Newcastle United vs Arsenal FC: Arsenal player ratings

LDM: Granit Xhaka-7

The captain of Arsenal on the day, the Swiss international kept things ticking in midfield. Not afraid to get stuck in, Xhaka managed to thwart several promising Newcastle attacks with some splendid tackling. Arsenal’s metronome in midfield, Xhaka was one of the best performers for Arsenal in what was a very drab first half.

​RDM: Matteo Guendouzi-8

The Frenchman has grown in leaps and bounds ever since his move to Arsenal and his quality was etched across the pitch for all to see. A contender for MOTM if not for Maitland-Niles’ showing in defense, Guendouzi drove Arsenal forward and constantly made himself available for ball reception.

LW: Reiss Nelson-5

Although Nelson displayed flashes of brilliance throughout the 70 minutes he was on the pitch, his end product was lacking and he failed to conjure anything of note. The teenager always seemed to take his time on the ball with it culminating at the end of several promising Arsenal attacks.

CAM: Joe Willock-3

This was an outing that Willock would like to forget as soon as possible for he was totally invisible during his time on the pitch. The Englishman was nervy in possession and gave away the ball in lots of dangerous areas. He was a mere spectator as play circumvented him entirely. He was taken off for Dani Ceballos after 64 minutes.

RW: Henrikh Mkhitaryan-7

The Armenian seemed to do everything right except for producing the ideal final ball. Cutting in regularly from the right-hand side, Mkhitaryan was a bundle of endless energy with little end product to show for it. He was taken off for debutant Martinelli on 84 minutes.