Arsenal defeated 10-man Newcastle 1-0 at St James’ Park in Saturday’s early kick-off, with a Fabricio Coloccini own goal separating the sides after a somewhat controversial red card to Aleksandr Mitrovic in the 15th minute.
Following the striker’s dismissal, Arsenal were in complete control of the contest and were unlucky to not head into the break in the lead, but a shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain which deflected of Coloccini on 52 minutes proved enough to secure victory.
Newcastle struggled to get back into the game and Arsenal held on to take the three points back to London.
Formations
The Magpies made three changes from the side that claimed a point at Old Trafford last weekend, with Daryl Janmaat replacing Steven Taylor at the back, meaning Chancel Mbemba returned to his more accustomed role in the middle of defence. The other two changes came on the wings with Florian Thauvin and Moussa Sissoko replacing Ayoze Perez and Gabriel Obertan respectively.
Newcastle United XI (4-2-3-1): Krul (GK); Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haidara; Anita, Colback; Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Thauvin; Mitrovic.
Arsenal also made three changes to the team that drew with Liverpool last weekend. Calum Chambers, who looked suspect against the Reds, was omitted instead of the ever reliable Laurent Koscielny. Other changes saw Olivier Giroud replaced by Theo Walcott as the main striker and injury to Mesut Ozil saw Oxlade-Chamberlain included, allowing Aaron Ramsey to move from the wing to the number 10 position.
Arsenal Expected XI (4-2-3-1): Cech (GK); Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Sanchez; Giroud.
Mitrovic dismissal drastically changes Newcastle’s attacking dynamic
The Geordies initially set up with a perfectly balanced front four, with Wijnaldum playing behind the Serbian striker, and Sissoko and Thauvin operating on the wings, each on the side of their respective preferred foots. Following Mitrovic’s departure, Thauvin was forced to play in a false nine role, drifting between the striker position and the wings, whilst Sissoko’s powerful runs down the wing were not able to eventuate to anything as he did not have a main target man to aim for in the middle.
Arsenal midfield show their class
Playing with an extra man for over 70 minutes, the Gunners had the majority of the possession and their midfielders completely dominated the contest. Three players in particular were outstanding. Ramsey was instrumental, completing 90% of his passes and creating five chances. The midfielder also had one shot on target, forcing Krul into a smart save before the ball fell to Chamberlain, and then the winger’s shot deflected off Coloccini into the back of the net. Santi Cazorla was also impressive, completing 93% of his passes, creating three chances and registering three shots. Finally, Oxlade-Chamberlain impressed. He completed all his tackles in a thoroughly professional display and completed 87% of his passes and managed two shots, one of which led to the only goal of the match.
Newcastle full backs too narrow
Throughout the match, it appeared Janmaat and Haidara were playing too close to Coloccini and Mbemba, leaving both wings exposed. Whether this was an instruction by McClaren to keep the middle of the park compact, or naivety on both full-backs’ behalf is unknown but it allowed Arsenal wingers Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain license to roam. Janmaat, as a solid right-back, was able to contain Sanchez relatively well. However, Haidara appeared to struggle against Oxlade-Chamberlain which is why it came as little surprise that the goal came from the right side of Arsenal’s attack. A possible explanation for the over-tightness of the back four is the first goal Newcastle conceded at Swansea a fortnight ago, when Mbemba and Coloccini were too far apart, allowing for Bafetimbi Gomis to easily score. This should be an indication that the width of the back four is something Steve McClaren needs to address sooner rather than later.
Colback pulls strings for Geordies
Jack Colback has been an instrumental performer in the Newcastle team since his arrival before the start of last season and today was no different as no other Magpies player made more tackles than the 25-year-old, completing four out of his five tackles. The midfielder also completed more passes than any other Newcastle player, having a near perfect completion rate after he completed 31 out of 35 passes. Perhaps fitting of the lopsided possession statistics which was 74% to 26% in favour of the Gunners, Arsenal’s player with the most completed passes (Cazorla), completed 117 passes.
Impact of substitutes
Newcastle’s three substitutes struggled to get in the game as they had very little of the ball. Perez came on with 20 minutes remaining and in that time the Spaniard completed four out of his eight attempted passes and could not register a shot on goal. Papiss Cisse was bought on after 78 minutes and made little impact, as did Siem De Jong who was only on for just over five minutes. The aforementioned Cisse is likely to be involved from the start for Newcastle’s next three games as a result of the suspension to Mitrovic. For Arsenal, Giroud was brought on after 70 minutes and made little impact. It was perhaps surprising the Frenchman did not start after managing eight goals in six previous meetings with Newcastle. The Gunner’s only other change saw Mikel Arteta come on with 10 minutes remaining and his primary role was to simply keep the ball, and not allow Newcastle to gain any attacking momentum.
Conclusion
As far as tactics go, it is difficult to read too much into this match because if both teams had 11 for the duration, there could have been a whole new dynamic to proceedings as Mitrovic’s dismissal forced the Magpies to sit back. Overall, whilst this will not be the most glamorous win Arsenal have this season, they will be more than happy to get a much needed three points but Newcastle can take comfort from how well they defended considering they played the majority of the match with one less player.
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