede from corners or om counter which we usual used to do when playing with such high possession. If we can do same away at Liverpool, spuds and city intetms of result. I will be a very happy man. That is what champions do they make sure if they don’t win then they don’t loose the game either.
ive been thinking this. even in the games we drop points, i think we’ve only actually been bad in one of those games and it was the game against Southampton. The united and newcastle game have just given me more belief in this team. Just need to add some more quality to the bench and I feel good.
There will always be teams that park the bus. Newcastle cleverly crowded Saka and Martinelli. The referee was a wimp. The Dan Burn shirt pull would be a penalty in 99% of games. VAR was meaningless this evening. Hopefully we will show that the best a team can ever get against us is one point. Time to cheer Chelsea tomorrow and maybe be further ahead..
And Palace tonight, last week Spurs lost to an ex-Arsenal manager, they play against an ex-Arsenal Captain tonight and then Sunday week they play Arsenal with an EX Arsenal captain, that could be karma
This is the game for a great ball carrieria if there is ever such a word, ESR should not be rush back he should be coach timely for such a game, Odegaard did his best and he will better for the experience.
A great carrying ball player could have tilted the game more by providing relentless supplies of true balls in the final third, hence more chances would have created in the opposition box, forces them to make more mistakes.
I have no doubt we are getting their but you could see the gaffer was gutted he barely could contain his self, it’s not Veiria game this would have damage his confidence, only one person and person only a well fit Smith Rowe tweaked in the mould of Bellingham coming from midfield.
This is my expectation for Smith Rowe. If we get Mudryk then ESR should be coached to take that Left 8 role. He already has many attributes to excel there, just need to improve his work rate and physicality.
Angus
You seem to be working your self up over nothing
Newcastle came for something and they set there self’s up to do that
What’s wrong g lwith that.
We had a go and didn’t score.
Newcastle didn’t gain on us and we still have a game in hand on them a d keeping them at arms length
How some people’s opinions change on one game. No plan b, we need another striker. Our Bench is weak. Get a grip people
We are still top of the league with 1 less game ti play for others to catch up
Our bench was weak that’s not changing an opinion that was for all to see tonight ,what attacking talent did we have in the bench ?
Agree our Bench isn’t blessed at the moment with players who can turn a game and in time we will add more quality.
For now these are the same players who ha e helped us get to the top
This window will hopefully help us secure an upgrade or two but I have never been a favour of the jan window
Over inflated price for mediocrity
We move o to the next game
One step closer
Dk And yet, incredibly, and in stupid fashion , only yesterday Ad Martin wrote an article that claimed we had “great attacking depth!”
You and I , even if it be just for once, certainly AGREE, this time!
This game begged for players like Esr &mudryk to run at players tired from all their defensive efforts. Credit to Newcastle for their monstrous workrate but they were lucky we had nothing on the bench.
Fans need to understand that we played an energy sapping game vs Brighton 3 days before, the team looked leggy and lacked their usual burst of pace especially Martinelli
👍
Virtually all our front 5 played the previous 180mins, and they all looked tired. Injury to Gabi J, ESR and Nelson ment no attacking sub for the the last 3 games. That will definitely tell on any team playing 3games in 9days
I don’t believe it is realistic to expect Arsenal to win all 38 games. In the invincibles season Arsenal won 26 games and drew 12. There will be times when we meet stubborn opponents or bullies. The entitlement mentality must not be allowed to take the better of us. Which team hasn’t lost points? At least we got a point. We only need to reorganise and return stronger for the next PL game which is the North London derby with Spurs. I believe it will be appropriate to beat our nemeses.
David Rusa: I was about to state the same things you did – but then I saw your amazing post.
Thanks for being positive yet firm. People here need to get a grip sometimes.
Joe, that was well thoughtful of u. Nice 1 mate. I think arteta didn’t mind d draw much coz he’s worried we are not so dominating d game in terms of creating scary chances to dampen Newcastle spirit and ofcoz we all know arteta doesn’t trust his bench for such mission and fears we may loose d match if d likes of odegard, martinelli leaves for say viera marquinos. Anyway we are still not doing bad until we fail to bring mudryk n rowe in time to support d 3 front lines as it’s evident today we need quality squad depth bt I trust arteta to do d right thing. UP GUNNERS!
Tough game with a poor ref. Time wasting contributed to the result but nevertheless boys did well and had Odegaard and Xhaka worn their shooting boots it might have been different. 7 points from 9 since the restart is good form. COYG
This one had me worried. Last season I think we’d have lost soundly against this Newcastle side, and the fact that they played so defensively just shows respect for our quality. At the end of the day, this is not a bad result – you can’t win them all
Important to note down is that we didn’t get any injuries, only some exhausted players. This is remarcable and relieving considering the physicality of Newcastle players. At times it looked that we were playing against a team of giants.
Its ok, it happens. We have dropped points but Newcastle was never going to be easy. We will come back stronger and win our next PL match.
Dan Burn should be charged with attempted theft of Gabriel’s shirt. VAR was meaningless and ineffective. What is the pitch-side video replay for, if not for these events.
Maybe we can resign Giroud for short stunt this season , he can give us completely different dimesion when needed of the bench and I think we need a player like him to score against teams who park the bus. Just wip those crosses in last 10-15 minutes for a physical player to score or cause the ball to drop for others to smash it in goal.
This was a game we would have lost last season, the team has come on in leaps and bounds, a couple of good signings this January and we have a great chance, on another night we would have scored at least three, these games happen, all the bravo of Howe stating we won’t park the bus and puts 4-5-1 shows how worried he really was about Arsenal. Eight draws for Newcastle, yes they have improved but they will not finish in the top four. The energy and pace last night was mental, a real hunger from the team, eight points clear in January, who would have thought? Don’t like the surrounding of the ref, that is a City and Man Utd trick, we are more classy than that. The ref was out of his depth, this should have gone to a more experienced ref. We have a break of about twelve days, rest the team let the second team take on Oxford, and put Nkeitah in the team to get more goals for his confidence. I truly do like the way we are going, but worry about burnout from some of the team
I was extremely impiressed with how superbly well Newcastle defended and were tacticully astute against our more dangerous players, SAKA APART WHO STILL CARRIED AN OBVIOUS THREAT. MO and Martinelli were very effectively sidelined and though Newcastle did not once worry RAMSDALE (one act of his nonchalance apart), as I HAD THOUGHT A DRAW THE MOST LIKELY OUTCOME BEFORE THE GAME, I was not in despair after the result.
I am , unlike so many Gooners on here, still upbeat about our teams display against a very strong opponent, who will IMO stay comfortably inside the Prem top four all season. Our commitment and character were excellent, even though we did not score.
Unlike so many non realists on this thread, I did not and do not EXPECT us to win the title, even though I HOPE of course . With SOME over excitable , less mature fans , one consequence of us doing so unexpectedly well this season, is that their expectations now exceed their wisdom.
I agree Jon – not a disaster. My main takeaways:
1) Lot of effort – we never looked like losing but thought we suffered having worked hard 3 days before – in particular Ode and Martinelli couldn’t get going 2) our most creative players were Zinny and Xhaka on the night 3) Our only sub when chasing a goal being a fullback tells you a lot about the readiness of Vieira and Marquinhos to play in physical games and our attacking depth overall 4) The ref badly affected our game (and I’m not just talking potential penalties), his booking obsession and lack of punishment for continued feigned injury and timewasting regularly interrupted our momentum 5) Oxford at the weekend so 10 days before our next EPL game 6) Agree I don’t EXPECT us to win the EPL but I hope. If we are still in a 2 horse race at the death that will still make me so proud of our season.