2 points dropped and we move. Arsenal was held 0-0 to3rd place Newcastle at home and it feels like a crushing loss. Yes, I am a bit emotional about the match now and might be a bit dramatic but you have to win the home games. You gotta win your home games if you want to win the league or are serious about winning it. I don’t care against whom, when, or the weather, you just have to do it. I’ll get into the details later but I thought the Arsenal performance was solid with everything that was on the line. We dominated most of the possession, were industrious in the middle of the park, worked hard defensively, just maybe lacked a bit of precision going forward which can be up to a lot of reasons. All in all, we take the point and we move on to the FA Cup before our match against Spurs on 1/15.
THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH:
- I will be dramatic about this but understand we are perfectly fine: Given the boys’ circumstances and performance, I am proud of them. They stood up to the Newcastle clowns and gave them all they could handle, credit to Newcastle for getting the draw they played for but it wasn’t for lack of Arsenal effort, and at the end of the day, that is all I can really ask of as a fan. We got a point that could be valuable towards the latter end of the season and the performance, which I emphasize repeatedly, will average out for most of the season, so simply said, we play like that, we most games. If you just go off the simple statistics, the boys fought their asses off against an organized opponent and fell just short of the elusive goal. Chin up, head up, we move.
2. Horrendous officiating: Andrew Madley had himself a game and made sure that his presence was felt throughout (which isn’t a good thing for an official). I also had no clue Bobby Madley had a brother, why in the hell are we hiring siblings from an incompetent referee? Makes no sense. Anyways, Arsenal were robbed of 1.5 clear, stonewall pens. Are they penalties in that a team deserves to have a spot kick 12 paces out? Probably not. Are they penalties that are given in 2022/2023? absolutely yes.
Xhaka then got by his defender before putting in a cross that goes off Jacob Murphy’s arm. Is it harsh? Maybe, does it suck for Newcastle to give up a penalty in the 95th-96th minute? Sure Do I give a shit? Absolutely fucking not, call that handball, I have seen that foul being given 10 times over the past few years, its a hand ball in the penalty box, its a handball in the center circle, its a handball in my house, you call that every single damn time, I don’t care where. I also loved the Arsenal players hounding Madley after the no-call, yeah its petulant and annoying but who cares, nobody is going to give you a pen, sometimes you have to ask and yell for it, it worked for United for years under Fergie.
Like what is the point of VAR if we are missing errors like that? (I am 100% bias and can feel and type whatever I want lol).
3. Newcastle are now on the list: These guys were by far the most annoying team we have played this year, that includes Spurs/Scum, United, and Chelsea, my triumvirate of hated teams). They fouled, they parked the bus, they defended as if their lives depended on it, and to their credit, it worked. They got the point they wanted, the point they played for, and the point they deserved. They were a pain in my and Arsenal’s ass all night. Every chance they got, the midfield of Bruno G, Willock, and Longstaff put their body into Odegaard, Martinelli and Saka. Add Joelinton to the mix, and you have him, Dan Burn, Botman and Schar defending crossess, imagine trying to win a header off those giants. They were a nuisance to play against all night and they have been that way for all teams all season long. 6 matches on the bounce they haven’t allowed a goal and you can easily see why that is the case. Just a crazily annoying and frustrating night watching that match from an Arsenal’s fan perspective but credit to Newcastle, they were good. Also add in Nick Pope’s brilliant keeping.
4. Off the mark a bit offensively for the fellas: After our four-goal onslaught against Brighton, we weren’t as precise against Newcastle and that is where the margins lay between the two results. We scuffed some shots here and there, some of our incisive passing was off, Eddie’s shot a bit wider goes pass Nick Pope, Martinelli’s crossing was a bit off.
5. Thomas Partey and Zinchenko were imperious tonight: I thought these two were outstanding, everytime we needed to get a grip on the match, they seemed to always find the ball at their feet. Thomas, I felt outmuscled and outplayed Bruno G and the Newcastle midfield. Zinchenko felt like another CM on the pitch considering the areas he picked up and you wouldn’t be able to tell he was a LB. Just magnificent they way we used him as an outlet to relive pressure in possession. We need to keep these guys healthy going foward.
6. This game is crying out for transfers in attack: Arteta used only one sub in a game where we needed a goal for an RB (Tomiyasu for Ben White). In a game where we were desperate for a goal, Arteta rightly or wrongly didn’t trust any of our offensive subs to make a difference (mostly a shot at Fábio Vieira). With Gabi Jesus and Reiss Nelson out, ESR doing lord knows what with his injury, we need to make a transfer this window to solidify our squad depth. Mudryk sounds like the answer but this game was definitely the wake up call we needed for our title apsirations.
7. FA Cup on Monday, total rotation, please! This Monday we have Oxford United in the FA Cup. I expect total rotation if possible, Turner in for Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Holding, Cédric (if he isn’t sold to Fulham), Tierney all in, Lokonga and Elneny in, Marquinhos and Vieira in as well.
Player Ratings:
Ramsdale: 6/10 – Didn’t have a lot to do all game. He had one bad moment where he almost cost us a goal, but to his credit, he has cut that shit out mostly this season, just can’t let it happen again.
Ben White: 7.5/10 – He impresses me more and more every time I see him play RB. Just a pleasure to watch defending and is getting better and better going forward. Newcastle had nothing on him
Saliba: 7/10: – Much better today
Gabriel: 7.5/10: – Dominant, should have won us a pen and almost had a goal himself.
Zinchenko: 8/10 – Imperious
Thomas Partey: 8.5/10 – My MOTM, love this guy, we can’t lose him
Xhaka: 7/10 – Grew into the game in the 2nd half, created a pen that wasn’t called
Ødegaard: 6/10 – Not at his best
Saka: 6.5/10 – gave Dan Burn the runaround, just wouldn’t come off.
Martinelli: 6.5/10 – provided a good outlet, was his direct self all game, just wouldn’t come off.
Eddie Nketiah: 7/10 – I thought Eddie played his ass off all game, not as good as Gabi Jesus, of course, but the man put it all out there for us. Proud of him.
Featured image credits: Reuters
Twitter credits: NBC Sports, NBC Universo, adamkeys_, ZakKnowsBall