Arsenal suffered yet another loss away from home proving the recent upturn in form was just another blip; having failed to address issues that concern the most.
Newcastle United ended the Arsenal hoodoo of ten straight defeats, with a deserving victory, but the focus remains on the Gunners who suffer a fifth straight away loss in the Premier League. The loss means they have the worst record in the league away from home, as they wait for their first points on the road in 2018.
It wasn’t a performance that would be remembered by the away fans, more so, many weren’t surprised with the outcome of this result. While some blame could be pinned on the players who underperformed, the primary focus will be on Arsene Wenger who made six changes to the side that faced CSKA Moscow.
Here’s how Arsenal’s stars rated against Newcastle United as they succumbed to yet another loss in the Premier League, away from home.
Petr Cech – 5/10
Cech’s positioning and lack of awareness saw Ayoze Perez score at his near post, and as it looked, he should have saved it. Could not blame the keeper for the second, but overall Arsenal needs a new goalkeeper if they are to challenge anything next season, or even if they are to be taken seriously.
Calum Chambers – 5.5/10
Chambers started the game brightly, but soon the Magpies discovered his flaws to make things difficult for him. Chambers is right in tight spaces, but is often confused when given plenty of space in front of him. Other than that, he was still decent throughout the game.
Shkodran Mustafi – 5.5/10
Like Cech, Arsenal need to make a hard decision on their 35 million pound defender, and if his performances are not to improve, then he might as well leave. Mustafi could not be targeted as the sole culprit for the first goal, but to his credit, he was trying to track two runners in the build-up. For the second, however, he could be blamed. On the positive side of things, he did make plenty of challenges and tackles to thwart off many other potential attacks.
Rob Holding – 5/10
As Mustafi was dealing with most attacks and Newcastle players, Rob Holding had a relatively quiet game. He did get into a few challenges but was overall grand. Nothing to cement his place in the team ahead of Chambers in central defence.
Nacho Monreal – 3/10
This was Monreal’s worst game in a long time for Arsenal. For the first Newcastle goal, he was entirely out of position to offer any assistance to Mustafi, and his awful header led to them scoring the second.
Mohamed Elneny – 6/10
Elneny has made a reputation for himself as a risk-free player, meaning he rarely makes moves that could be considered risky. This attribute might help Arsenal avoid many mistakes or prevent potential goal threats from the opposition, but it also deprives them of any creativity from deep midfield.
Granit Xhaka – 6.5/10
Xhaka, over the last few months, has shown a different, consistent side to his game. Against Newcastle, his skills on the ball were excellent, and he was someone who always tried to create something. On the other hand, he was by far Arsenal’s best defensive player.
Joe Willock – 5.5/10
An excellent debut for the youngster. Showed some promise early on in the game, but later fatigue took over. Although Willock did not have a real impact on the game, he did show a lot of heart in playing with the big boys as well as promise for the future.
Alex Iwobi – 6.5/10
Arsenal’s best attacking outlet on the evening. Iwobi, in the absence of Ozil, had the creative mantle on his shoulders and tried to justify the same with some good runs to attack. Always decided to create something for Lacazette or Aubameyang, but it did not lead to fruition.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/10
It’s a puzzling decision to play one of Europe’s best penalty box strikers out on the wing. Even so, Aubameyang created Arsenal’s first goal scored by Lacazette. He did have a great time early in the game on the wing, but Newcastle later became defensively tight to allow the Gabonese any other opportunities.
Alexandre Lacazette – 6/10
Scored Arsenal’s only goal of the game to give his side the lead early on, but was also on hand to create the most chances for his teammates. Nothing materialised in the end as Arsenal went on to lose.
Subs:
Danny Welbeck – 5/10
His recent goalscoring form did not affect this game when he was sent on the pitch.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 6/10
Replaced Chambers at right back and added pace to Arsenal’s attacks. But that was all.
Eddie Nketiah – N/A
Not too long on the pitch to rate.
