Defeated Against Newcastle, Arsenal Fails to Shadow Man City

Newcastle United duo Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon gave the team a 1-0 win over Arsenal. (X/@NUFC)

JAKARTA - Arsenal suffered another defeat in the English Premier League competition. In a duel at St James' Park Stadium, Saturday, November 2, 2024 evening WIB, Arsenal had to admit Newcastle United's superiority 1-0. The defeat thwarted Arsenal's efforts to overshadow the leader of the standings Manchester City.

Arsenal have not managed to recover and lost for the second time in the last three matches. Even in those three matches, Arsenal never won. They were forced to surrender to Bournemouth 2-0 and then drew 2-2 against Liverpool.

When visiting Newcastle's headquarters, Mikel Arteta's team actually hoped to return to winning ways. Moreover, Arsenal have good capital by defeating Preston North End 3-0 in the Carabao Cup.

However, Newcastle is also on fire. Even in the English League Cup, The Magpies managed to destroy fellow Premier League team, Chelsea with a convincing score of 2-0.

The success of eliminating Chelsea made Eddie Howe's troops even more confident when they returned to act as hosts by hosting Arsenal. Even though they had to struggle, Newcastle finally won through one goal from Alexander Isak.

The victory made Newcastle immediately jump to eighth place with 15 points. Meanwhile, The Gunners are still in third place with 18 points.

Arsenal failed to overshadow Man City who have collected 23 points. Meanwhile. Liverpool who are in second place are still one point behind.

Isak who has scored 12 goals from 12 home matches admitted that he was satisfied to be able to bring Newcastle to victory.

"This is an important victory. We beat a big team in a big match too. I think the victory means a lot. This also shows that we can win this match," said Isak.

Meanwhile, defender William Saliba expressed his disappointment because Arsenal hoped to win the match.

"We are disappointed because we wanted to win. Unfortunately, we failed. We did not play as expected. We deserved to lose," said Saliba.

"However, we must remain united. We must stay together and not lose confidence. We are sure we will rise," he said.

In that match, Newcastle took the initiative to attack so that they were able to control the game. On the other hand, Arsenal faced pressure that made it difficult for them to attack.

It didn't take long for Newcastle to break through Arsenal's goal. In the 12th minute, Isak managed to score a goal after receiving Anthony Gordon's cross. Isak's header successfully beat goalkeeper David Raya.

After falling behind 1-0, Arsenal tried to bounce back. However, Newcastle's solid defense really made it difficult for the Gunners to equalize.

Midfielder Declan Rice had threatened Nick Pope's goal. However, his header was still wide. Arsenal players looked frustrated because many opportunities failed to be converted into goals.

Including two opportunities through Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz which were still thwarted. Until the end of the match, the score remained 1-0 for Newcastle.