Arsenal v Newcastle: Premier League – live | Premier League

Half-time postbag. “With City being nowhere near as good as they have been the previous few seasons and Liverpool being three injuries away from giving me a call, surely this is Arsenal’s best chance of winning the league? The fact that they seem to be on a mission to score five goals in every game the rest of the season probably also helps” – Espen B

“This season the Gunners have made tighter defences than the Magpies’ look flimsier than a four-year-old’s cover story for why there’s ice-cream all over their face before supper. But it’s been striking that Newcastle defenders keep running towards spots where the Arsenal attackers aren’t. Whatever system they’re using isn’t working anymore” – Kári Tulinius

Half-time entertainment.

HALF TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United

45 min +1: The first of three added minutes drifts by without incident.

45 min: A third long pass in as many minutes by Newcastle, down the right again, this time for Almiron. Raya again comes out to do his job. A blueprint for Newcastle in the second half here? It’s as dangerous as they’ve looked, even if that bar is set absurdly low, and attack may well be the best form of defence.

44 min: Another long ball by Newcastle, this time down the right. Isak can’t get there before Raya, who rushes out of his box to hammer clear.

43 min: Almiron is suddenly sprung clear down the left. He draws Raya, only to weakly waft an effort straight at the keeper, who claims. Then the flag goes up for offside anyway.

42 min: Rice aims a no-backlift rising shot towards the top right. Karius handles it with aplomb. The flag goes up for offside anyway, but that was good handling.

41 min: Guimaraes is back up and running, boot back on. “Newcastle’s transformation this season from spiky vertebrate to passive invertebrate has been something to behold,” writes Niall Mullen. “I’m sure we’ll all have to bow down before their crushing dominance in the near future so for the time being I for one am going to enjoy them being some distance from stellar.”

40 min: Guimaraes does the professional thing and goes down with a boot complaint. Time for Newcastle to regroup in the hope of getting through to half-time without taking any more punishment.

38 min: Saka hip-shakes between two effort-free Livramento and Gordon challenges, making space to shoot down the inside-right channel. His rising shot is tipped away expertly by Karius. Nothing comes of the corner. As good as Arsenal’s relentless press has been, Newcastle’s resistance to it is pitiful.

37 min: Longstaff slaps a simple pass out straight at Rice, who attempts to set up Havertz. Newcastle are fortunate the pair overthink it and execute their plan poorly.

35 min: Now Longstaff is caught napping, offering Martinelli the opportunity to blaze over from the edge of the box. Number three is in the post.

34 min: When even Guimaraes looks rattled, you know you’re in trouble. He clumsily passes straight out of play for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but Newcastle need to cop on quickly, because more goals are coming if they keep playing as dozily as this.

33 min: On TNT, Ally McCoist points out that Newcastle aren’t pressing at all, and that passive approach is costing them dear, no matter how good Arsenal are. Chris Paraskevas agrees: “Tactically, it feels like Eddie Howe is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. I can think of a few other situations this season where sitting deep and absorbing pressure would have worked well for us (Milan and Dortmund at home?). The big problem tonight is no-one in the Newcastle Starting XI has adopted the right mentality, standing off and waiting for an error. Too many Arsenal players with time and space in our penalty box. Not enough grit in midfield. And crucially: no out ball for Isak and Gordon, and no attempt to pressure Raya (who has looked dodgy with ball at feet tonight). Where’s Andy Carroll when you need him?”

31 min: Guimaraes catches Jorginho late and is fortunate to avoid the booking that would trigger an automatic two-game suspension. When the game restarts, Odegaard releases Saka down the right with a cute backheel. Saka crosses to the in-rushing Martinelli, who can’t keep his header down from 12 yards. Had he planted that one home, it would have been another picture-book goal. Arsenal are purring.

30 min: Saliba launches long, looking for Havertz. Karius reads the danger, racing out of his box to blooter clear.

29 min: Almiron crosses from the right in the hope of finding Gordon at the far post. Arsenal deal with the situation in fuss-free fashion.

27 min: … it could be another rout. Schar’s lazy pass out from the left-back position is easily picked by Odegaard, who looks for Havertz in the middle. Just as Havertz prepares to reprise his work of three minutes ago, Longstaff extends a leg to save the day for Newcastle, poking out for a corner. Karius claims the set piece. Newcastle need to clear their heads quicksmart, or this will turn ugly for them.

26 min: TNT flash up a stat: 52 percent of play so far has been in Newcastle’s final third. Arsenal’s last two Premier League matches have seen them score six and five. The way this is going …

GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United (Havertz 24)

23 min: We’re a quarter of the way in, and Newcastle still haven’t had a significant touch of the ball. Arsenal are completely bossing them at the moment. White has the opportunity to shoot from the edge of the box but declines. Martinelli has a whack. Blocked. But none of this matters, because …

21 min: Martinelli attempts to slip Havertz into the box. Havertz gets over-physical just when things look like opening up for him. The whistle goes. Newcastle desperately hanging on here.

19 min: That was a bit of a farce. But it’s nothing more than Arsenal deserve. It’s been all Arsenal from the get-go.

GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle United (Botman og 18)

17 min: Jorginho shovels a pass down the inside-right channel in the hope of releasing Saka into the box. Livramento is forced to take drastic action, slicing hysterically behind for a corner. Saka to take from the right, and …

16 min: The pace drops at last, and Arsenal begin to probe patiently. Martinelli nearly escapes down the inside-left channel, but can’t get the better of the revived Trippier.

14 min: Trippier springs back up, though he’s trotting gingerly right now.

13 min: Odegaard floats a cross towards Martinelli on the left. Martinelli manages to get a header on target, but from a long way out. Easy again for Karius. Then Trippier goes down clutching his knee.

11 min: Raya hesitates with the ball at his feet and is very nearly closed down by Isak. Arsenal hearts would have been in mouths there, but the keeper manages to shuffle his feet and hack clear.

10 min: Trippier gifts the ball to Rice with an appalling pass infield from the Newcastle right. Rice feeds Odegaard, who attempts to release Martinelli but gets his scooped pass all wrong. Karius claims, but Newcastle ship possession quickly and now it’s Rice taking a whack from Saka Country. Karius parries this one, too, albeit not in the most convincing fashion. Arsenal well on top.

8 min: Martinelli dances down the left touchline and looks to have the better of Schar, with Newcastle light at the back elsewhere. Danger here! But then the linesman sticks up his flag, even though the ball hadn’t gone out of play. Never mind, Arsenal come again, Saka having a speculative slash from the right-hand edge of the D. Easy for Karius.

7 min: Odegaard probes on the edge of the Toon box but his misplaced pass allows Trippier to intercept and send Almiron off at speed along the right touchline. Odegaard attempts to make up for his error with a slide tackle from behind that earns him a yellow card.

5 min: Jorginho’s loose crossfield pass allows Livramento to intercept and roll a pass to Gordon. Newcastle don’t really build from that, but it’s their first moment in possession so worthy of some sort of comment. Arsenal aren’t letting them rest at all.

3 min: Arsenal are snapping into everything. Pressing hard. Karius passes Schar into a bit of trouble by the right-hand corner flag, and the ball’s nearly gifted to Havertz. The press is too hard this time, and the whistle goes to release the pressure on Newcastle. For now.

1 min: … they win another. Rice delivers. White flicks on. Saliba can’t force home. The ball breaks to Saka on the edge of the area and he hoicks over. A fast start by the hosts.

Arsenal get the ball rolling. They’re immediately on the front foot, too, Martinelli winning a corner down the left within the first 13 seconds. And from that …

The teams are out! Live prime-time Saturday night football always feels a bit odd, but at least the kick-off time has given everyone plenty of opportunity to source lubricant, and the atmosphere on Ashburton Grove is wonderful as a result. Arsenal in their red and white, Newcastle in black and white. We’ll be off in a minute or two!

More hot line-up chat, this time from the other side. Charles Antaki writes: “Go on then, if we’re allowing ourselves comments on the line-ups – always a pleasure until reality strikes. My ha’porth: in spite of some lovely recent games Trossard was near invisible against Porto, so plugging in Jorginho and shuttling Rice a bit more forward sounds good. Cue collapse of midfield, blankness at left inside forward and general gah.”

Mikel Arteta talks to TNT. “We expect to have big support and big energy … we are excited … we have been on a really good run in the Premier League and we want to continue that … we have players on the bench who can impact the game … let’s go for it … we will have to see the result and the context of the game to see how we can use [Gabriel Jesus] … two very competitive teams expect to win … it will be an intense match … we must replicate those moments [against Liverpool] and earn the right to win the game.”

Another email, and proof that consensus was always a pipe dream. “We’re having a sweep as to what minute Isak gets crocked again,” writes Richard Slassor. “I have 30~40. Think I’m quids in. Karius for Dubs is a step down IMO. That’s a sample size of two now.”

Newcastle’s starting XI seems to have gone down well with their fans, if our sample size of one MBM reader is anything to go by. “That seems a really sensible line-up for Newcastle,” begins John Davis. “It’s quite a convenient bout of illness – Dubravka is a great shot stopper but won’t leave his line. He’s trying to replace someone in Nick Pope who loves sweeping and you can see the pressure he’s under recently – he’s started to come out when he has no chance of making it, or hesitating, and it’s unsettling the defence. Karius did pretty well in his only game in the Carabao Cup final under lots of pressure, and I still reckon he was concussed when he made the errors in the Champions League final. Isak in for Barnes is great – Barnes is just back from a long injury and Isak is different class, and the pace of Tino against Saka gets Dan Burn out of the firing line after some tricky games. I’m not expecting to win, but it’s lovely going there with a team who will try and I’ve a sneaking suspicion we’ll wind them up even more after Gordon’s winner in our first match this season.”

The whistle has just gone at Dean Court, where Manchester City have beaten Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to Phil Foden’s first-half goal. Taha Hashim has the details.

The result moves City to within a point of leaders Liverpool. Arsenal need a result tonight if they’re to keep pace with the top two.

Eddie Howe speaks to TNT Sports. “We always rotate for different games … with [Isak] back it’s a massive lift … he’s such a key player … a difference maker … we’ll certainly need him to play well tonight … our midfield is picking itself … we want more control and clarity … the spirit is there … the determination … so long as we keep showing that, whatever we deliver tonight we’ll take … we need to keep 11 men on the pitch … but we also have to compete … mixing your game up is absolutely crucial … Arsenal are constantly changing their midfield shape so it will be interesting to see how it goes … we have to bring a threat to the match … our away form has been good in part due to that attitude.”

Arsenal make one change to their starting XI after Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat at Porto. Jorginho comes back in at the expense of Leandro Trossard, who drops to the bench. Gabriel Jesus is also named as a sub after missing the last four matches.

Newcastle make three changes to the team that rescued a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last Saturday. Martin Dubravka is absent through illness, so Loris Karius takes over in goal, making his first start since last season’s League Cup final. Meanwhile Alexander Isak and Tino Livramento replace Harvey Barnes and Dan Burn, who both drop to the bench.

The teams

Preamble