Kevin Whitcher
A classic game of two halves where Arsenal were concerned at St James’s Park yesterday. The first 45 minutes was largely one to forget, summed up by Petr Cech passing the ball out for a corner and Aaron Ramsey ballooning a ball he just had to square across the area for Pierre Aubameyang to tap in. Among other comedy highlights were Mustafi slipping up to allow the pacey Murphy a run on goal, although a surprising show of speed by Sokrates got his defensive partner out of trouble.
It was something of a surprise for Unai Emery to announce an unchanged line-up from the Cardiff game, although initially any familiarity had limited benefit as Newcastle enjoyed by far the better of the opening spell, racking up corners as Arsenal struggled to get out of their own half. There is no question that Cech is struggling to play possession football when the opposition press high, but a lot of the problem is down to the lack of movement from his team-mates. Add to this that the veteran keeper needs to start things more quickly before the other side get set up. It needs further work, although there is nothing wrong with high tempo if it can be done effectively. But the players all need to be switched on so that combinations are available.
Hector Bellerin was sometimes exposed by his direct opponent Murphy, and a lot of Newcastle’s attacks came down his flank. Critics hammer Bellerin for his lack of positional discipline, and on occasion, this is valid. However, most of the time, he is playing to instruction. Does anyone seriously think Bellerin would still be starting matches unless he was following orders? Football has evolved, and the four most defensive outfield players are the two centre backs and a pair of deeper midfielders, unless a team is so good in attack (eg Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid) that they can get away with a solitary holding central player. The days of the old fashioned full back are gone. A graphic I saw at the interval demonstrated that Bellerin’s average position was only a fraction behind the line featuring Aubameyang, Ramsey and Ozil. Unlike Monreal, he had very little in the way of cover from the attacking player (Ozil) in front of him. Again, this must be a deliberate policy, otherwise the number 10 would not be starting matches.
Lucas Torreira came on after the interval for Guendouzi. The latter had not had the worst of matches, but the Uruguayan added a cut and thrust that had been absent, driving the team forward with more positive, incisive passing. It’s something that has been noticed before, and perhaps Unai Emery considers that the player will have more impact once the game opens up a bit more. It wasn’t long before a pass he made to Aubameang on the edge of the box drew a foul that allowed Granit Xhaka the chance to open the scoring with an excellent free kick into the top right hand corner.
Before the hour, a second followed, with Ramsey, Monreal and Xhaka combining well on the left wing before Xhaka went towards the by-line and played a ball into Lacazette. His shot was blocked, but Ozil stroked home the rebound. This was the kind of football we like to see, and evidence of how much damage good quick passing and numbers in the box can produce.
In fairness, Arsenal should always expect to win matches against teams of the quality of Newcastle. Amongst their starting eleven was defender Isaac Hayden, playing in central midfield. An Arsenal youth who made a total of two first team appearances, both in the League Cup. If Gooners think we have problems with an owner who will not pump cash into the side, at least Arsenal’s greater income allows them to operate at a level Newcastle can only dream of. They remain in the top flight due to the ability of their manager to scrape points.
For most of the remaining minutes, Arsenal kept it tight and tidy, producing spurned chances to kill the game, but the focus went towards the end. A Joselu header produced a decent save from Cech, but the warning was not heeded, and in injury time Ciaran Clarke ensured there would not be a first clean sheet of the season. It was a salient lesson. Twice at Cardiff, Arsenal gave away a lead. This time, their two goal buffer saved them from having to win the game again. It should be noted though that Mesut Ozil was scrapping for the ball in the closing stages of the game, not something we see too often.
With their contributions, both he and Xhaka went some way to answering their critics. I’d say that, slowly, Arsenal are adapting to life under Emery and there are definite signs of improvement. Their next eight league fixtures include only one game against another of the established ‘top six’ – and that is at home to Liverpool. The side need to focus on racking up points as they work on tightening up defensively. They look particularly vulnerable to aerial attacks against lesser sides.
This season, The Gooner and onlinegooner.com are partnered with Fansbet. If you enjoy a flutter on your football, sign up as an Arsenal fan and select The Gooner Fanzine as your ‘branch’ from the drop down menu. In the event that Fansbet make any profit from your bets, 50% of that goes to help fund the continued survival of The Gooner fanzine. However, if you cannot gamble responsibly, please do not bet.
The current issue of The Gooner can be bought online here (price includes postage of £1 to UK addresses of £2.50 abroad) or if you wish to subscribe for the season, here’s the page to do that.. It will also be on sale at the home games v Vorskla and Everton before that. At the time of writing, it does appear as if it may sell out by the time the next issue is published for the visit of Watford.
There are other ways of ordering the issue if you do not wish to order via credit / debit card through the website store…
Online Bank Transfer For the current issue, pay £6 UK / £7.50 abroad (or for a 2018-19 six issue subscription £30 UK / £42 abroad) via online bank transfer to –
Account name: The Gooner
Sort Code: 20-76-90
Account Number: 03004112
Swift / BIC: BUKBGB22
Iban: GB79 BUKB 2076 9003 0041 12
Please use the reference ‘272YourSurname’ on the payment – eg ‘272Smith’ and follow up the payment with an email to [email protected] stating your name and address, and the reference that you used for payment (e.g. 272Smith or whatever).
Via direct PayPal payment to the email address thegoonerfanzine@bt internet.com. For the current issue, pay £6 UK / £7.50 abroad (or for a 2018-19 six issue subscription £30 UK / £42 abroad) via your PayPal account state in the message you are requesting issue 272 (although we’ll assume this if there is no message from the amount paid). If doing this, please make your payment a 'friends and family' / personal gift payment – this helps keep our costs down. PLEASE remember to add the name and address for your issue(s) to be mailed to in the note with the payment.
Finally, you can pay by cheque made payable to ‘The Gooner’ to the address below. For the current issue, pay £6 UK / £7.50 abroad (or for a 2018-19 six issue subscription £30 UK / £42 abroad)
The Gooner
12 Buxton Court
Hanbury Drive
London
E11 1GB
