Review:Arsenal vs Newcastle

Arsenal and Newcastle United played out a 0-0 draw that contained controversial decisions by match officials and VAR. The Gunners started the game brightly and were quick to start tormenting the Newcastle defence, but after the match cooled down, it was pretty even.

The match was hyped up by the media as being one not to miss, but the reality was something of the opposite. The game wasn’t entertaining, and it was a bit deflating to watch, especially for neutrals. Most of the game was just Newcastle players time-wasting or fouling the Arsenal players, with them committing 16 fouls in the game.

Arsenal could never find their flow in a match that was constantly disrupted and paused. It didn’t help that the ball was only in play for 52 minutes. This is why it came as a surprise when there were only 5 minutes of extra time rather than the high numbers seen in the Newcastle vs. Liverpool and Manchester City games.

However, the Gunners' lack of creativity and finishing ability cost them the game, not just because of the interference and poor officiating. Arsenal had a total of 17 shots, but only four were on target. The Gunners were unable to create quality chances for their attackers, and this is greatly down to Newcastle stopping Martin Odegaard from getting comfortable in the game.

It was also Newcastle’s impressive pressing system that won them a point in the match. They shut down the open space usually afforded to Arsenal players just outside the box, forcing the goalkeeper to kick the ball long or make a mistake.

Additionally, Arsenal’s shot quality was poor, amassing an XG of 1.12 against Newcastle's 1.06 XG from 8 shots. Newcastle’s defensive work was a big reason why Arsenal couldn’t score a single goal in this game. Eddie Howe came to the Emirates with a clear plan in mind, and no matter how ugly it was, it worked.

Arsenal came into the game fresh off a 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion and were confident of getting the win here. Newcastle came here after a 0-0 draw with Leeds. It should have been an Arsenal win, no matter how good Newcastle has been this season. . In the past year, Arsenal have quickly become a team that strikes fear into the hearts and minds of their opponents, and this was shown today. Based on the way the Magpies played in the second half, it was obvious that they came to the Emirates wanting a draw rather than a win. They wasted time for seemingly hours on end, and they would disrupt play as often as they could. Newcastle’s plan wasn’t to outplay or outperform us; it was to stop us from scoring.

.It was disappointing. This season, Newcastle have shown that they are a classy team that competes with the big boys, but today they just went back to Steve Bruce football. They let Arsenal have the ball for nearly all of the game, with the Gunners having 67% possession in the match. A team that resorts to "Brexit ball" when their backs are against the wall does not deserve a place in the Premier League's top four.

Bruno Guimares and Miguel Almiron underperformed in the match and were nowhere near the levels expected of them. To watch the pair of them fall when faced with the prospect of playing the best team in England right now was disenchanting.

Newcastle demonstrated today that they are nowhere near Arsenal's current level. Nine times out of 10, Arsenal would have won this specific game with ease. The positive to draw from this game is that it shows the players that you cannot win them all. As long as they pick their heads back up and learn from today’s mistakes, Arsenal can be more prepared to face Tottenham on January 15.