In the midst of their best ever 12-game start to a PL season, Arsenal were chasing a tenth consecutive home league win against Newcastle. It was the hosts who started on top, with Emile Smith Rowe forcing Martin Dubravka into an outstretched save high to his right-hand side. Despite their persistence, Mikel Arteta’s men were unable to find an early breakthrough.
As the half went on, the game began to open up and it looked as if the visitors would take the lead when Jonjo Shelvey sent a curling strike towards goal from 25 yards out. Tipping the ball onto the crossbar high to his left-hand side, Aaron Ramsdale’s elastic save was the latest in an ever-growing collection of fine stops. At the opposite end, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was unable to convert from six yards out.
Unlucky not to have been ahead at the interval, it took Arsenal only 11 second-half minutes to take the lead. Smart combination play between Nuno Tavares and Smith Rowe presented Bukayo Saka with the chance to slot home his second goal of the campaign, which was taken with a pinpoint finish. Despite the England international trudging off with an injury moments later, the hosts netted another midway through the second half, when Gabriel Martinelli was able to delicately loft his first-time volley above the onrushing Dubravka.
For Newcastle, their wait for three points continues, with only one side ever having survived the drop after being winless following the opening 13 games. Meanwhile, Arsenal remain fifth in the PL and are targeting a return to Europe after a year’s absence.
