Five things Arsenal fans can take from the win over Newcastle United

The saying goes something like a win is a win is a win and that certainly applies to Arsenal’s victory over Newcastle United yesterday.

It was not the most exciting game we have ever seen, in fact, it was slightly boring but Arsenal did deserve to leave St James Park with all three points and as usual, there are things that can be taken from the game.

Defence far better organised

The fact that Newcastle was restricted to just two shots on target and at no stage looked likely to score is not because they are rubbish but because the defence did a great job at nullifying the Newcastle attack. There was no panic, there was an assurance that has not been seen in a long time and simply put, they were very well organised.

Joe Willock is here to stay

The young midfielder did not do anything spectacular, he had an average game really but he did look comfortable, he looked like he had been playing in that position for years, he showed no nerves and did just as well, if not better, than his peers. Willock is here to stay and will play an important role throughout the season.

Aubameyang is more than just a striker

One shot, one goal, that is clinical and that is Aubameyang but there is so much more to the Gabon internationals’ game. He was electric down the flanks and on more than one occasion tracked back to help out in both midfield and defence, he has immense versatility and that was on show yesterday.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan simply not good enough

It is becoming harder and harder to justify his inclusion in the team, he offers almost nothing, he had a couple of little runs but no end product, his passing is poor, his judgement is poor and more often than not when the ball went to him the attack got broken up.

Shkodran Mustafi has no future at Arsenal

He was not even on the subs bench and that tells you all you need to know and with Rob Holding on his way back and David Luiz on board, it is hard to see when the German defender will ever get a game. Maybe in the Carabao Cup or as a sub in the early part of the Europa League but I doubt we will see much of him in a Premier League game. Mustafi has no future at the Emirates, that is now clear.

34 Comments

  1. Willock has outperformed Mkhi all preseason and against Newcastle. That’s how bad Mkhi has become with this team. Mustafi actually has competition for least effective player at Arsenal.

    Guendouzi was better than Xhaka in midfield; passing, controlling tempo, and looking to drive the team forward.
    He will be a key figure for years to come, while Xhaka becoming an afterthought.

    Xhaka is one RB away from being unnecessary, if AMN gets moved to midfield.

    Chambers was no nonsense, cleared the danger, read game well, and can contribute at CB for us.

    Love the 3 points; away game, clean sheet, all with 5 or 6 players not starting.
    Bellerin, Holding, Tierney, Laca, Pepe, and maybe Luiz and/or Ozil.

    1. @Durand sorry but Guendouzi was nothing special. He is very similar to elnany. The only passes backwards and occasionally sideways and invites pressure. Dont understand how toreria is not starting.

      1. @Shortboygooner Regarding Guendouzi, he is a forward thinking player. Excellent crosses from flank to flank and he tries to play through balls. When you see him play backwards or to the side, check the forwards movement and see if they are in the passing shadow or not. When I see Guendouzi pass sideways or backwards, it is most often because there is no offensive movement from our players, and they are all in the passing shadow. This is just my point of view.

        1. @shortboygooner
          I think Guendozi is a player in the making. I agree he invites pressure as to me he turns away from a player well but pushes the ball to far forward ( like Wiltshire used to do). Against better teams he would lose the ball. He needs to beef up a bit and with a bit of maturity he could boss our play with Toreira mopping up!

          1. Guys
            I am a Guendozi fan. Hes young and prone to getting g us in to trouble but unlike xhaka he looks up and wants to drive forward.
            In time he ascertain when drive forward or keep it safe but for now he is still learning and so is the team as a whole
            As long as the team gives 100%. Chases back when they lose the ball. Press and show commitment then the quality in the team will shine through
            Prob in the past certain players dont give 100% and all off a sudden we have 6 players with a game rating of 5 or 6
            As fans we all understand it is physically impossible for top 8 and 9 week in week out but for us to keep pushing for a top 4 spot we need a majority of our players to be at a level 7 and 8s
            We can carry a few but not half the team..sorry..got carried away away ..we just need consistency from the team

      2. You mu friend have no clue then if you think guendouzi is similar to elnany. He is one of the biggest talent we have at this club. He is young and the way he plays, controls the midfield is awesome. I think in about 2 years you will see few big clubs coming in for him. We will find hard to hold on to him. Guy has everything short to long range passing good positional sense, mobility, good interception and plays those niece through balls as well. Make no mistake he is the next big thing in terms of midfield.

        1. If not for injuries then wilshere would have been some talent…he was one of the best product of our academy for years…still struggling to produce any quality. It’s his bad luck he was born in england. If it was upto english fans they would field rugby players in football team. What’s with strong and tall builds…its the talent n how good you are with the ball that counts. Pep’s barcelona prime example even man city as well how many strong hard build players they have in team.

      3. Are you referring to Guendouzi or another player? Guendouzi passing backwards! That is completely untrue! I don’t remember many back passes from Guendouzi. Maybe we watch different games but perhaps others on this site can help us out.

      1. Niles’s problem is he lacks attributes to be top in any position except for B2B, but Emery doesn’t do that position regularly. Niles cannot replace Xhaka because he’s simply not talented enough for a top defensive playmaker. Xhaka needs a better replacement than AMN.

  2. When was the last time we won away on our first game of the season?

    Last season we barely even won away, never mind kept a clean sheet.

    Yesterday we did both, and we did it with 2nd choice defenders!

    We also had 4 English players starting, 3 of them our academy players!

  3. Oh and AMN’s stats from yesterday:

    Clean sheet
    89% passing
    4 dribbles
    4 tackles
    3 interceptions
    2 dribbled past
    1 assist

    1. That is why stats are the most stupidest thing on their own ever.
      But some people will use them to suit their bias while call them rubbish once they don’t suit their agenda.

      Someone posted an article on here not so long ago that showed how Mustafi is our best defender and also one of the best in the EPL. I could not believe how amazing his stats suggested.

      But if you go by stats then he is the best. He should not be getting all constant grief.

      To me even with Auba last season, his goal
      Scoring stats are impressive but if you are to go game by game then you would see how inflated they are. Misses so many chances per game and we all know how thin the margins are between winning a game, drawing it and losing it.

      Just saying.
      ?

    2. hope you know mustafi stats is better than McGuire.. you people should stop this stats comparism.. very unnecessary

    3. AMN was brilliant yesterday so was Guendozi.Xhaka too had a better game.Why are we always complaining? Young Willock and Nelson were much better than what I saw Ozil and Mkhi last season.Mustafi not making it to the bench shows that Unai is a no nonsense coach. Burnley is another defensive unit so another 1-0 expected.Pepe will flourish against pool and attack minded teams. Gabriel looks good too for 18 years.In a year or two Arsenal will come back and dominate the EPL

  4. Our midfielders outnumbered Newcastle’s, hence our defense was benefited from the controlled midfield and tempo

    Willock showed his willingness to play rough and race with the opponents, so he added some steel and pace in the front. If Ozil and Mkhitaryan are going to leave two years later, this season is the best time to nurture Willock to be their replacement

    Regarding Aubameyang, I felt he has been improving his game since the end of last season. Perhaps because he has gelled better with his teammates, therefore it would a big waste if Emery assigns him on the left wing

    1. He is dangerous on the right side because he can dribble well there, but he is usually dull when playing on the left

  5. Some correct assumptions I feel MARTIN. If there is even ONE Gooner anywhere who hopes you are wrong about Mustafi, I pity him or her.Though there is bound to be someone, because, as the old saying goes, “There is ALWAYS one”!
    On Xhaka too, VERY few Gooners have anything kind to say about him; with sound reasoning too, IMO.
    I cannot though agree with your comment that Newcastle were NOT rubbish as they clearly were and to me they looked relegation zone material yesterday. They may improve and certainly need to.

    Once Bellerin is fit, AM-N must go to his rightful central deep midfield place and we can oust the appalling Xhaka. Also firmly agree on the woeful and idle Mkhi and the sooner he goes, the better we will be. AN APPALLING MISTAKE TO TAKE HIM AS A MAKEWEIGHT FOR SANCHEZ.

    1. Just out of interest how many times have you seen AMN play central deep midfield?

      I can hardly recall him playing that role at for Arsenal, Arsenal u23s, not at Ipswich, not for England u21, u20 or U19. However, I have seen him play right back, right wing back, right midfield, right wing, left back, left wing back and even no. 10.

      What I would love to see is AMN to play on the right of a 3 man midfield, once Bellerin Returns. Imagine that pace down the right, Bellerin, AMN and Pepe and down the left Tierney, Ceballos and Aubameyang. Torreira sitting in front of the centre backs. Then no need for Miki or Ozil

  6. Miki was bad, but if Ozil played that ball over the top for Auba in the first half, it would’ve been raved about for the rest of the week, even if he was poor for the remainder of the 90 which he usually is. Let’s hold players to the same standards perhaps. Haven’t once seen any article mention the fact Miki played the best ball of the first 45 minutes and can’t help but think there is some bias happening.

    1. RSH, Yes Ozil would have been “raved about” and equally wrongly too. His few remaining fan boys and fan girls are incapable of seeing the laziness that BOTH Ozil and Mkhi show all the time they play. Both are complete liabilities and the sooner we can get their lazy arses out of the club the better.

    2. Perhaps because Mkhi lost possession 15 times, almost 5 times more than any other player. He got slaughtered rightfully as Ozil gets slaughtered for doing sweet FA.

      One good pass but how many did he overcook? Hopefully seen the last of that louse, as no need for him to muck up any more attacks.

      One kind-ish thing to say about Mkhi; his £180k is almost half as wasteful as Ozil’s weekly wage.

      1. To be relegated at the end of the season ( if not sooner ) in place of Newcastle, Sheffield Utd and Norwich
        MIKA
        MUSTAFI
        XHAKA

        Could add a few more to that!
        But hey we got 3 points and an opening day victory……. Happy days!

  7. That was a good 3 points I will give the team 1st 10 matches of the season to see the direction the team is heading it’s always difficult for too many players to integrate

  8. There is different types of squad players.
    The likes of Willock and Nelson are in their debut season for arsenal, they will aim to play a supporting role that gives them enough minutes to push on next season and hold down a spot.

    Mkhitaryan on the other hand is someone who will give the squad experience on and off the pitch, he needs to adapt to not being 25 anymore. Fans need to accept he is here to offer support. We have some talent at this club again.

    Just like how Mata gives United depth, Mkhitaryan can do the same.

    1. @Tom
      Mika is that awful I don’t think he is a player that can offer support as the youngsters are already better than he is. Mika may be good around the dressing room but that’s probably about it. I hope he can get his confidence back because right now he said rock bottom and that’s saying something when you have Mustafi and Elneny in your squad.

  9. Emery could more or less draw a close to the wenger era over the rest of this window, the January window or next summer.

    The departures of Kolasinac, Monreal, Mustafi, Ozil, Elneny, Mkhitaryan are surely not more than a year away. With us needing to leave out 2 players from the Europa League A list as it stands, I would not be surprised to see 2 of those leave before all the European windows close.

    How long will Kolasinac want to stick around with his new already fleeing back to Germany? How long will Ozil want to stick around for a similar reason? Mustafi and Elneny must surely be thinking they are so far down the pecking already. Mkhitaryan has totally lost confidence whilst Monreal is in his last year, surely? Even Martinez and Macey could see themselves moving as Okonkwo and Hillson are highly rated whilst Xhaka will not want be overtaken by Torreira, Guendozi, Willock and Ceballos, but unfortunately for him that is not far away.

  10. It has to be said that this starting eleven will probably be the weakest team on paper that Emery will pick all season,that said I was very impressed with the way they nullified Newcastle’s attack and how organised we suddenly looked in defence, apart from Xhaka and Mikhi I think everyone else deserved this victory,and although Newcastle were not that impressive this was a tricky match away from home for the first of the season,Willock and Chambers were both very good along with Auba and whatever you say about guendouzi he is always looking for the ball and not hiding yes he does like a sideways pass occasionally but he likes to knock penetrating forward passes as well,this was a promising display and the fact that it was a weaker than expected team only gives us more hope for what is ahead.

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