Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal
Attendance 47,650
There we have it, game one is over & Arsenal have collected the 3 points, along with a clean sheet to take back to London. In a rather sluggish opening game of the season away at Newcastle it was Aubameyang’s fine finish that separated the two sides on the day.
None of our summer additions to the squad would make the starting eleven for our first game of the Premier League season. All but Tierney however were on the bench ready to be called upon if required. I wasn’t overly surprised with our starting 11 as most have featured thoroughly throughout our pre season preparations. I did think there might be a place for Mustafi at right back, though I’m glad to see I was very wrong on this particular occasion. He was left out of the travelling group entirely, a move I’m definitely not going to lose any sleep over in the slightest.
The conditions weren’t ideal for your first game of the season away from home, it was wet & windy throughout. You might have to consider it a bit of a factor for the rather damp game we saw before us for most of the 90 minutes. There wasn’t much to report of in the first 45, there was sloppy play from both sides. Micky, Xhaka, AMN & Guendouzi were all capable of a stray pass or two. Micky missed a good opportunity on 25 minutes & Aubameyang fired fiercely straight at their goalkeeper on the half hour mark. I personally felt Newcastle were the slightly better team in the first 20 minutes, hitting a post & forcing a good stop from Leno. It wasn’t the best half of Premier League football you’ll see this season & it mainly drifted by. Aubameyang was mostly isolated up top, we failed to find any real rhythm to our game & we went in at 0-0 at half time.
There were no changes from Unai Emery at half time, something he started to shy away from in the latter part of last season. The second half seemed to start much as the first did. Newcastle put a small amount of pressure on to begin, but we grew into the half nicely. Xhaka found Aubameyang well with a lovely pass, which eventually deflected over for a corner. From that resulting corner Xhaka flicked on well, but we didn’t quite have anyone positioned well enough to finish.
It was on 57 minutes that we eventually broke the deadlock at St James’s Park, AMN intercepted well just inside their half & drove forward into space. He the clipped a lovely cross/through ball to Aubameyang, who took one touch before prodding home wonderfully. His first touch really was quite superb & allowed him to finish in the style he did. Ceballos came on for Willock, who got the start he rightly deserved after his pre season form. He played well enough during the match & I really hope to see him continue this curve of development he seems to be showing.
Then it was time for our £73m man to make his debut for Arsenal. He came on for Nelson on 70 minutes to a noisy reception from our travelling fans. Nelson had a reasonable game, he linked up well & didn’t hesitate to try those driving runs at the defence.
Overall I have to say it was a quiet game. We controlled the second half for the most part & limited Newcastle to minimal attempts. What Leno had to do he did well once again it has to be said. We have to be very happy with 3 points on the road & a clean sheet to take home as well. We also have the likes of Lacazette, Pepe, Holding, Bellerin, Tierney & Torriera all to come back into the starting 11 over the next couple of weeks/months & that’s a really exciting thought.
Happy Sunday
The Arse 