Three things we learned from Arsenal 4 v 1 Newcastle United – by Alan Alger

The manager and his team take things personally…

It’s annoying to lose any game of football, but especially when you’re challenging for trophies and titles. Even the best teams have to lose at some point – whether in cups, the league or both. What I’ve loved about recent results for this team is that they’ve avenged a number of those disappointments.

The FA Cup defeat at home to Liverpool was righted a few weeks later in the league. The awful home defeat to West Ham was corrected in ruthless style at the London Stadium. Saturday night’s result against Newcastle made up for the unlucky defeat in the reverse fixture.

It’s almost as if Mikel Arteta and his team reflected heavily on those blips and ensured that they wouldn’t be fooled twice by any team looking to do the double over them. That certainly bodes well for the second leg against Porto and the home game against Aston Villa in April.

Credit the ownership where it’s due…

As fans and custodians of the club, all Gooners have the duty to keep our owners, KSE, in check. This was perfectly illustrated by the opposition to the European Super League when our voices were heard loud and clear and the right outcome was achieved.

We also have a duty to be completely fair and dish out praise where it’s due. While all club owners tread an extremely fine line which is mostly swayed by results on the pitch. There are ways in which owners can make the whole experience far worse.

Two teams that suffered notable defeats this weekend across two competitions are a definite case of ‘be careful what you wish for’. Chelsea lost the League Cup final with a bloated squad which they overpaid for. They seem to have very little light at the end of the tunnel.

Another case is that of Manchester United who have continually botched their plans for life after Fergie. Their mercurial Scottish manager has now been gone for over a decade and they’re still no nearer a solution. United have decided that they’re too big to allow a manager to rip it up and start again.

KSE decided to trust Mikel Arteta to do just that and we’re now seeing the rewards along with them. Long may it continue.

Goal-getting Gunners keep smashing records…

When you think of some of the incredible, free-flowing attacking teams that have featured in the 31 (and a bit) seasons of the Premier League it’s amazing that this Arsenal side keep smashing goalscoring records.

The latest achievement to adorn our seasonal stats breakdown is a run of seven consecutive halves of league football where we have found the net at least twice. That one was widely reported at the weekend but it’s worth adding the additional context of my professional background to say that the odds of doing this would have been around 2500/1.

Since the turn of the year we’ve also seen at least one goal involvement (either scoring or an assist) from every single player to have started a league game in that period. That’s another astonishing record which certainly speaks to how fluid and organised the team are.

It’s worth noting we have a great chance of extending those numbers and breaking new records in upcoming games - away at Sheffield United and at home to Brentford.

Talking of the fixture list, it might hurt to do so - but we should all be hoping Chelsea beat Leeds United in the FA Cup in midweek. It would give us an extended rest (we’re due to play Chelsea on FA Cup quarter finals weekend) ahead of the international break and a visit to Manchester City on Easter Sunday which we know is going to be pivotal in the title outcome.