Newcastle away is one of the toughest grounds for any team to go to, however Arsenal delivered a mature decisive performance to beat a team in the form of their lives.
Newcastle had won eight of their previous nine going into the game, and only Liverpool had won there all season, however Nick Pope was sent off 22 minutes into that game.
Arsenal are now the only team to win at St James’ whilst they had 11 players on the pitch, and the 2-0 was our 10th clean sheet away from home this season, a truly remarkable feat given the attacking talent in the Premier Leage.
So, what did we learn?
1. We’ve massively underrated Jorginho
Many expected Thomas Partey to come back given his physical presence, however Mikel Arteta kept faith in Jorginho after his stellar showing against Chelsea.
He was absolutely right to do so, with the Italian showing exactly why he has dominated some of the best teams in world football with his ball playing ability, reading of the game and on pitch coaching.
It proved to be his best performance in an Arsenal shirt to date, and he showed why he was held in such high regard as a leader at Chelsea, as he helped Arsenal win the midfield battle against an incredibly athletic side.
In short, it’s time we started trusting Jorginho more. He has has an incredible career for a reason, and at 31, still has more in the tank.
2. Gabriel Jesus is a master of chaos
Newcastle have had the best defence in the Premier League this season, and with three big, tall defenders in front of Nick Pope, they are not a nice unit to play against.
Enter Gabriel Jesus. Size is no object to him, and he terrorized them with his movement throughout, dragging them out of position, winning four aerial duels, five ground duels, fighting for every ball and playing the pass that led to Arsenal’s second goal.
Alongside that, he showed all the gamesmanship that we have wanted to see from Arsenal for years. He wasted time when he could, he cleverly obstructed Pope’s kicking and he was in the middle of everything, despite only having one shot the whole game.
3. Odegaard is up the with the very best
Arsenal’s captain now has five goals in his last five games, and his very much leading his team in the charge to stay in the title race.
On Sunday, he faced not only a big, physical defensive unit, but a midfield of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Bruno Guimarães, who are not only tall, dynamic runners, but can all play, as they showed when they obliterated Tottenham two weeks ago.
The physical challenge didn’t phase him at all, and he carried his recent form into the tie, chasing every ball, engaging in every duel and scoring the goal that silenced the Geordie crowd.
His ability is undeniable, but he’s added a steel to his game that he didn’t have a year ago, and he is only going to get better with experience. Incredible performance to silence the big game doubts.
Written by: Adam Keys (adamkeys_)
The Arsenal Therapy Podcast 