This time, Arsenal and Newcastle devised an indisputable result. Mikel Arteta’s side continue to pummel their domestic opponents and could not have put together a more convincing shift, especially after their trip to Portugal in midweek.
It was a great first-half performance, with an own goal from Sven Botman and a close-range finish from Kai Havertz helping them escape. Further strikes from Bukayo Saka and Jakub Kivioglu put Newcastle ahead.
Joe Willock’s late header did not threaten the result and Arsenal were never in the running for a three-team title challenge.
No one there needed to be reminded of the fireworks after Newcastle’s bizarre goal win at St James’s Park in November, when Arteta ruled Anthony Gordon’s winner legitimate. He was furious at the VAR check. Nor was there any need to shake memories of the mess job the Magpies successfully completed when they met here last season. Arsenal had been hurt by another bad performance at Porto three days earlier, but they were always looking to get off to a quick start to eliminate any element of doubt.
Within a minute they had two corners and brought Loris Karius into action twice within the first 10 seconds. Karius had been away from the public eye since making a cameo appearance in the Carabao Cup final a year ago, and although he had the chance to play, due to Martin Dubravka’s illness, he was forced to play for Liverpool at West Ham in December 2016. It was his first start in the Premier League since the match against the Reds. Saka’s deflected shot gave him an early feel before Declan Rice hit a meatier shot from an angle and called for a solid parry.
When Arsenal attacked again to win a corner three, Karius was brought down in the strangest of circumstances. Whatever form it took, the goal was near. For 18 minutes, Newcastle hardly left their own half, but this time their rearguard was hardly ready to attack. Set-pieces have become a modern-day Arsenal weapon reminiscent of the George Graham era, but even his predecessors couldn’t manage so many bad openers.
Saka’s shot from the right was met by the surging Gabriel Magalhães, as many players do, and Karius was able to deflect his header. As the ball spun up, Botman tried to clear but was unable to make contact. When the ball came down, Tino Livramento could only smack it, and Karius finally smothered it, but the ball was already writhing over the line.
The return of Alexander Isaac gave Eddie Howe some relief from the debilitating injury list, but Newcastle were unable to feed him. They had little involvement in the match and quickly conceded again after Arsenal won the ball back from the visitors’ recent aimless clearance.
This time Jorginho sent a deft pass to the inside right position, where Gabriel Martinelli broke the gut and completed a diagonal sprint from the opposite side, winning the ball on the run and cutting it back before turning behind. . Havertz made a powerful sweep-in from his own 6-yard line, and the result already looked more than certain.
Newcastle were being squeezed in, but there was also confusion. Fabian Schaal allowed Martin Odegaard to pay for himself and thanked Sean Longstaff for intervening in the last minute to help Havertz convert again. A wayward Martinelli header and a smart save from Saka’s Karius saved Newcastle from further damage before the break, despite their most one-sided first half of the season.
Within 22 seconds of the restart, Havertz should have added a third goal after being released after Saka’s sizing run and Martinelli’s push, but he went wide. Newcastle had a glimpse of a goal almost immediately. Isak’s attempt to get past David Raya failed, followed by his first shot, but Gordon’s low shot was kept out.
Howe’s players were returning more aggressively, but the bar was lower in that regard. Perhaps this could be the time to expose any remaining fatigue from their host’s European adventures. Immediately after the start, Isak brought the ball down from the air with relish, then went inside and took a shot. Arsenal seemed content to wait for further opportunities and, although they had little momentum, for a brief moment the two teams belatedly entered the contest.
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Botman then took advantage of the kind of mistakes Newcastle had made all night and handed the ball to Havertz near halfway. The ball eventually found its way to Saka, who twisted his left foot inward and fired a low shot past the stationary Karius. The three quickly became four via another corner and Kiwiall glanced a shot from Rice at the near post of the unlucky Lewis Miley.
Willock performed well against his former club, allowing Newcastle to put some ointment on the wound.
