It ain’t over till it’s over by Peter Doherty
This was a game earmarked to provide the final nail in Arsenals title coffin, and for good reason. Newcastle have been a revelation this year and particularly at St James’s Park, so the expectations of an Arsenal defeat were well founded. Added to this our recent patchy form and it looked like a likely outcome.
But if there’s one thing this Arsenal team have proven to be this season, that is unpredictable. They were composed and assured and undaunted by the febrile atmosphere. They showed the type of game management that had eluded them so recently. And most poignantly they demonstrated the progress they have made since the corresponding fixture last season when they folded under the pressure. This was a very heart warming performance and bodes well for the near and distant future because of the level of maturity on display.
Here are my ratings:
Ramsdale (7.5) Once again the saviour at critical moments in the game. The save from Jacob Murphy was vital but the one from Schar was another wordlie to add to his already impressive collection this season.
White (8) He was sublime. Looked like he was going to have his hands full with Isak who is a particularly unpredictable player and therefore a nightmare to mark, but after the five minute mark he completely had his measure. Did the same for Saint Maximin.
Kiwior (7.5) To the manor born. Proved the Chelsea game was no fluke and performed excellently in the pressure cooker atmosphere. Great awareness, positioning and reading of the game. We might have a baller on our hands.
Gabriel (7.5) Did what he has been doing for most of the season and commanded the backline. This game really suited him with its aggressive undertones and he stood up to everything thrown at him.
Zinchenko (6) It feels like groundhog day to point out that he’s not a left back. Murphy caused him huge discomfort and was Newcastle’s most influential player as a result. The difference in stability when he was replaced was palpable.
Jorginho (8.5) Was rightly awarded man of the match as he was the epitome of calm and control in the eye of the storm. Showed his streetwise credentials by slowing the game down by whatever means necessary when it threatened to heat up.
Xhaka (7.5) Was involved in everything throughout including winding up the opposition. Thankfully in this instance it didn’t fire up the crowd to our detriment. Did the dirty stuff well, as usual.
Odegaard (8) Back to his creative best and another great strike to add to the collection. Was involved in most of what was good in an attacking sense and defended from the front with timed aggression.
Martinelli (7) Caused the second goal with his customary direct running causing panic in the Newcastle defense. Could have another cracker but just lifted it too high.
Jesus (7) Fought like a terrier and gave the Newcastle backs a lot to think about. Shaping defenders and gaining small advantages are his greatest assets.
Saka (6) Another game that seemed to pass him by for the most part. I would have fancied his match up with Dan Burn but the big defender got the better of their duel.
How do you Gooners rate it?
Peter
Mikel Arteta buzzing after Newcastle United 0-2 Arsenal – This game was all about pride..
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The rating on Ben White should be 6.5
Ramsdale 8.5
Just same as jorginho
In my opinion, BWhite was a tad overrated while Xhaka should be given more credit for his defensive role in a couple of crucial clearances in our own box. Otherwise, more or less, agree with the other player ratings. I’m till wondering what would have been the overall outcome had two of Newcastle’s attempts not hit the post but went in instead. After all, Odegard’s attempt that resulted in the first goal for Gunners could have ricocheted among the sea of legs and end up elsewhere.
If you watch the Odegaard goal you will see he placed it, that’s why the commentators were purring over it, and the woulda, coulda analysis is a bit daft, if Martinelli’s shot had gone in, if Saka had scored when one on one when Odegaard had a chance to score a second goal
Did you watch the game or are you just imagining what should have been?
Peter, how could you give Zinchenko 6 ?
The man was an absolute nightmare.
Surely Ramsdale deserves higher.
You got Jorginho right though.
And Ben is so gorgeous, I certainly agree with you there.
All joking aside, the performance was one of the very best considering St.James’ was like a lion’s den. Daniel devoured the lion……eventually.
We are back, but oh, what could have been.
I must say Arteta seemed very confident before the game. Did you notice he didn’t look too happy when he was told that Ramsdale spilled the beans about th pre-match team-talk. Ramsdale is not the brightest but what a great goalie.
I would certainly rate Ramsdale higher because he kept us in the game in the first 15 minutes. If not for his saves,the game could have been over in the first quarter of the game. For that and the saves he made later,he gets a 9 and man of the match for me. What more could he have done? I also liked the fact that he didn’t risk playing out from the back all the time. Kicking the ball up the pitch minimized the risk of conceding a goal due to Newcastle’s press.
Xhaka also gets a higher rating for me for that sliding tackle he made in the second half. If he doesn’t make that tackle,the ball likely goes in the net and nerves set in. You know how it goes from there based on our recent performances. Xhaka also made a very important defensive intervention in the first half right inside our box. Not to mention the defense-splitting pass for Saka that he couldn’t convert. Xhaka gets 8.5 for me.
Finally I have to rate Tierney because he contributed to the win in a big way. He solidified the defense when he came on. Newcastle were continuously exploiting our left side but that changed when Tierney came. Kudos to Arteta too for making the change before it was too late. 7.5 for Tierney
I agree with the rest of the ratings
I think Saka should really peep at what Martineli is doing on the other wing dispite having to track back to help the untouchable Zinchenko.Dispite Martineli being marked by up to 4 players he managed to get through them and forced one of them to make an error leading to an own goal, personally i give Martineli a 8 and Odegaard a 8 also they really did their best, Jorginho was my man of the match at 8.5
I’d give Ramsdale a 9. Zinchenko a 3. Never want to see him play again if we are using him as a LB. In midfield maybe but at the back he was and continues to be a joke and am really fed up with him.
The ratings are generally fair. Some will, unsurprisingly, question Zinchenko’s rating as he made some mistakes that could have cost us.
Jorginho had a great game. His performance in the previous game was also overlooked by many. His control and carefully weighted passing when under pressure have been really important in these two games even though the circumstances were somewhat different. It is also clear that he is one of the senior players unlikely to lose his head when the going is tough. The uncertainty about him was always about whether he would be able to cope in a physical game. Definitely showed that in the right setup he deserves his place.
With you except for Jesus. It’s obvious he can’t walk on water. Why not bring him on as a game changer or vice versa?
Maybe the problem was Holding after all. Two games Kiwior started and we won both. That was a great performance could be a little too late though.
It is unfair to blame our recent setbacks all on Holding. He has done reasonably well before. However, it has become clearer to most observers that he is not a top level defender.
Seems like Holding’s “mistakes” are not as blatant as Mustafi’s or Squillaci’s were.
His mistakes might be,not as transparent, like wrong positioning, losing aerials and duels, lack of man marking..
This would mean that he’s not a bad defender, just not “good enough” for a title pushing team..
Holding is definitely just championship level. I still remember he panicked when face with Son Heung Min last season and get a red card in the end. This cause us the game and also top 4 finish.
Zinchenko is vastly overrated and Tierney vastly underrated. Zinchenko is not a full back. Tierney is!
Tierney should be one of the first on the team sheet. I cannot understand why Arteta keeps playing Holding – he’s an honest trier but he’s not good enough at the top level.
Happy to see Kiwior/ Jorginho give Holding/ Partey a strong internal competition
Tierney is obviously a more consistent defender as compared to Zinchenko, but Zinchenko’s playmaking skills in the deep-midfield area are essential and he also showed good defending skills sometimes
Jesus was a nuisance to the opposition’s CBs, as usual
The ref shd have booked some of the NU players.Saka was singled out for rough treatment as well as
Odegarrd.
Webb shd ask the ref why he didnt show the yc earlier when the gunners were elbowed ,kicked and shoved
Teams identify Zinchenko as the weak link defensively and they all attack down our left.
Gabriel has to go out to cover, Martinelli drops all the way back, sorry but don’t think it’s worth it to have Zinchenko recycle the ball in the midfield.
Tierney bossed that side when he came in. It would be utterly foolish to sell Tierney this Summer IMHO.
That inverted LB is a choice not a necessity and we can create chances without sacrificing defense on the left side.
Anyway it’s my 2 cents, and good win for the club, and the replacements were some of the best performers on the day. Kiwor and Jorginho were excellent, as well as Tierney when he came on.
👍 Durand, Holding has also suffered ss well as Gabriel.
Zincheko is playing the role assigned him. Not very many have been ok playing that role. Xhaka was tried in that role in it was disaster, Tavares had a hard time in that role. Tierney couldn’t do it. Saka and Maitland have been a but successful. So far zincheko has played well that role making our midfield pretty strong. Let’s be grateful for his contribution. The key is when to bring tierney when we want to protect our lead.
Which role are you talking exactly when has Tierney not been good in his position
I think teams are beginning to see zinchenko as our weak link especially after that sporting cp game. I think the right / best idea is to allow zinchenko play the first half and replaced in the second just like yesterday’s game, but whenever we play teams that don’t focus all their attack on pur left flank then zinny should play the entire 90mins. He did his job and rightfully gets a 6 .
I think that Zinchenko criticism has been unfair.for the most part of the season, he was one of our most consistent and influential players.the guy is just going through a rough patch.it reminds me of ATA at Liverpool,he was getting criticised non stop for his poor defending.since Klopp has been using him as inverted full-back like Zinchenko, Liverpool have gone on an unbeaten run of games and he has a couple of goals and 6/7 assists.what I mean is that over a season,playing in different competitions,there is room for both Zinch and KT.some games will call for Lunch and like yesterday others will call for KT.I am pretty sure that KT is not asking to play every game and I doubt he physically can but a fair/decent amount.again, it’s down to rotation,squad management and MA being more flexible,braver with his tactics and selections.
@ Siamosis
I agree with you on both OZ and KT in the same team. It is clear to the opposition that OZ is not a defender and they are targeting that area which means Martinelli has to do a lot more defending.
Rotation is the key. Horses for courses.
Horses for courses as you so nicely put it.👍
If only Arteta used Jorginho more, for example instead of Vieira in Southampton game. Or Nelson, I think he deserved more minutes.
Well, everyone learned something this campaign.
I’d keep Tierney and sell Vieira and Nketiah, both are not good enough.
I think sooner or later Tomi and Holding will have to go as well.
Southampton is where I feel we gave the opposition too much belief. We needed the 3 points and it was a poor team selection. You can’t blame Vieira (he is in his Ist season. He may improve after a short loan spell or a proper pre-season) for this but I feel MA just made a big mistake.
A poor selection: Like selecting Ramsdale who promptly gifted the opposition the first goal.
It was a brilliant team effort, I give the team a 9 out of 10 performance for how they managed it. The clean sheet was a real treat to add to our other impressive away days
I give Ramsdale an 8. Other than that I agree with your ratings. The subs should get ratings too. In particular Kieran Tierny who tightened things up a lot when he replaced Zinchenko. I give Kieran Tierney an 8. The others maybe didnt play long enough for a real rating but Kieran did and deserves a great rating.