It has come down to a straight shootout, similar to five rounds of penalties, the equation plain yet loaded with complications. Score or miss. With Manchester City otherwise engaged in an FA Cup semi-final, it was Arsenal who took first.
For them, the metaphorical walk to the spot, the moment of truth, began in the aftermath of last Sunday’s defeat at City. It was long and treacherous, the self-doubt gnawing away, the outside noise at fever pitch. Score or miss. With a draw very much into the latter category. Arsenal scored.
The moment that decided it came in the ninth minute and what a goal it was, completely out of keeping with the overall sweep of another fraught occasion. When Eberechi Eze received the ball on the right edge of the area after Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz had worked a short corner, he made the calculations to curl first-time for the far top corner. He pulled it off perfectly.
It was a day when Arsenal needed to respond to the City defeat and the one they suffered before that in the Premier League, here against Bournemouth. They did so. It was not pretty, the onus on grinding out the three points, and there were worries when Havertz and Eze were forced off with injuries. But the only thing that mattered – the only thing that has mattered for weeks – was winning. For the Arsenal support there was joy after 90-plus minutes of pain.
Newcastle arrived under a cloud, the consequence of a run of eight league defeats in 11; uncertainty at so many turns, the collective confidence having dwindled. It was a decent enough performance from them, certainly when set against some of those that had preceded it.
They defended well and, with their captain, Bruno Guimarães, back in the starting XI after a two-month injury lay-off, they were controlled in their buildup play. They might have nicked something when Yoane Wissa, on as a substitute, blew a gilt-edged chance on 80 minutes. When the board went up to show seven additional minutes, a fretful home crowd fretted some more. To them, the clean sheet was everything. Arsenal got it done.
Mikel Arteta’s team had been good at City. They wanted to build on the positive aspects of the display and they felt their hopes soar when Eze scored. The goal came from Arsenal’s third corner and the unusual thing was that they went short with all three. They had previously played just six short corners in the league all season.
When they shaped to do so with their second here, the home crowd howled. They wanted the ball to be curved in under the bar. The move ended with Eze dragging a shot off target. The fans needed to have faith. When Madueke played the third one low into Havertz, he turned it back to Eze and the finish was a beauty.
It was the prompt for Arsenal to sink back. The shot count at half-time was 9-3 in Newcastle’s favour, one from Sandro Tonali that swerved viciously almost catching out David Raya, and the atmosphere was subdued. Arsenal offered little in attacking terms, their cause not helped when Havertz limped off in the 34th minute. Eze departed early in the second half. Arteta suggested that neither of the muscular problems was serious.
Newcastle had threatened at the very start. There were just seconds on the clock when Joe Willock robbed Martín Zubimendi and surged forward, slipping a nice pass up for Will Osula. The centre-forward caught an unlucky bobble and air-kicked. He was well placed to the left of goal. It was a big chance.
Eddie Howe set up with four at the back, Osula upfront and an interchanging quintet in between. Broadly, it was Jacob Murphy on the right and Jacob Ramsey on the left. Willock had plenty of licence in central attacking areas. As did Tonali in deeper ones. Guimarães roamed from box to box. But the positional switches were constant and they were hard to track.
Arsenal appeared to want to fast forward to the end. It was a tough watch, the game becoming locked in the second half, precious little happening. There was a flashpoint when Nick Pope left his area only to miss an attempted clearance and then catch the Arsenal substitute Viktor Gyökeres as he followed through. Malick Thiaw was back to provide cover and the goalkeeper escaped with a yellow card. Arteta was incensed, insisting that Pope ought to have been sent off.
Newcastle’s moment came towards the end. It was a combination between two substitutes, Nick Woltemade and Wissa, the former scooping a lovely ball over the Arsenal defensive line for the latter, who only had Raya to beat. Wissa volleyed high.
The closing stages were illuminated by Bukayo Saka’s return from injury as a substitute – he looked sharp – and a little more excitement in terms of half chances, mainly for Arsenal. Martin Ødegaard worked Pope while Gyökeres could not make the final pass on a counterattack. More important, Arsenal kept the back door bolted.
