5 Things We Learned After Newcastle 1-0 Arsenal

Written by Oliver Nehila 

Isak's excellent header secured three points for Newcastle United as they beat Arsenal in a hostile battle at St. James' Park.

The Magpies recorded their second consecutive win against Arsenal at home after an identical result from last year. Alexander Isak scored the only goal of the game after an exquisite cross from Anthony Gordon. The Gunners are now winless in their last three Premier League games and failed to score in an away game for the second time in a row.

Here are five things we learned from the game:

Lack of creativity, fluidity, and movement in attack

It has been more than a month since Martin Odegaard's injury, and we are yet to find an optimal replacement for him. Odegaard's ability to unlock defences, create chances, and impact the game was absent yesterday. Our team lacked creativity in build-up and final third, which resulted in 0.00xG on target that we generated. Kai Havertz started the game in Odegaard's role, similarly to the last year, but was not as influential as he is up front. After the first half, he switched positions with Leandro Trossard, but it did not improve our performance at all. We were more dominant on the ball once Mikel Arteta brought on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ethan Nwaneri and moved Thomas Partey to midfield, but Newcastle comfortably defended in a block. Even though we had almost 70% possession in the second half, there was not enough quality on the ball, fluidity in transitions, runs behind, and elements of surprise.

Defensive issues

After having the best defence in the Premier League last season with the most clean sheets and fewest goals conceded, no one would think that defence will be a topic of discussion anymore. Our defence was known for being compact, organised, and aggressive, committing the minimum of mistakes and leaving no space for opponents to attack. Despite the unforeseen circumstances that we have experienced so far, our defence has changed. We have already conceded 10 goals in the league this season, eight in the last six games, which makes us more vulnerable. Arteta's system has become more pragmatic and conservative over the last two years and stood behind our impressive defensive record last season, but we have recently been conceding sloppy goals after individual mistakes or set pieces. In my opinion, constant changes of our backline due to injuries or suspensions, fatigue, and naivety in some situations are the main reasons for the quality drop off in our performances.

Lost duels in midfield

Everyone knows Arteta emphasises the importance of winning duels in midfield to gain dominance and control of the game. Therefore, he built the team around powerful and athletic players. The majority of our team is very tall and physical, which not only helps us during set pieces but in midfield battles as well. Summer acquisition Mikel Merino came to the club as a player with most duels won in Europe's top 5 leagues last season to strengthen the midfield. However, none of that was the case yesterday. Newcastle were very aggressive and intense from the start, with great support from the stands. The Magpies won more duels, aerial duels, and tackles. Specifically, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton brought high intensity and passion, which we could not deal with. Every tackle Newcastle players won just hyped up the home crowd even more and boosted their confidence.

No plan B

It was not the first time when Arteta's plan was not working and he did not react appropriately. He is a brilliant tactician and perfectionist and can prepare the team against anyone in the world, but his in-game management is often insufficient. There were many instances when his substitutions or changes to the system came either too late or did not come at all. Eddie Howe completely outclassed Arteta yesterday, set up his team perfectly, and limited our strengths. Howe exactly knew how to succeed against us, and while Newcastle's plan was obvious, we did not adjust ours. Whether it is Nwaneri's introduction to the starting lineup or more involvement of Zinchenko or Gabriel Jesus, Arteta has to figure it out as soon as possible because we are becoming too predictable.

Squad depth

Our business in the last transfer window was inadequate. Arrivals of Riccardo Calafiori, Raheem Sterling, Neto, and Merino will not fix the issues we had last season. A shortage of X factor was very visible last season, especially in games against Porto or Bayern Munich. Signing a top winger seemed like a necessity, but apart from Sterling, we did not sign anyone else. On top of that, our attack required new competition and refreshment after the departures of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Fábio Vieira, and Reiss Nelson. Overall, our squad depth compared to Manchester City, Liverpool, or Chelsea is very disparate, which means Arteta does not rotate players. Most of our players are overplayed and have to play through minor injuries at times because the difference in quality on the bench and in the starting lineup is big. In order to balance it, we need to bring players who would raise the floor. Hence, January provides an opportunity to reinforce the squad and close the gap at the top.