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NEWCASTLE, England -- Three thoughts
on Arsenal's 2-1 win vs. Newcastle in the Premier League.
1. Arsenal bounce back
Arsenal have become somewhat
predictable, both in terms of their seasons as a whole and their individual
matches. If the midweek 2-0 victory in Monaco -- "brave," yet not
sufficient for them to qualify -- was classic Champions League Arsenal, this
was classic Premier League Arsenal.
You can effectively copy and paste
the opening paragraphs from a report of the recent victory at QPR as,
yet again, they made a sluggish start and then scored a couple of goals in
quick succession, before suffering an unexpected concession and enduring a
needless period of nervousness in the second half.
Eventually the victory was secured,
of course, and so again Arsene Wenger will be able to praise Arsenal's courage
in "bouncing back" from the midweek disappointment (even if it was
technically a victory in France). It is interesting, however, that a team
generally so prone to massive swings of confidence have developed this ability,
which is probably why their manager mentions it so regularly.
This wasn't a particularly
impressive performance, with Arsenal's back line worried by the pace of Ayoze
Perez, and often under pressure because David Ospina was unconvincing when
coming out to claim set pieces.
Holding midfielder Francis Coquelin,
meanwhile, looked commanding when Arsenal were in possession, but was less effective
when they were on the back foot, and Wenger introduced Mathieu Flamini to sit
alongside him for the remaining 20 minutes.
Never before this season, though,
have Arsenal looked so comfortable in terms of the league table. With at least
one of fourth-placed Manchester United and fifth-placed Liverpool set to drop
points at Anfield tomorrow, Gunners fans can look forward to Champions League
football yet again.
Olivier Giroud was clinical as
Arsenal earned a vital win.
2. More goals for Giroud
The statistics suggested this was a
game for Olivier Giroud, and the Frenchman duly responded -- he has now scored
eight goals in his last nine league games, and eight in six against Newcastle.
Giroud put Arsenal ahead midway
through the first half after a series of free kicks down the right flank.
Alexis Sanchez went close from the first before Newcastle defended the second
one poorly, with Moussa Sissoko making a mess of his clearance under no
pressure.
Those were the warning signs, and
Arsenal pounced from their third opportunity in this situation. Santi Cazorla's
curling free kick was nodded on by Danny Welbeck, and Giroud reacted quickly to
divert the ball past Tim Krul and into the corner with his knee -- the left
one, inevitably.
As is frequently the case with
Arsenal, the second followed quickly -- just four minutes later. It was another
Cazorla set piece from the right, although this time the move was even simpler:
the Spaniard's outswinging corner was perfectly placed onto Giroud's head, and
the striker outmuscled Mike Williamson to head into the far corner.
Giroud's other major quality, his
expert link play, was also evident. He nearly played in Aaron Ramsey at 0-0
with a wonderful back-heel that was intercepted but nevertheless drew gasps
from the Arsenal fans located high up in the Leazes End, at the other end of
the stadium.
Ramsey's galloping forward runs are
perfect for combination play with the striker, as the duo demonstrated in last
weekend's 3-0 victory over West Ham, and the Welshman had a decent chance
shortly after the back-heel, too, again from a Giroud pass, but he took a heavy
touch when attempting to round Krul.
Giroud had a less happy second half
as Newcastle repeatedly sandwiched him when he challenged for aerial balls,
with Vurnon Anita in front and Williamson behind. Twice he received medical
attention after these challenges, prompting howls of anger from the home
support, and he was unable to relieve the pressure by holding up the ball.
Nevertheless, he was once again
Arsenal's match winner and is unquestionably their key player at present.
Moussa
Sissoko scored his first goal since New Year's Day to give Newcastle hope.
3. Newcastle valiant in defeat
This is yet another Newcastle season
that is over before Easter. Out of the cup competitions, nowhere near the
European slots and some way clear of relegation -- largely thanks to five
consecutive victories in October and November -- it has become a familiar
feeling.
However, the frustrating thing for
Magpies fans, over 50,000 of whom were in attendance at St James' Park again,
is that Newcastle are doing little to build for next season.
Current manager John Carver will not
be in charge, the squad might change significantly, and, on a wider note,
there's a huge doubt about whether Newcastle can realistically improve while
Mike Ashley remains as owner. Sadly, recent matches simply seem pointless.
With Fabricio Coloccini's three-game
suspension particularly damaging as Newcastle already had an injury crisis at
centre-back, Daryl Janmaat was forced to fill in centrally, a position he'd
never previously played (aside from when deputising after Coloccini's red card
last weekend at Everton), and the defence rarely looked settled, especially
with Jack Colback forced to play at left-back.
There were also problems further
forward: Papiss Cisse is serving a long ban for spitting, although Perez
performed excellently, running the left-hand channel as he'd done effectively
against Chelsea in a 2-1 win in December.
In midfield, meanwhile, it was
bizarre to see Yoan Gouffran playing as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3, with
Remy Cabella out on the right. Gouffran adapted manfully but, when he and
Sissoko pushed forward, holding man Anita was often exposed
Newcastle started the second half
well, however: Cabella's good work down the right flank was followed by a low
cut-back and an assured finish from Sissoko, before Perez twice went close with
good individual efforts.
Set pieces piled the pressure on
Arsenal and, with four minutes remaining, Perez's twice-deflected shot forced
Ospina into a desperate save with his feet. The hosts' second-half performance
was surprisingly encouraging.
Yet these supporters still deserve
more, and they haven't witnessed a home league victory by more than one goal
all season. Spirited displays against the big boys are fine, but in the long
term Newcastle must have loftier ambitions.
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