A vital three points for Arsenal after a disappointing week, although what was a comfortable exercise turned into a desperate and nervous last ten minutes. That said, they are back in winning ways and the mood should be brighter here ahead of a very important cup tie on Tuesday.
The start was even, with Yedlin getting into a good position for a shot but getting under the ball way too much and Laczaette making an opening but failing to test Elliott properly in the first ten minutes; Soon after Ashley Maitland-Niles would cut inside from left-back and get a low shot away from 20 yards which came inches from getting inside the post.
Arsenal had a lot to thank their fullbacks, Hector Bellerin and Maitland-Niles himself, for as they both starting very well-advanced positions up the pitch, and they were combining well with Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere to control the flow in the next few minutes.
Jack Wilshire was making his first Premier League start for a long while – over 600 days – but he would play a big part in the first, finding Iwobi out wide who crossed to find Sanchez. The Chilean’s shot was blocked, but it fell to none other than Mesut Ozil, who used brilliant technique to find the top corner and give the hosts the lead.
It could have been two very soon afterwards, but Bellerin’s side-footed volley went over the bar after Sanchez chipped a ball in, and then Xhaka got tired of trying to score through pretty patterns and unleashed a shot from 25 yards which went just wide of the post. Then Lacazette, to his credit, could have moaned about going down in the box but did not, earning his side a free-kick which eventually came to nothing.
The rest of the half would see the Magpies chasing shadows, and Isaac Hayden was lucky he didn’t mark Jack Wilshere’s ankle, whilst the visitors were lucky that they didn’t go in just more than one down.
The start of the second half was much the same, Arsenal setting off in search of the second goal and the kill. They nearly had an own goal when Lacazette played in in Sanchez, whose shot took a wicked deflection, leaving Rob Elliott totally beaten, only to find the side netting. The corner came to nothing but Eliott’s double save to deny Iwobi was crucial.
Newcastle were still in the game on the scoresheet, and Cech had to make a good low save to avoid Daryl Murphy giving the Gunners an almighty sucker punch. That was a brief respite from the domination of the Gunners and Laczaette’s messy chip must have convinced the hosts that they were running out of lives before the gap doubled.
This has become what many would call typical Arsenal; The hosts with 11 shots and only 3 on target to go with their 72% of possession, along with a crowd that has become eerily aware of the lack of rewards for dominance. There was a double change after 70 minutes as Welbeck and Giroud replaced Iwobi and Lacazette and Giroud’s first intervention should have seen Jack Wilshere score from his knockdown header.
With less than ten minutes to go, Joselu’s decent shot at goal from outside the area was deflected just wide and a much more physical and direct approach in midfield was beginning to pay off. Indeed, Matt Richie’s deep cross into the area really deserved better than Ayoze Perez’s miss; The game should have been level there and then.
The last 5 minutes were frantic, with losses of possession coming from Arsenal players frantically trying to put what should have been a comfortable victory to bed. The last chance for Newcastle came from a Jamal Lascelles long ball, but after Nacho Monreal cleared they were just over the line, and they held on for the win.
