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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored on either side of a Bukayo Saka strike as a clinical Arsenal side put three unanswered goals past a clueless Newcastle United outfit in their Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Monday.
This was a game that sprang to life in the second half. Both sides struggled to make an impact in an uneventful first half that was quite reminiscent of their FA Cup clash last weekend.
However, the hosts emerged after a half-time interval a changed side and took the lead five minutes into the second half after Aubameyang confidently finished off a swift counter-attack.
Ten minutes later, the home side doubled their advantage through Saka, who was on hand to sweep home Emile Smith Rowe’s cut-back from the left wing past a hapless Karl Darlow in the Newcastle net.
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Aubameyang then put the game beyond doubt by applying the finishing touch to yet another incisive Arsenal move, side-footing Cedric Soares’ cut-back into the net to bag his second of the game.
Newcastle were unable to make any sort of impact on proceedings, with Bernd Leno largely untested in the Arsenal net. The Gunners moved up to the top half of the table with this result.
On that note, let’s take a look at the 5 major talking points from Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle United.
#1 Arsenal and Newcastle United face off for the second time in 10 days
One topic that was highly discussed in the build-up to this fixture was the fact that these two sides had faced off just over a week ago when they came up against each other in the third round of the FA Cup.
The Gunners ran out 2-0 winners on that occasion, with goals in extra time from Emile Smith Rowe and Aubameyang sealing the win for the defending champions.
As such, this Premier League clash served as a rematch of sorts, giving football fans the opportunity to look out for the progress made and lessons learned by both sides from their previous encounter.
A win would be extremely welcome for both teams. While Arsenal were looking to move up to the top half of the table with three points, Newcastle United were aiming to put a bit of daylight between themselves and the relegation zone with a positive result.
As a result, in contrast to their cup clash, both sides took to the field with arguably their strongest playing eleven. Newcastle made four changes as compared to Arsenal’s six.
#2 Arsenal’s youngsters continue to impress
After realising the lack of creativity in the Arsenal midfield, manager Mikel Arteta turned to his side’s youngsters for inspiration as he assigned regular starting berths to the likes of Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.
This alteration has proved to be something of an instant success and has coincided with the most successful period of the Gunners’ campaign thus far.
Not only have Smith Rowe and Saka energised the team with their innovation and exuberance, but they have also made tangible contributions to the team’s successes by scoring goals and contributing assists. On this occasion, Smith Rowe set up Saka for the second goal.
With Arsenal unlikely to make notable acquisitions in the January transfer window and with Mesut Ozil all but confirming his exit from the club, it appears that Arteta will be keeping his faith in the youngsters for the duration of this season at least.
#3 Steve Bruce and Newcastle United have a lot to think about
As far as pre-match preparation for a Premier League encounter goes, Newcastle United could scarcely have had a worse sequence of results leading up to their clash with the Gunners.
Not only had they been knocked out of the FA Cup by the same opposition less than 10 days ago, the Magpies had also suffered an embarrassing loss to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United in their previous outing, handing the Blades their first win of the season.
What makes it even worse for Steve Bruce’s men is the fact that one would have to go all the way back to December 12, 2020 to reach Newcastle’s last victory. This is a worrying run of 9 winless games that includes a Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of Championship side Brentford.
With goals not flowing at the attacking end of the pitch, the Magpies need to get their act together quickly as they continue an ominous slide towards the wrong end of the table.
#4 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is slowly finding his goal-scoring touch once again
A goal deep into extra time in the FA Cup third-round encounter against Newcastle United marked the end of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s remarkable goal drought, the longest such spell of his Arsenal career.
Considering that his goals had led the side to several victories last season, including one in the FA Cup final, this season’s return has been extremely poor for the Arsenal skipper.
However, after a spell of having to switch between the centre-forward and left-wing roles, Aubameyang now seems to be finding some semblance of goal-scoring form from his position out on the flank.
The Gabon international took his time to grow into this game and passed up a number of opportunities to score in the first half, hitting both posts in addition to sending a couple of shots wide of the mark.
Indeed, when he left the field in the 79th minute after scoring a second-half brace, he would no doubt have felt that he could have easily bagged a hat-trick against a disjointed defensive unit.
However, finding the net once again will serve as a much-needed confidence booster for the Arsenal striker and could possibly be the start of a run of goal-scoring returns in the second half of this season.
#5 A fit Thomas Partey is key to Arsenal’s continued success
After making a long-awaited return from injury in their 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, Arsenal were able to bring in summer signing Thomas Partey from the start against Newcastle United.
The Ghana international has been extremely impressive in his short stint as an Arsenal player, with regular injuries having halted his progress.
However, Partey has been able to bounce back from his injury layoffs and hit top form almost effortlessly as he once again delivered a performance that showcased his ability.
Partnering Granit Xhaka in midfield, Partey essayed not just the role of midfield enforcer by making a series of timely interceptions, but also acted as creator, showcasing his precise passing in the game and even claiming the assist for Aubameyang’s opener.
Even Mikel Arteta seems to have realised the benefits of being able to field a fully-fit Partey in the starting line-up every week as the Spaniard was quick to take him off once his side had doubled their lead.
If Partey is able to put in displays of this level regularly, things will only look up for Arsenal as they aim to attack the second half of the season with a renewed vigour.
