Morning all.
Pre match, Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard had asked the Arsenal fans to bring their voices with them to The Emirates for last nights game. They probably didn’t need to ask but boy, the stadium really was rocking and I doubt the sound on television did the atmosphere justice. .
Newcastle Utd were in town and it was clear from the first whistle that Mikel Arteta team wanted to perform. Gabriel Jesus returned to the squad, a boost for weeks to come but yesterday, his services weren’t required. Jorginho came into the side at the expense of Leandro Trossard and just as against Liverpool, he was superb.
By the time Paul Tierney blew his whistle for half-time, Mikel Arteta’s team had blown Newcastle away in all but the scoreline. Don’t get me wrong, 2-0 was good, but it could have been better. Arsenal were aggressive, they pressed high and hard, they chased every ball down, every Newcastle player down and barely let them breathe. Perhaps that 45 minutes was up there with the best football played since Mikel Arteta arrived at the club in 2019.
I would suggest Eddie Howe’s team approached the game in the defensive mode and perhaps they did but the reality is, Arsenal gave them no choice but to try and defend. 17 minutes in, Bukayo Saka whipped in a corner. Gabriel’s header was saved but in the confusion to clear the loose ball, Livramento managed to hit it straight at Botman with the rebound crossing the goal line. No concerns this time about whether or not the ball actually crossed the line as Tierney’s little wrist gadget told him it had. 1-0.
Our second goal was a thing of beauty. Jorginho chipped a ball into the centre of their penalty area and into the path Gabriel Martinelli, the Brazilian took the ball to the byline, cut his pass back into the area he’d just come from and Kai Havertz, who’d timed his run perfectly, slotted the ball home.
Martinelli had a chance to make it 3-0 when Saka played a cross into the box. The Brazilian couldn’t quite keep his thunderbolt header down and it sailed over the bar. Saka himself saw a strong shot of his own saved. Seconds before Tierney blew his whistle for halftime, Havertz was tugged over as he ran into the box. Was it a foul? I think so although it was possibly just outside the box. VAR couldn’t have reviewed it because the half was over a second or two later.
After the break, Havertz should have made it 3-0. He was through, only Karius to beat but he dragged his shot wide. I bet he’s still wondering how he didn’t score. Newcastle created a couple of chances but Raya saved one from Gordon and the other, which Isak created and took, sailed over the bar.
Arsenal.com
By now, Arsenal’s energy levels had dropped off a bit, hardly surprising after the opening fast and furious 45 minutes of football, but if Newcastle thought they still had a slim chance of getting something from the game, Saka made them think again. His nifty footwork was too good for Livramento, his strike too good for the Newcastle keeper. 3-0 became 4-0 just after Arsenal had won a corner. Rice with dangerous ball into the box, but this time, it wasn’t Gabriel who rose high, nor Saliba – it was Jakub Kiwior. A slight deflection perhaps but his header was going in anyway.
Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Jorginho and Havertz were replaced by Nketiah, ESR, Nelson, Trossard and Elneny. Not all at once I hasten to add but from 65 minutes onwards.
Newcastle did manage to score a goal but it took an ex Arsenal player to score it. Burn crossed into the box and Willock headed past Raya. Smith Rowe came very close to having the final say on what turned out to be a great night for Arsenal. His shot had beaten Karius, but Burn stuck out one of his long legs to spare his team from conceding a fifth.
I’ve not done Arsenal’s performance justice I’m sure but I’ve slept since the game and my memory isn’t as good as it once was. Throughout the game, AirPods in, all I could hear was Ally McCoist and his sidekick raving about the football Arsenal were playing. Them and the Arsenal fans singing along loudly, clearly proud of what they were witnessing. A proper demolition of a Newcastle team once tipped to challenge Man City for the league title.
Post-match, Mikel Arteta sent a message to the Arsenal fans:
They were incredible – thank you so much. It makes such a difference. The choreography from the beginning, the colour, the intensity, the energy, you really transformed the team. It’s not a coincidence the team plays that way when they are hyped like this, so thank you so much. – Arsenal.com
I bet he was thinking, see you again for the Porto match…..
Next up in a trip to Sheffield Utd, but not until 4th March…
Bukayo Saka gives Joe Willock his shirt 🤝 pic.twitter.com/QDr59WdQDS
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 24, 2024
Look closely, it’s Trossard’s shirt…. lol
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico, excellent post you’ve said it all. 😉
Morning Cicero. Great win wasn’t it.
Kiwior just gets better and better, Havertz is too.
Morning Rico/all
Yes what a game,fantastic performances. I saw on BBC they compared it to the 7-3 a few years ago. For me we were more dominant,we could easily have scored 7 to be fair,no way were Newcastle scoring 3.
I’ve just checked the remaining fixtures,Liverpool definitely have the more favourable run in. Man City have some tough looking games,we have some tough away games,we play 5 of the top 7,including Man City.
The way we are playing the others should be worried about us.
Morning Limey. The 7-3 was exciting but this was so controlled against a better team than under Pardew (I think).
Funny you mention fixtures as I was looking at them earlier. I don’t think it’s much between all three although Liverpool do at least play City at Anfield. I’m expecting a few twists and turns yet..
Afternoon Rico and all.
The thing in our favour is everyone keeps saying how, Man city will win the league and Liverpool will come second, which will help to keep some of the pressure of our players and more importantly our goal difference will keep the pressure on the top two side as well.
I believe this season will come down to how the clubs manage players game time and what injuries each club pick up over the next few matches.
The premier league must be rubbing their hands with joy seeing only 8 points between 1st and 4th and if Toots win the next match then it’s only 10 points between 1st and 5th with all teams on the same amount of games played.
Afternoon Rico and Co.
Mika Biereth has scored again for Sturm as they’re just into the 2nd half…
Good post, it caught the essence of the atmosphere at the game and it’s something we need to replicate for Porto because we’ll need to lean into influencing the officials on the night.
Watching some Neto for Wolves and he’s good, but £80m he ain’t, in fact I reckon £35/£40m max. Otherwise look elsewhere..,
Good afternoon
Having watched the last 2 games carefully, it helps to understand the defeat against Porto. As I have already posted before, Arsenal become stronger with Jorginho-Rice than with Rice alone. Arteta bets on this duo against stronger teams (e.g. Newcastle, Liverpool) and only with Rice, against less gifted teams (e.g. Burnley). Why did he play like that against Porto? Ignorance of the opponent and/or little study of the team? It just might.
Let’s see: a) Porto placed the defensive line much further away from the area, which did not happen with Burnley and Newcastle. This means less space to play, whether vertically or horizontally. As Porto reduced the spaces, Arsenal were forced to build with the defenders, having Rice leave the midfield to come in behind and the players in front with their backs to the game and without space.
b) Porto defends much better than English teams, because they all defend, they all come together, they all show solidarity. (It seems to me that Arteta doesn’t trust Harvaetz and/or Trossard much in defense, and therefore puts the Rice/Jorginho duo)
c) Technically, Porto is much better than the English teams
d) Porto studied the opponent very well. Look at the corners. In addition to taking a long time to be marked, all the players knew what they had to do, to nullify the Arsenal players and free the goalkeeper for the ball. Furthermore, it was obvious that they knew very well what each player normally does in most situations.
e) Among other aspects, Arsenal doesn’t change the scheme during the game, even if it doesn’t work. It is not understood.
f) Personally, there was one player who filled the field: Varela (22 years old-Argentine, international). Partney’s replacement?
Afternoon, Geoff, Kev.
Mika is really enjoying himself on loan. Long may it continue and he comes back ready for the PL. Sadly, that would probably spell the end of Nketiah’s Arsenal career.
Jm, did Porto really defend that well or just play the referee better? Arsenal still created chances to score but just couldn’t find the target. I think Arteta trusts his players to defend it’s just sometimes Jorginho’s addition allows Rice more freedom.
No, Porto defends well because they are very organized on the field and very tactically rigorous.
Ok Jm.
Rico, I don’t think that anyone can come to any definitive conclusions until the 2nd leg is played.
Me neither Kev.
I see Klippity won the league cup. Hope that’s all he wins before leaving.
New post up