On Saturday, Newcastle inflicted a real blow to the ambitions of defeating the London team 1-0 at St. James' Park in a Premier League matchup for the 10th round. With a decisive goal from Alexander Isak early in the first half, the home team showed character and managed to handle Arsenal's lackluster attacks, who once again couldn't find the back of the net. That result leaves Newcastle in ninth spot, while Arsenal will drop down to fifth. A pretty worrying trend this is for the Gunners' fans.
Follow Playing for 90 on X (Twitter).
Arsenal's Slide: Talent Stymied by Ineptness
Arsenal entered the campaign as one of the top candidates to push Manchester City in a title fight, but they don't have the momentum on the pitch nor the table. The Gunners have gone a third successive game without a win after losing away to Bournemouth and drawing with Chelsea in the last round. What's the problem? Gunners have stopped attacking at key moments. They haven't scored in two losses.
This Saturday's game laid that inefficiency bare. In possession and with good movement, Arsenal barely made an impact against Newcastle's solid defence. They lacked the type of player who could play that incisive ball through the opponent's backline-a role, perhaps, Martin Odegaard, ruled out with injury, might have played.
Newcastle's Home Strength and the Isak-Gordon Effect
While Arsenal struggled, Newcastle grasped their opportunities. Eddie Howe's team welcomed back Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, the latter two showing excellent chemistry on the field of play. It was Gordon who provided the telling cross for the goal, as Isak rose to head it home with aplomb. This goal, by the way, was his 12th at St James' Park-a stat that underlines his knack for delivering at home.
Gordon, in turn, was a constant pain in the neck of Arsenal's rearguard; his pace and precision troubled the visitors' defense, who on several occasions, looked disorganized. Besides being an important feat with respect to the standings, this victory brings back some confidence to Newcastle, who hadn't been able to get good results in the Premier League in recent weeks. Eddie Howe was hugely positive about his team's focus and consistency throughout the 95 minutes of action: "Those three points were important, and I'm sure this win will do us a lot of good," he said.
Arteta's Frustration and Arsenal's Fatigue
Mikel Arteta didn't mince his words after the match. For him, Arsenal had it coming: "We started well, but we didn't defend our area with the necessary intensity," said the Spanish manager. The failure of Arsenal to adapt themselves to Newcastle's game was apparent. Once the goal was conceded, the plan collapsed inoperative, and the team weren't able to hold their nerves. The outcome was a real telltale of pressure exposing its weak link, which Arteta must look to fix.
The recent numbers for Arsenal reflect this sensitive phase. The team, which had lost only one of its first 25 Premier League games in 2024, has now lost twice in three games. Furthermore, the Gunners show one worrying trend: going behind. In four of their last six matches, they have gone behind-a sign of difficulty in game control from the very beginning, which is unusual for a club once known to have dominance.
Facts and Statistics: The Deteriorating Away Form of Arsenal
In fact, it was for the first time that Newcastle's win meant Arsenal have lost back-to-back away league games for the first time since May 2022. The last such negative streak happened in the pre-Arteta era. Recent head-to-heads at St. James' Park also do not look too promising for Arsenal: Newcastle have won three of the last four home meetings against them-a stark contrast to the previous 23 games, wherein the Magpies emerged winners only three times.
Worse still, Arsenal have developed this unfortunate knack of allowing the opposition to take the lead on the road. This is the third consecutive match away from home where Mikel Arteta's team has conceded the first goal-a first since December 2019. This is a worrying trend for a team with ambitions of winning the title, the very opposite of what the solidness of Arteta's project preaches.