Arsenal closed the gap in the Premier League title race with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Newcastle United on Sunday. The Gunners, demonstrating their newfound ability to secure wins through late goals and effective set pieces, mounted a spirited comeback at St. James` Park.
Despite dominating much of the match, Arsenal found themselves unexpectedly trailing 1-0 for 50 minutes after Newcastle`s Sandro Tonali scored from a set piece in the 34th minute, assisted by Nick Woltemade. Following their goal, Newcastle adopted an extremely defensive approach, reminiscent of the criticism often leveled at Mikel Arteta`s Arsenal for their own perceived over-reliance on such tactics, leading to a predictable, stagnant period of play for nearly an hour.
Eddie Howe`s Newcastle fiercely defended their narrow lead, conceding possession and enduring nine shots on target while offering a minimal attacking threat of their own. Over 50 minutes, they managed only two shots, none on target, accumulating a mere 0.12 expected goals. While this pragmatic, results-focused strategy is often considered effective regardless of team quality, in this instance, it ultimately failed to secure the win.
Arsenal`s relentless pressure finally paid off in the 84th minute when Mikel Merino equalized, a just reward for their sustained offensive effort. By this point, the Gunners had registered 18 shots and 1.29 expected goals, clearly demonstrating their superiority. The decisive goal arrived dramatically in the 96th minute, a classic set piece as Martin Odegaard`s inswinging delivery found Gabriel`s head, securing a memorable victory.
While Liverpool has gained a reputation for late heroics this season, Arsenal is quickly establishing a similar pattern. They secured a stoppage-time equalizer against Manchester City last week and scored both goals after the 70th minute in their 2-0 Champions League victory over Athletic Club on Matchday 1. Significantly, substitutes have been crucial in these moments: Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard contributed a goal and an assist each in Bilbao, Eberechi Eze set up Gabriel`s equalizer against City from the bench, and both Merino and Odegaard impacted Sunday`s game after coming on as substitutes.
These impactful substitutions validate Arsenal`s recent aggressive transfer strategy, which has prioritized building significant squad depth to resolve challenging match situations, as seen on Sunday. This crucial win places them just two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who suffered a defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, solidifying Arsenal`s position as strong title contenders even at this early stage. However, questions persist regarding Arsenal`s optimal starting attacking lineup; for instance, Trossard managed only one shot on Sunday, and Bukayo Saka`s two shots yielded a mere 0.06 expected goals.
Nevertheless, Arsenal`s ability to produce late surges allows Arteta to temporarily defer these selection concerns.
