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The result means that Arsenal climb to 10th, but more importantly they cut the gap to fourth to six points. Newcastle, meanwhile, drop to 13th but they’ll be relatively unconcerned with the gap to the relegation zone remaining at seven points.
Arsenal turned on the style after a quiet first half to hammer Newcastle 4-0 and secure a much-needed morale-boosting victory. Aubameyang finally opening the scoring with a neat header from a Pepe cross and Arsenal didn’t look back from there. Pepe quickly doubled their lead with a smart finish after delightful work from Saka, before two goals from Ozil and Lacazette in stoppage time added gloss to a superb performance. Pepe ended up with a goal and two assists to crown one of his best performances for the London club, while Arteta will certainly be buoyed by Ozil’s goal and all-round display/
90′ + 6′ FULL TIME: Arsenal 4-0 Newcastle United
90′ + 5′ Pepe’s crowns one of his best performances for Arsenal with a deft assist to set up Lacazette for a fourth!
90′ + 5′ LACAZETTE FIRES IN A FOURTH! 4-0! Arsenal sweep across the pitch in a beautiful move that culminates with Pepe breaking away into the box before cutting back to an unmarked Lacazette, who rifles an unstoppable finish into the top corner from 12 yards!
90′ + 4′ Arsenal have blown Newcastle away in the second period after a quiet first 45 – they’ve looked totally reinvigorated.
90′ + 2′ Six minutes of stoppage time are added on after the goal.
90′ + 1′ Ozil’s replaced by Willock after a tremendous second half performance.
90′ Lacazette’s picked up some clever positions since coming on and he makes his mark with an assist for Ozil’s strike after receiving a neat pass from Pepe deep inside the area.
90′ ARSENAL GET A THIRD! 3-0! Newcastle go chasing the game and swiftly get punished as Pepe picks out Lacazette in the six-yard box, who slices a shot straight into the path of Ozil who sweeps a composed finish beyond the helpless Dubravka from close range!
87′ Saka zooms away down the left flank again before hitting an early delivery across the face of goal that agonisingly misses the run of Aubameyang.
86′ Newcastle make a rare foray forward, but the move quickly comes to an end when Ritchie wastefully fires a wild shot well wide from distance.
85′ Nketiah is replaced by Lacazette up top.
85′ Arsenal are continuing to dominate possession in the closing stages and a Newcastle comeback is looking unlikely.
83′ Clark can’t overcome the injury he sustained from Saka’s challenge and he departs with Schar replacing him.
L. Torreira
Dani Ceballos
82′ Ceballos makes way for Torreira as Arsenal look to secure their lead.
82′ Saka is shown a yellow card for his part in the collision with Clark.
79′ Saka charges through the heart of the midfield before overrunning his dribble straight into Clark leaving both players down needing treatment.
77′ Saint-Maximin strikes the post! Newcastle’s hopes are fading with just over 10 minutes to go, but not through the fault of Saint-Maximin. This time the attacker scurries away on the counter-attack again, before whipping a low shot from 20 yards that hits the inside of the post and ricochets away to safety.
76′ Xhaka’s up and running again and it looks as though he’ll be able to continue.
75′ Fernandez makes way for Ritchie as Newcastle try and gain some form of attacking impetus.
74′ Lazaro makes way for Hayden after a tough game dealing with Saka.
73′ Xhaka is down with an injury to his lower leg and it looks as though he’ll require treatment.
71′ Newcastle have a rare opportunity to put Arsenal under pressure with a free-kick 30 yards from goal, but the away side waste the set-piece with a number of attackers standing offside and the hosts collect a free-kick.
69′ Ozil gets in behind down the left and for a moment it looks as though another promising attack is forming, however, the linesman raises his flag and enforces a tight offside call.
67′ Aubameyang hits the bar! Well, I’m not sure if he meant it, but Aubameyang almost nets Arsenal’s third! Pepe once again drives at Rose, before finding Aubameyang in the box, who’s initially forced out wide, until he attempts a dinked cross that flicks off the top of the bar and away for a goal kick.
65′ Newcastle still seem reluctant to even press Arsenal until they’ve progressed well into their half. If this pattern continues any sort of comeback will be unlikely.
63′ Huge chance for Clark! Newcastle should have one back as Saint-Maximin beats Bellerin again before carefully picking out Clark in the box, who takes a touch before slicing a shot comfortably wide from just eight yards!
61′ The away side should really be looking at changes to arrest this slump now. They’ve mustered just two shots from inside the box and despite a lively performance, Saint-Maximin has looked isolated on the left flank.
59′ Newcastle’s resistance has truly been broken in the opening 15 minutes of this half. Arsenal look like a different side: they’re quickly zipping possession around the pitch and the away side have finally been dragged out of position, enabling Pepe and Aubameyang to take full advantage!
57′ That was mesmerising from Saka! The full-back lured Lazaro and Almiron over before breezing past both of them with a slick nutmeg and then he managed to keep cool and supply Pepe with the perfect pass to double Arsenal’s lead!
57′ ARSENAL MAKE IT TWO IN QUICK SUCCESSION! 2-0! Saka teases Lazaro, before nutmegging the wing-back and advancing into the box, where he kept his composure and slid a low pass for Pepe to lash into the bottom corner from six yards!
54′ Pepe’s had a really impressive half so far and after almost setting up Nketiah for the opener, he gets a deserved assist with a wonderful cross for Aubameyang to crash into the bottom corner.
54′ ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD! 1-0! Well, they started this half with much more intensity and now they’ve found the breakthrough! The hosts quickly switched the play out towards Pepe, who cut inside and swung in a deep cross that found the head of Aubameyang, who powered an effort beyond Dubravka and into the far corner from close range!
51′ What a chance for Nketiah! Pepe shimmies into the box after a long spell of Arsenal pressure and wriggles his way towards the byline, before cutting back a perfect cross for Nketiah, who slams a powerful shot off the top of the bar from close range! If that was on target Dubravka would have stood no chance!
49′ Arsenal pick up where they left off in the first half, with a series of crosses into the Newcastle box, but once again the away side do well to repeatedly clear their lines.
48′ After avoiding defeat in their last four Premier League outings, Newcastle are on their longest unbeaten run in the competition since 2016. After a tight first half in London, you wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to extend this to five.
46′ Newcastle get the second 45 underway.
Arsenal will need to show more urgency to unlock Newcaslte in the second period, but they’ll need to remain wary about the obvious threat the visitors pose on the break.
A tight half ends with the two sides going in level at 0-0. Arsenal have largely dominated possession against a deep-set Newcastle defence, but they’ve found chances hard to come by – Nketiah had their brightest moment with a quick shot on the turn from 18 yards that Dubravka did well to keep out. Newcastle, meanwhile, have been confined to trying their luck on counter-attacks, but Saint-Maximin has looked the most likely to break the deadlock.
45′ + 1′ HALF TIME: Arsenal 0-0 Newcastle
44′ Saint-Maximin almost opens the scoring! Newcastle make a rare foray forward with just Saint-Maximin in attack – but that’s no problem for the flying forward – who races past Bellerin and into the penalty area where he rolls an effort just wide from a tight angle!
42′ Strong save from Dubravka! Arsenal win a free-kick 25 yards from goal and Pepe steps up and lashes a venomous effort that forces Dubravka into an acrobatic save to tip it over the crossbar!
40′ Ozil spins brilliantly past Longstaff before finding Aubameyang 30 yards from goal, where the attacker elects to fire a dangerous shot that flicks off Clark and spins a few yards wide of the post.
38′ Nketiah goes close! Newcastle repeatedly struggle to clear their lines and Arsenal almost take advantage as Ceballos feeds Nketiah in the box with a sharp pass that allows the striker to curl a first-time effort from 18 yards that Dubravka does well to gather at the first attempt.
36′ Saka jinks past Lazaro once more before scooping a cross towards the near post that Lascelles hacks away.
35′ Arsenal put together their best spell of pressure of the game as Newcastle desperately clear a succession of crosses from Saka and Bellerin. Nketiah came close to connecting with a few of those, but he couldn’t quite fashion a goalscoring opportunity.
33′ Ozil angles a delightful throughball towards Aubameyang who slips past Fernandez before firing a low shot at the near post that Dubravka comfortably saves.
31′ Rose works his way into an advanced area on the left wing again, but this time his low cross can’t quite reach Joelinton.
29′ Aubameyang has struggled to impact the game so far, but he finally finds a little space in the Newcastle half to slip Saka in behind. Saka’s cross forces a corner that the away side calmly clear.
27′ Saka lets fly from 30 yards, but his shot sails high and wide.
25′ Almiron embarks on a mazy run through the heart of the pitch and for a moment it looks as though he might break through, however, the Arsenal defence rallies well to crowd him out.
24′ Xhaka surrenders possession cheaply on the halfway line, allowing Saint-Maximin to race forward into space before Rose crosses straight into the arms of Leno.
22′ Saka and Ceballos combine neatly on the edge of the area, before the former curls a swerving effort at goal that swoops a few yards wide of the far post.
21′ Saint-Maximin evades Bellerin again before skipping inside where Ceballos drags him down 30 yards from goal. Longstaff steps up to take the resulting set-piece and wastefully blazes it over the bar.
19′ The hosts have yet to cause Newcastle any problems going forward to add to their worries in this game. The away side are sitting deep in a highly structured system and Arsenal simply aren’t passing with the intensity required to create openings.
17′ Arsenal are struggling to restrain Saint-Maximin and Joelinton right now and as a result, Newcastle are having plenty of joy on the counter-attack.
15′ Newcastle go close again! Saint-Maximin slaloms delightfully past Xhaka near the byline, before squaring a low cross to Joelinton who narrowly nudges an effort wide at the near post!
13′ Ozil clumsily crashes into Almiron by the right touchline, presenting Newcastle with an excellent opportunity to swing a cross into the box. Lazaro whips in a deep delivery that Leno bravely tips behind for a corner, before Leno is forced into a scrambling save to prevent Longstaff’s deflected long-range effort from the next set-piece.
11′ Despite that early chance for Newcastle, their attackers have largely had a quiet season. Newcastle average just 9.9 shots per game in the Premier League – their lowest tally on record.
9′ Xhaka is booked for a cynical challenge on Longstaff as he attempted to stop a Newcastle counter-attack.
8′ That was an early warning to Arsenal’s defence: despite Newcastle’s conservative setup, their attackers can burst into life when they find space.
6′ Newcastle go close to an opener! Joelinton receives possession in an isolated area on the left flank, but he proceeds to energetically burst past Mustafi before clipping in a deep cross to Lazaro who can’t quite control it in the six-yard box before Xhaka races back to poke the ball behind for a corner!
4′ The hosts earn themselves an early corner after Saint-Maximin blocked a Bellerin cross behind. However, the resulting delivery tamely falls to the near post and Longstaff hammers it out of the box.
2′ Arsenal immediately enjoy a long period of possession from kick off as they begin to examine the Newcastle defence. It looks as though the away side will be content to sit deep and wait for opportunities to break in the opening exchanges.
1′ Arsenal get the first half underway.
The players are emerging from the tunnel and kick off is just seconds away!
Newcastle could, however, be the perfect opponents for Arsenal to build some confidence and begin a winning run: they’ve won 13 of their last 14 games against today’s opponents!
Newcastle similarly make five changes to the side that squeezed past Oxford United in an FA Cup replay. Yedlin, Schar, Ritchie and Lejeune all vacate the defence with new signing Lazaro headlining the replacements – Fernandez, Clark and Rose all join the defence also. Elsewhere, the electric Saint-Maximin earns himself a start to try and exploit Arsenal on the counter-attack.
Arsenal make three changes to the team that laboured to a 0-0 draw with Burnley. Nketiah is handed a shock start up top as Lacazette drops to the bench, meanwhile, Guendouzi and Martinelli make way for Ceballos and Pepe respectively.
SUBS: Matthew Longstaff, Christian Atsu, Isaac Hayden, Fabian Schar, Karl Darlow, Matt Ritchie, Florian Lejeune.
NEWCASTLE UNITED (5-4-1): Martin Dubravka; Valentino Lazaro, Federico Fernandez, Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark, Danny Rose; Miguel Almiron, Nabil Bentaleb, Sean Longstaff, Allan Saint-Maximin; Joelinton.
SUBS: Sokratis, Emiliano Martinez, Joseph Willock, Lucas Torreira, Gabriel Martinelli, Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Bukayo Saka; Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka; Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Eddie Nketiah.
Arsenal find themselves in 11th spot after a quiet start to life under new manager, Mikel Arteta: they’ve won just once in their six games – but they’ve also only suffered defeat once in this run. Newcastle, meanwhile, have also won just once in their last six but you get the impression that they’d be happy to depart London with another draw today.
Hello and welcome to live commentary of this Premier League fixture between Arsenal and Newcastle United. At the start of the season you’d have been forgiven for imagining that this would be a clash between one team pushing for the top four and the other trying to fight off relegation. However, both teams have confounded expectations and meet in a mid-table battle between 11th and 12th today.
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That’s all for now though, goodbye!