What started out as a 45 minute nap for those watching at home became a football match following halftime when the Gunners woke up and scored four goals enroute to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Newcastle United.
What changed the course of the game according to the manager:
“We found it difficult in the first 20 or 30 minutes I would say. They’re really compact and really organised, and we talked before the game that you can get a little bit frustrated and start to rush the decisions, and when that happens your team doesn’t travel together and it becomes a transition game. They’re so good with Joelinton holding up the ball and their wingers running, and that makes it a flip of the coin. I didn’t like that game and after half an hour we started to control the situation much better. We started to get into the final third much more continuously and in the second half we tweaked one or two things and attached much better, and it allowed us to control the game in a much more efficient way.”
The goal scorers: Aubameyang, Pepe, Ozil, Lacazette.
Mikel Arteta’s team not only showed some offensive fluidity and power, they also showed they can put teams away. Newcastle United was demoralized at the end of the game. When was the last time we saw one of our opponents look that beaten at the final whistle?
Okay, now we know this club has the capability to win games, however, they still must learn to play two complete halves. The first half was subpar to say the least. The tempo was slow and it looked like the Gunners were trying not to make mistakes. Arteta ‘s halftime talk must have been fire and brimstone because we saw a totally different side in the second half. Yes, we were lucky when the Magpies didn’t score when given the opportunity, but also unlucky when we could have scored a few more as well. But, that’s football.
The starting XI was a little surprising. Eddie Nketiah and Dani Ceballos got starting assignments, along with Bukayo Saka at the right fullback slot. Nketiah looked nervous at times and missed a golden opportunity to score in front of goal, but Ceballos and Saka provided terrific performances and will make it difficult for the boss to replace them in the next starting line-up. And what about Saka’s nutmeg? OMG, maybe the #1 candidate for highlight of the season!
I am convinced this team is on the right track to provide some good results the remainder of the season. There are some positives to build on. The defensive has improved, earning two clean sheets in a row, plus the squad is pretty healthy right now, too. If Arteta can squeeze complete performances out of his squad for the entire 90 mintues, then the Gunners will see more success than failure, and more wins than draws or losses.
Now it’s off to Olympiacos on Thursday for the Europa League’s Round of 32!
Cheers. Gunner1953
Congratulations to former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka for winning this season’s Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.
The FA ruled there will be no replays from the first round on beginning with next season’s FA Cup competition.
Quarterfinals:
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