The Gunners kept their faint title hopes alive with a battling 2-0 win at St James’ Park on Sunday.
An own goal and a strike from distance by Martin Odegaard were enough to take all three points for Mikel Arteta’s men, who moved back to within a point of leaders Manchester City, albeit having played a game more than their rivals.
And while the winning the Premier League remains little more than a flight of fancy at this point, the fact Arsenal were able to take three points on the road, against a team firmly in the hunt for a Champions League place and on an excellent run of form themselves, was hugely satisfying.
In fact, there was even a bittersweet tinge to proceedings for the Gunners who would have eyed this fixture with some trepidation a month or so ago, while matches against West Ham and Southampton would have scarcely raised an eyebrow. In the event, it was the trip to the north east that yielded up three points while matches against those fighting it out at the bottom of the table saw them come undone.
Take nothing away from the performance, however. It was feisty, combative and committed – absolutely everything the previous clash against these sides was not. Last year, the Gunners were blown away by the Magpies’ sheer physicality, this year they matched them blow-for-blow.
From the outset, it was clear the hosts were set on replicating the formula from last season; they snapped into tackles, pressed hard, and sought to bully Arsenal in and out of possession. In fairness, it’s a tactic that has served them extremely well this campaign and it is no accident they find themselves in third place.
The Gunners were not to be overawed, though. Instead of shrinking under the pressure, they mixed it when they needed to and finessed it when the time was right. In that sense, it was an extremely intelligent and, if i’m honest, one I didn’t expect. Like many, I thought Newcastle might have a bit too much for us given their buoyant run of form but it wasn’t the case.
Retaining his place in the starting XI, Jorginho was superb. While he may not bring the physical presence of Thomas Partey, he offers experience, calmness, and a shrewdness in possession that the Ghanian has lacked in the last month. The Italian was a steadying influence in the centre of the park and much of what we did well was because of his leadership and experience in the middle.
Excellent also was Gabriel Jesus. For me, the Brazilian is the best in the league at holding up the ball under pressure and his sheer physicality was an extremely useful asset for the Gunners. He epitomised Arsenal’s willingness to match Newcastle when it got rough and, boy, did it get rough.
In the interests of fairness, Newcastle can probably count themselves unlucky not to have registered on the day, with the post and Aaron Ramsdale denying them on numerous occasions but Arsenal too might have killed this game off long before they did.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all had excellent chances to increase our lead at various stages of the match. As we’ve said many times this season, matches are won in the big moments and, this season, Arsenal have been just a little too careless in theirs. All three have been outstanding performers for us this season, of course, and are an enormous part of why we are where we are but they will look back at this game and feel like they might have done better with the situations presented to them.
In the event, though, it didn’t prove costly for the Gunners and, after we’d forced the second goal, Newcastle really ran out of steam.
I remember quite vividly how readily they sought to waste time and break up play when they faced us at the Emirates in January so it was with huge satisfaction that Arsenal returned the favour today. The final quarter of the game was a pretty tepid spectacle as Arsenal sought to slow up the play whenever and however they could. Glorious payback.
If naught else, the win keeps Manchester City honest. They will have hoped the Magpies could all but seal the title for them by taking points of Arsenal but the Gunners defied expectations to keep themselves in the hunt. We still require a small miracle but arguably the hardest of the fixtures that remain to us is out of the way.
It’s over to Everton and Sean Dyche now to really show how important this points might end up being.
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