Isak sparks Newcastle as Arsenal fail to find their best side

Newcastle welcomed Arsenal to St James' Park as Eddie Howe's side struggled after a poor start to the season in which they were languishing in mid-table in the Premier League and went into matchday 10 with three defeats and two draws to their name.

The first 45 minutes were wide open with chances aplenty for both sides, but it was Newcastle United who took the lead in the 12th minute when Alexander Isak put the Magpies ahead.

The Swedish striker took advantage of a great cross from the right flank by Anthony Gordon to head home and put his side ahead. Twenty first-half touches in the Magpies' box were not enough for the Gunners to go in at the break with a goal in the bag.

At the start of the second half Eddie Howe's side continued to press Arsenal. In the opening minutes, they went on the attack and Willock made Raya work with a shot that the Spanish keeper saved.

Mikel Arteta in the 60th minute looked for a reaction from his team by making changes and bringing on Zinchenko and youth product Nwaneri in place of Mikel Merino and Martinelli, while the English manager added Sandro Tonali to the pitch to keep the Magpies' midfield consistent.

Ten minutes before the 90 minutes were up Arsenal went all out on the attack and were a headache for the Newcastle defence but their attempts were not successful and Pope continued to keep a clean sheet. Declan Rice had an injury-time equaliser with a header that went narrowly wide from Bukayo Saka's cross.

Arteta's side's next game is on Wednesday when they travel to Italy to face Inter Milan in the Champions League so the Emirates Stadium side will need to regroup and correct their mistakes to get back to winning ways while the Magpies are not back in action until 10 November against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

 

November 2, 2024