Arsenal Analysed: 5 ways we nullified Newcastle

Our incredible form in front of goal continued against Newcastle United as we produced a convincing 4-1 victory at Emirates Stadium to string together six successive wins in the Premier League.

That makes it 25 goals in those matches, and to find out why we've hit top gear since the turn of the year, Adrian Clarke has gone through all the footage and stats to unearth some things you may not have spotted:

Havertz: A terrific tone setter

Mikel Arteta deployed Kai Havertz as his striker for this clash, and within the opening three minutes the German had laid the groundwork for a truly outstanding first half team display, packed with quality and aggression.

Just seconds into proceedings he controlled a long David Raya diagonal beautifully on his chest, before laying the ball off neatly to Gabriel Martinelli, who won us a corner. It was quality centre forward play that immediately helped us put Newcastle onto the back foot.

Just two minutes later Havertz made a determined long-distance sprint to press goalkeeper Loris Karius, before arcing his run to close down, and ultimately rob, Fabian Schar of the ball.

The crowd roared its approval, and it set the wheels in motion for more of the same.

Havertz went on to score our second goal, making a clever angled run into the centre of the box to convert Martinelli’s cutback.

The 24-year-old also played a pivotal role in Bukayo Saka’s match-sealing third goal on 65 minutes.

Dropping off the front intelligently to intercept a pass aimed into the Magpies midfield, it was his turnover that launched an attack that effectively saw us put the game to bed.

Havertz may be disappointed not to have scored a second just after half-time from a 1v1, but he produced a very strong display that again showcased an all-round skillset which makes his well-suited to this position.

Ferocious pressing

Havertz set the ball rolling, but it was evident right from the start that from a tactical perspective we were intent on pressing Eddie Howe’s players with exceptional intensity.

Every time the Magpies attempted to play out from the back, our front four, backed up by the players behind them, forced errors by shutting down their space.

Arsenal 2023-24

Possession Won - Final Third

Newcastle (h) 14

Tottenham (h) 12

Chelsea (a) 11

Brighton (h) 11

Overall, we regained possession 14 times inside the attacking third – a season high – but as you can see on this chalkboard, we turned the ball over on many more occasions in good areas inside the opposition half.

Arsenal possession regains inside Newcastle half

Martin Odegaard’s 27th minute turnover inside the Newcastle United penalty area stands out on this chalkboard, and the way we set up to force it can be seen in the freeze frame below.

Initially, the captain’s desire to sprint 25 yards to pressurise Sven Botman is the trigger…

And just moments later Havertz, Rice and Saka have joined in to suffocate Botman’s passing options in a 4v4 that prompted him to lose the ball.

This type of press has fast become one our core strengths as a side.

Jorginho: The big game orchestrator

The manager drafted Jorginho into his starting XI for this encounter and it proved to be a very wise decision.

Our experienced Italian dominated the opposition with a performance of controlled excellence throughout.

No one else came close to making as many passes at Jorginho in all areas of the pitch as he shifted from side to side down the central spine, linking play with aplomb.

Newcastle’s midfield configuration did not contain a No.10, and with opposite number Bruno Guimarães usually pushed back, the 32-year-old was regularly free to act as our spare man in possession.

Jorginho’s one and two touch distribution ensured our tempo was high, and he produced some fine forward passes too.

The pick of the bunch was when he spotted Martinelli’s angled run from left to right, sending a delightfully timed deft chip into the danger zone.

From that pass, Havertz scored from the Brazilian’s pull back.

Devilish dead ball deliveries

We took our tally of set piece goals to 19 on Saturday night, with 13 of those stemming from corner kicks.

While we targeted space inside the six-yard box quite brilliantly once again, neither set play routine would have been successful without pinpoint deliveries from Saka and Rice.

Whipping inswingers into the near post with perfect pace and precision, they made both dead ball situations incredibly difficult to defend.

In terms of our movement, Jakub Kiwior’s second half run to get ahead of the near post was a relatively simple, but superbly timed sprint that relied on nothing other than the right delivery.

The way we created space for Gabriel Maghalaes to have a free header for our opener was more intricate.

Sven Botman helped the Brazilian no end by acting as a blocker on Kai Havertz at the far post (circled), freeing up our prolific centre back to enjoy a free run across the danger zone.

White left his station on the goalkeeper to make a near post run and was joined by Kiwior who had sprinted from the back post.

These two players drew all the attention from the visiting markers, who had no idea Gabriel was running in untracked behind them.

With Saliba blocking the pathway for Sean Longstaff to go and attack the ball, a lovely hole opened for Gabriel to have a free header that led to Botman scoring an own goal.

Making history

Arsenal have become the first team in the Premier League era to score 2+ goals in seven consecutive halves of football.

Martinelli and Saka were both inspirational for our second and third goals of the evening; strikes that were sandwiched between those well-worked set piece routines.

There is no doubt our off-the-ball work was stellar again. In six league matches in 2024 we have allowed shots worth a combined total of just 1.88xG.

However, it was the speed and fluidity of our pass and move football inside the opposition half that shone brightest.

Stringing together some lovely combination play that sliced through Newcastle United at will, this was a contest where four goals did not flatter the side.

Since the turn of the year we have now scored 25 times in six matches. Leaders Liverpool are the only side that comes close, but they have played an extra game in 2024.

Have a go at your analysis by digging deeper into the numbers or building your own chalkboard with our revamped Stats Centre.