Newcastle 2-0 Arsenal: Gunners' Player Ratings as Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes all but end their hopes for top-four | Premier League 2021-22
Arsenal lost 2-0 to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Monday, May 16. The result saw the hosts' points tally rise to 46 points - their highest since promotion five years ago.
The Gunners came into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. To add to that, Arsenal found themselves down in fifth by two points after Spurs beat Burnley 1-0 on Sunday. The contest was a must-win for Mikel Arteta's men.
The Magpies, on the other hand, were on the receiving end of a 5-0 demolition job by Manchester City. However, they entered the contest in relaxed fashion as it was their last home game of the season and they had nothing to play for. Eddie Howe and his side were keen to end their strong run of 2022 on a high note with a good performance.
Thursday: Arsenal lose 3-0 to Spurs
Sunday: Spurs win to jump into fourth
Monday: Arsenal travel to Newcastle
The pressure switches to Arsenal 😳 https://t.co/HUEAVMFGwt
Newcastle started the game well and were buoyed by the loud home crowd. They did well to advance the ball and maintained a high line. Callum Wilson was an early threat against Arsenal as he made some good runs behind their defense. He got into physical duels with Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White and even got the latter booked.
The Gunners slowly began their attack with Bukayo Saka leading the charge. However, Newcastle did well to cut supply to him from the likes of Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka. The Englishman had a couple of half-chances but neither threatened the Magpies.
The hosts pressed forward and enjoyed the larger phases of possession in the first half. Allan Saint-Maximin did well to dribble past a couple of Arsenal defenders before unleashing a low drive goalwards. Aaron Ramsdale did well to get a glove on it to deflect the shot wide.
The visitors faced a blow as the game approached the 40-minute mark as Takehiro Tomiyasu went down with an injury. He was replaced by Cedric Soares. However, Arsenal did well to regroup and keep their composure and a clean sheet heading into the break.
The teams went into half-time deadlocked at 0-0.
0-0 🟡 (HT)
Even at the break.
Work to do in the second half 👊
⚫️ 0-0 🟡 (HT)
#NEWARS https://t.co/AroO5uccZQ
Eddie Nketiah was booked early in the second half after making unfortunate contact with Fabian Schar. The defender suffered a knock to the head and went down, resulting in a lengthy stoppage in play. Fortunately, he was able to walk off and looked okay but was replaced by Jamaal Lascelles.
Callum Wilson continued to threaten and made a darting run into the box. Joelinton did well to play a pass into his path from the left wing. Wilson forced White to bundle the ball into his own net to put Newcastle 1-0 up after 55 minutes.
Arteta tried to reshuffle his side and brought on Gabriel Martinelli, Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette. However, the trio were unable to impose themselves on the game. Arsenal did have a chance through Odegaard but his shot was blocked.
Newcastle put what looked to be a dagger in Arsenal's season after 85 minutes. Bruno Guimaraes scored to make it 2-0 and all but end the Gunners' hopes of Champions League football next season. They held on to secure a big win to continue in their rich vein of form.
After a disappointing outing for Arsenal, the fate of fourth place remains in Tottenham's hands. That said, let's take a look at the Gunners' player ratings from the game.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Aaron Ramsdale - 6.5/10
Ramsdale made a sharp start to the game and made a key save to deny Saint-Maximin midway through the first half. He made three acrobatic saves but could not do enough to keep his side in the game.
Takehiro Tomiyasu - 6/10
Tomiyasu looked well off the pace and won just one of his six duels. He made three clearances and one interception but was subbed off in the first half after suffering a hamstring injury.
Ben White - 6/10
White looked slightly off the pace after returning from injury and was booked early in the game for a foul on Callum Wilson. The forward got the better of him once again after forcing an own goal after 55 minutes.
He made six clearances and blocked four shots.
Gabriel Magalhaes - 6.5/10
Gabriel looked solid aerially and made a good start to the game. He won two of his three duels and made two tackles. He was subbed off after 72 minutes.
Nuno Tavares - 6/10
Tavares' start to the game was a reflection of his time with Arsenal so far. He was caught out of position a couple of times but used his pace well to get forward. He was subbed off after 62 minutes.
Mohamed Elneny - 6.5/10
Elneny made a decent start to the game. He played two accurate long balls and won four of his eight duels.
Granit Xhaka - 7/10
Xhaka made a solid start to the game and used his physicality well. He distributed the ball well, playing four accurate long balls and 42 accurate passes, including one key pass. He also made three clearances.
He was booked deep in stoppage time for a foul.
Bukayo Saka - 6.5/10
Saka attempted two shots in the first half, both of which were half-chances. He got into a good position when Arsenal went forward. He attempted a further two shots in the second period but could not score for his side.
Martin Odegaard - 6.5/10
Odegaard was not in the thick of proceedings as he usually is for Arsenal. He won seven of his 15 duels, played one accurate long ball and had one shot blocked late in the game. He gave three key passes.
Emile Smith Rowe - 6.5/10
Smith Rowe got on the ball very few times in the first half and had only 19 touches of the ball overall. The trend continued once the game resumed after half-time and he was subbed off after 53 minutes.
Eddie Nketiah - 6/10
Nketiah used his pace to press Newcastle's defenders and Martin Dubravka in goal. However, his end product left a lot to be desired. He won just two of his 14 duels and had just 26 touches in the game. He was also booked in the second half.
Substitutes
Cedric - 6.5/10
Cedric came on for the injured Tomiyasu and had a decent game. He won all three of his ground duels and played two accurate long balls.
Gabriel Martinelli - 6/10
Martinelli was brought on in the second half but failed to make an impact over the course of the game.
Alexandre Lacazette - 6/10
Lacazette came on midway through the second half. However, he could not make as much of an impact as he would have liked.
Nicolas Pepe - 6/10
Pepe came on in the second half and looked off-color as Arsenal lost the game.