Arsenal avenge Newcastle demons, giving Manchester City the dreaded'sinking feeling' - 5 talking points
Arsenal managed to keep their hopes of clinching the Premier League title alive with a well-deserved 2-0 victory over Newcastle United. The Gunners knew that they could not afford any more slip-ups, and they got off to a shaky start as the Magpies nearly took the lead within the opening minutes. However, Arsenal weathered the early storm and eventually took the lead through Martin Odegaard's strike.
Newcastle responded with renewed pressure in the second half and hit the frame of the goal again, but it was Arsenal who doubled their lead when Fabian Schar inadvertently put Martinelli's cross into his own net. The win was a vital one for Arsenal and Gary Neville even claimed that Manchester City's players would have a 'sinking feeling' watching their rivals close the gap.
Arsenal's talismanic captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, was once again in sensational form and delivered the game's first goal early on.
He was not closed down by the Newcastle defense and took advantage of the space to score a superb goal from 20 yards out. Odegaard also impressed for the Gunners and leveled a Premier League record set by Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne by scoring his 15th non-penalty goal of the season.
There were raised eyebrows when Arteta opted to drop Thomas Partey for Jorginho for the second successive game, but the decision ultimately paid off. Jorginho and Granit Xhaka had possession pinched from them early on, but Odegaard soon took control of the game and allowed Arsenal to play through him.
In the end, it was a hard-fought but well-deserved victory for Arsenal, who showed their quality and resilience to come away with all three points. The Gunners will be hoping to carry this form into their next game and keep the pressure on Manchester City in the title race.
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