Newcastle United 0-1 Arsenal
Wet, windy, warm – at times there were three seasons in one day on Tyneside.
Yet whatever the weather, the temperature in the Premier League is always hot and so it proved in a frenetic welcome back to top-flight action at St James’ Park.
Some of the leading cast may have changed from the last match here in May but the passion remains and the new faces, or at least the presence of some of them, made this a must-see contest.
Highlights of the game
Two young sides were selected.
Record signing Joelinton was named in attack (fellow new recruit, fans’ favourite Andy Carroll is not yet available), while Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette (ankle) was only deemed fit enough for the bench, along with record signing Nicolas Pepe – the chance to see his first taste of English football eagerly anticipated.
Also on the bench was David Luiz, the man tasked with helping heal Arsenal’s soft centre – one he and his former Chelsea teammates so brutally exposed in their last competitive outing.
Mesut Ozil and defender Sead Kolasinac did not feature because of security concerns – a worrying state of affairs.
After a summer in which key men had departed, St James’ Park did not seem similarly awash with the joys of late summer – there was a boycott march against Mike Ashley’s ownership before kick-off – but it slowly came to life once the tenacious Jonjo Shelvey and bursts from Miguel Almiron lifted the crowd.
The question was, could Newcastle catch Arsenal cold, especially with so many of their big names on the bench?
Premier League highlights began after 19 minutes when Shelvey struck the outside of the post.
As chances started to arrive at both ends, Henrikh Mkhitaryan lashed high with the goal at his mercy before £40 million signing Joelinton had a crack at Arsenal’s defence on his competitive debut, collected at the second attempt by Bernd Leno.
Then Armenian Mkhitaryan set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang whose shot was kept out by Martin Dubrvaka.
As the half-time whistle blew, the onus was firmly on Unai Emery to change things for Arsenal against opponents who spent 69 days in the relegation zone in 2018-19, the most of any side not to go down.
The loss of Shelvey to injury early in the second half was hardly ideal and it didn’t help that his replacement, new boy Jetro Willems, was caught napping by the driving Ainsley Maitland-Niles who burst forward and expertly found the unmarked Aubameyang whose touch was touch to control the ball was as sure as his second as he lifted the ball over Dubrvaka.
In fairness, it was not just Willems that was blame for slack defending which the Gunners took full advantage of.
You couldn’t fault the desire but the hosts rarely looked like troubling Leno after falling behind, although a cameo from Allan Saint-Maximin showed promise.
So, all in all, a result the SBOBET Premier League betting odds would have predicted but signs that not all is doom and gloom.
Rafa Benitez was worshipped on Tyneside and the reaction to the appointment of his successor, Steve Bruce, has been lukewarm at best.
Yet here was a side playing for their new boss. Now they need to get points on board.
Key Statistics
Since his Premier League debut for Arsenal in February 2018, only Mo Salah (36) has scored more goals in the competition than Aubameyang (33).
This was Aubameyang’s 50th Premier League game for Arsenal – the Gabon international has already netted at least two more goals than any other Gunner in their first 50 games for the club.
Arsenal named two English teenagers (Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson) in their starting XI for a Premier League game for the first time since February 1998 (Paolo Vernazza and Matthew Upson vs Crystal Palace), before either Willock or Nelson were born.
Arsenal have won 13 of their last 14 matches against Newcastle, with their solitary defeat coming at St James’ Park in April 2018.
Newcastle have only beaten Arsenal three times in 37 meetings in all competitions over the past 17 years.
The Magpies have only kept two clean sheets in this fixture since 2007.
Newcastle have not won their opening league match since a 2-1 victory over Tottenham in 2012, losing six and drawing one since then.
Bruce has lost a career-worst 20 games against Arsenal. His teams have beaten the Gunners just twice in 28 meetings, with Birmingham in 2005 and Sunderland in 2009.
Arsenal won only seven of their 19 Premier League away games in 2018-19 and kept one clean sheet – fewer than any other side. They have now equalled that after one game of 2019/2020.
Fourteen of Arsenal’s last 18 goals in all competitions have been scored by Aubameyang (10) or Alexandre Lacazette (four).
Pepe became the 200th Arsenal player to play in the Premier League when he came on as a substitute.
What’s next?
Newcastle face a more realistic gauge of their progress when they travel to newly-promoted Norwich City next weekend.
For Arsenal, a first home match of the new season awaits against Sean Dyche’s Burnley.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
