Arsenal have opened up a two point gap at the top of the Premier League table with a hard fought 1-0 win over a valiant Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners were well below their best as they failed to create many meaningful chances from open play. They had Petr Cech to thank for keeping them in the match, making a string of vital saves at crucial stages, most notably from Georginio Wijnaldum who was sent clean through on goal only for Cech to rush off his line and thwart the Dutch midfielder from close range.
Steve McLaren was left to rue his team’s wastefulness in front of goal as they were made to pay 18 minutes from time. A corner kick was instinctively volleyed home by Laurent Koscielny after Olivier Giroud won the initial aerial battle.
Despite the home side’s lethargic performance they were still good enough to get the job done and earn a valuable three points that could prove significant later in the season. As for the Magpies, they will be bitterly disappointed to leave North London empty handed when they quite clearly were the better side on the day. A tough pill to swallow, but they will take positives from what was a bold display.
Formations
Arsene Wenger continued with his favoured 4-2-3-1 system, with the Frenchman making three changes from the side that defeated Bournmouth on Tuesday night. Gabriel, Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers made way for Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and fit again Mathieu Flamini.
Newcastle made two alterations from the team that were narrowly defeated by West Brom mid week, with shot stopper Elliot and midfield enforcer Cheick Tiote returning to the starting lineup in the place of Karl Darlow and the injured Vurnon Anita.
McLaren opted for a cautious 4-5-1 formation, as Ayoze Perez shifted to the left hand side, with Wijnaldum slotting in as the number ten behind lone striker Aleksander Mitrovic. Moussa Sissoko continued on the right hand side, while Jack Colback and Tiote looked to stifle the Gunners fluent midfield.
“Sometimes we need to be able to grind out wins.” @6_LKOSCIELNY reflects on #AFCvNUFC: https://t.co/aCDDVEqC3O pic.twitter.com/kLjd3lfmQn
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 3, 2016
Committed Newcastle make Arsenal labour
Aside from the first 10 minutes where the menacing Hector Bellerin gave Perez a torrid time down Arsenal’s right flank, Newcastle settled into the game and were able to gain a major foothold in proceedings, enjoying large portions of possession and looking a constant threat on the counter attack.
The Toon have enjoyed recent success, and their performances against Liverpool and Tottenham they showed how dangerous they can be on the break. Again they caused their opponents all sorts of headaches with the lung busting runs of Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Perez catching the Gunners midfield completely off guard.
Their cause was helped by the discipline and energy of Colback and Tiote, who both did a terrific job of blanketing the creative influence of Mesut Ozil and marking the trademark runs made by Aaron Ramsey. With Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both having poor games, the ability to successfully shackle Ozil and Ramsey meant the Gunners lacked any sort of inspiration in attack.
Colback and Tiote both had superb games; the duo both completed 100% of their passes, with the former Sunderland man completing three tackles. Tiote went a few steps better, making four tackles, three take ons, two interceptions, two clearances and five blocks in what was a monstrous performance from the oft maligned midfielder.
Ramsey and Flamini leave defence exposed
There have been questions around whether Arsenal’s new midfield pair of Ramsey and Flamini would have the positional discipline and the ability to control the tempo of a match in the centre of the park, similar to what Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin were able to successfully accomplish on a regular basis.
Yesterday the two were clearly not on the same page, as Newcastle were offered far to much space to drive at the Arsenal defence. Ramsey is guilty of wanting to bomb forward to join in attacks which often leaves the vulnerable Flamini with far too much to do defensively, leaving the Gunners exposed to glaring counter attacking threats. They were lucky to not to be punished for it.
Ramsey won an appalling nine percent of his tackles yesterday in a what was an erratic display by the Welshman. He also squandered a glaring chance to kill the game off late in the second half. While there is no doubt about Ramsey’s box to box qualities, the tactical nous of knowing when to venture forward and when to sit deep is something the 25 year old needs to master.
While Flamini has done a serviceable job filling the void left by Coquelin, a new midfielder in January is something that is urgently required to bolster Wenger’s options with so many key midfielders currently sidelined through injury.
FC Basel midfield Mohammed Elneny looks likely to join the club this week with a work permit the only remaining stumbling block before a deal is concluded. Elneny is a versatile midfielder who can importantly operate as a lone holding midfielder which could give Ramsey more assurance of having that freedom to make runs into the penalty area.
Cech’s heroics earn Arsenal more important points
The years of Arsenal goalkeepers allowing points to slip through their jittery gloves are done and dusted. Cech was again at his match-winning best yesterday, keeping his team in the game when it seemed the Gunners would eventually succumb to the endless Newcastle pressure.
Former Chelsea team-mate John Terry lamented the loss of Cech to their London rivals in the summer stating he would win the North Londoners 12 to 15 points this season single handedly. His prediction seems spot on as the 33 year old’s imposing figure in between the sticks has installed much needed confidence and experience among the Gunners’ defensive unit.
In total, the Czech made eight saves, including three crucial interventions from Wijnaldum, one of them a stunning one on one save when the Dutchman had the goal at his mercy. Cech brings an air of calmness to the Gunners defence knowing they have such a legendary figure commanding their area.
Before kick off Cech was presented with a framed photo in honour of him breaking the record for the most clean sheets in the Premier League era. On evidence of his performance yesterday, there are still many more to come as he remains an integral figure in Arsenal’s title aspirations.
Add at least a couple of points to how many Petr Cech has already earned for AFC this season. My MOTM.
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) January 2, 2016
Conclusion
Arsenal can count themselves lucky to have come away with maximum points, but a sign of a champion team is the ability to win ugly, and that is exactly what they did yesterday. With Leicester City dropping points, it was imperative that the Gunners hung on and grafted out a victory, giving them some breathing space at the summit of the table. A number of tricky fixtures are approaching, including Liverpool and renowned bogey side Stoke City away from home. Both will provide major acid tests in Arsenal’s quest to land their first championship in twelve years.
The frustration shown by McLaren post-game indicated that this was one that got away from Newcastle, but they can be encouraged by the overall performance. While the result was harsh on the Magpies they now find themselves in the bottom three and have only scored a paltry five goals away from home all season. They need to find a clinical edge to their general play if they are to start making their way north of the drop zone.
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