The Unai Emery era, it seems, has started to take shape as Arsenal registered their successive victory by beating Newcastle United 2:1 at St. James’ Park.
Despite a slow start to the game, the Gunners fought back well and came out all guns blazing in the second half that saw them dominating proceedings throughout the rest of the game.
Strikes from Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil were enough to snatch all three points although the last minute goal from Ciaran Clark did welcome a nervy end to the game.
Here are three reasons why Arsenal emerged victorious against Newcastle United.
#3 Utilising the qualities of Lucas Torreira
Unai Emery has been often criticised for his reluctance of utilising the qualities of new signing Lucas Torreira. Since making a big money move earlier this summer, the Uruguayan international is yet to make his first start for his new club.
However, he showed exactly what he’s capable of when he replaced Matteo Guendouzi just after the restart. While the Arsenal midfield looked wobbly throughout the first half, Torreira provided a sense of dynamism that added more pizzazz to the midfield, ultimately helping Arsenal become much more menacing in all aspects of the game.
Torreira also showed his tremendous work ethic and commitment to chase after each and every ball and simply put, his performance against Newcastle will definitely help him make a stronger case for being included in the starting eleven in the next match.
#2 Newcastle’s lack of offensive firepower
Arsenal’s defence once again showed signs of vulnerability as the duo of Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi continued to struggle. Mustafi, in particular, made a couple of errors, which could have proved costly. But most importantly, it was their lack of proficiency of playing out from the back as they appeared tentative on the ball throughout the first half.
Fortunately for Arsenal, however, Newcastle were pretty ineffective in the final third, often lacking ideas. Both Matt Ritchie and Ayoze Perez failed to make a difference while Jacob Murphy also lacked support from his teammates.
And in the final few minutes of the game, Joselu missed a glorious opportunity, which more or less capped off a disappointing showing from the Newcastle attack that turned out to be one of the main reasons behind their defeat to Arsenal.
#1 Arsenal’s temerity in the final third
While Newcastle were absolutely awful in attack, Arsenal turned on the screws when it came to the final third. Mesut Ozil, in particular, played a key role in orchestrating things not only in attack but also in half-spaces, which helped the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette make darting runs into the opposition’s defensive lines.
While Aubameyang had a quiet game, credit should be given to the trio of Ramsey, Ozil and Lacazette, who, at times, looked almost untouchable, thanks to his flawless link-up play outside the box. Even Torreira made a couple of marauding runs into the box in the second half, ultimately causing havoc in the Newcastle defence.
The Arsenal fans will hope that they can keep up their momentum in the upcoming matches as they aim for a solid recovery after a stuttering start to the season.
