Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 at the Emirates on Saturday, Dec. 16. Here are all the highlights from the match.
Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 at the Emirates on Saturday thanks to a stunning left-footed volley by Mesut Ozil. The goal sealed a deserved win for the Gunners, but they made things hard for themselves, failing to capitalize on their dominance and holding off a late Magpies surge.
Arsenal, back in the 4-2-3-1 formation Arsene Wenger had favored for decades before a recent switch to a back three, played some beautiful stuff in the first half, with Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette combining to dangerous effect.
But it was a moment of genius that gave them the lead, Florian Lejeune’s poor clearing header falling to Ozil, who volleyed the ball powerfully past Rob Elliot. From there, it looked like Arsenal would run away with it, but the goals never came.
Lacazette, Sanchez, Hector Bellerin, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, ALex Iwobi and Granit Xhaka all missed decent chances, and Newcastle grew into the game in the second half. Jacob Murphy went closest to pulling them level, but Petr Cech was equal to his shot.
This was Arsenal’s first win in four Premier League matches, after a loss to Manchester United and draws to Southampton and West Ham. It wasn’t nearly as convincing as it should have been, but puts them in good position heading into the hectic holiday schedule.
As for Newcastle, things are going from bad to worse. The Magpies now have only one point from the last 27 available, and are in the thick of what promises to be a very tight relegation battle.
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Highlights
Arsenal move up to fourth with the win, but could fall back down to sixth depending on Tottenham and Liverpool’s results later in the weekend. Newcastle, meanwhile, fall into the relegation zone for the first time since the first weekend of the season.