LONDON — Newcastle United Football Club Goalie Pope Nick made an important save in the 87th minute from weapon forward Eddie Nketiah to make sure 0-0 draw between the sides on tuesday and end Premier League 100% leaders win at Emirates this season while keeping Eddie Howe’s side on track in championship degree.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (US)
– English Premier League standings | upcoming match schedule
In a tie, Arsenal created more chances to win, but Newcastle showed the tenacity and faith to take a point and maintain a record of losing just once all season. And Pope’s salvation from Nketiah — England The goalkeeper turned off the Arsenal striker by making a save with his outstretched left foot — the crucial moment of the game.
JUMP TO: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Quotes after the game | main statistics | upcoming match schedule
rapid response
1. Arsenal run out of answers in first title challenge
Arsenal dropped points at the Emirates for the first time this season as Newcastle confirmed their credibility with a tough 0-0 draw against the top of the Premier League table. And while the result is a huge positive for Newcastle that will increase confidence that they can finish in the top four this season, it is a performance that raises more questions than questions. responds to Arsenal’s hopes of winning the title for the first time in 19 years.
Mikel Arteta’s team is still at the top of the table – City of Manchester could reduce their lead to five points with a win at Chelsea on Thursday – but on a night when they held the ball 67% and created 17 chances, Arsenal failed to make a breakthrough against Newcastle. They had a lot of flair on the pitch, but Arsenal didn’t know how to use it, and their inexperience showed in this game.
And that will be a worry for Arteta, who knows that tough challenges await his team ahead. They will face teams trying to frustrate them and piling their defences with eight or nine men behind the ball, so they need to come up with more solutions than just relying on wingers. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to make a difference every time.
With two games against the champions Man City and in form Manchester United set to take place at the Emirates on January 22, Arsenal will have to find a plan B to win the games if they want to win the title. They are still in the driver’s seat, but there will be five long months between now and the end of the season.
2. Arteta’s hysteria doesn’t help his players
Arteta has done an excellent job in his three years at Arsenal and could take home his first Premier League title since 2004 this season, but he needs to be calm on the touchline to make it happen. realistic. The Gunners boss was too fiery in his technical area, and in this match his agitation was passed on to his players, who had lost their cool for a period of time. match and quickly received three consecutive penalty cards in the first half.
It’s a delicate balancing act for every coach in a game. Arteta had to guide his players through the 90 minutes and also had to give encouragement, but he also allowed himself to get too angry at times, with both the referee and Newcastle’s approach to the game.
At times, Arteta resembles both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho in the half. There are elements in the continuity of Manchester City manager Guardiola’s history, but there are also more sinister, growling parts of Mourinho’s side behaviour.
By acting like this, Arteta not only imparted a negative image to the players, but also helped win the hearts of the referees when facing them, as he did with the fourth referee in the first half and again in the first half. injury time of the second half as his team begged for a penalty. Arteta has brought much-needed passion to Arsenal, on and off the pitch, but now he needs to tone it down and learn to balance it with composure.
3. Newcastle are the real frontrunners
At this time last year, Newcastle were bottom of the Premier League table and faced the prospect of truly becoming the richest club in the Championship until Howe changed their fortunes dramatically and brought The team is out of danger of relegation. The warblers will join another battle in the second half of this season, but the challenge this time is to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.
And the fact that they are actually preparing to return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they were eliminated by Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round.
Newcastle’s form this season is not good. Howe made the team extremely united and organized, and he made it Miguel Almiron and Joelinton became important first-team players when many doubted they were even good enough for the Premier League.
Against Arsenal, Newcastle played with tenacity and determination, but they were also undeterred by the challenge of facing the top of the table, who had won seven of their seven Premier League home games before this clash. Howe made some incredibly edgy signings during his time at St James’ Park, including Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraesand there may be more in the January window.
Newcastle may lack the depth and quality to win this season, but the top 4 is certainly within their ability, especially with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are both struggling to overcome the challenge.
Player Rating
Arsenal: Aaron Ramsdale 6; White Wharf 7, Gabriel 6, William Saliba 5, Oleksandr Zinchenko 7; Thomas Partey 6, Granite Xhaka 6, Martin Odegaard7; Bukayo Saka 7, Eddie Nketiah 6, Gabriel Martinelli 6
Prep: Takehiro Tomiyasu 6
Newcastle: Nickname Pope 8; Kieran Trippier 8, Sven the robot 9, Fabian Schar 7, People Burn 7; Sean Longstaff 6, Bruno Guimaraes 7, Joelinton 6; Joe Willock 6, Callum Wilson 6, Miguel Almiron 8
Prep: Chris Wood 6, Jacob Murphy 6, Allan Saint-Maximin 6
Best and worst performers
Player of the Year: Sven Botman, Newcastle. The Newcastle centre-back plays a vital role in defense for Howe’s side, and it’s hard to believe that Louis van Gaal doesn’t think he’s good enough to go to the World Cup with Netherlands.
Worst player: William Saliba, Arsenal. The Arsenal defender has been praised for his performances this season, but he has been at his worst in a duel with Wilson and often lands too easily.
After the game: What the player/manager said
Howe on Arsenal’s injury-time penalty claim: “Obviously, at that stage of the game, you’re thinking, ‘God, the players have given so much,’ and that would be a farce for us. I don’t think it’s a penalty. but you never know I’m happy, me and Mikel are fine.”
Arteta appeals Arsenal penalty: “There are two penalties. It’s very simple. I’m talking about what I’ve seen. Those are two scandalous penalties.”
Key stats (powered by ESPN Stats & Information research)
– Tuesday marked the first time this season that Arsenal have been eliminated in the Premier League and only the second in all competitions.
– The last time Newcastle conceded a goal in an official match was on 6 November last Southamptona span of 541 minutes.
Next
Arsenal: The Gunners return to action on Monday in the FA Cup third round, when they are guests of Oxford United (3 p.m. ET, broadcast live on ESPN+).
Newcastle: So does Newcastle, their next game in the FA Cup, but their third round game is on Saturday against Sheffield on Wednesday. (1 p.m. ET, broadcast live on ESPN+).
