After five consecutive league wins, Arsenal lost points at home against Newcastle this evening (Tuesday), after a disappointing 0:0 draw. The Gunners were unable to break through the Newcastle defence, who continued their crazy form this season. In England they analyzed the tie and referred to the “frustrated Arsenal”, as it was written there.
“Arsenal failed in its attempts to put pressure on Manchester City,” it was written in England, “Newcastle frustrated the Gunners, who failed to register dangerous situations against the opponent. Eddie Anketia got a chance to help Arsenal win tonight and after the ability he displayed tonight, the verdict is still unclear about him” .
Arsenal’s frustration at the inability to score was already felt during the game. In England, they claim that with every foul that was whistled in favor of Newcastle, the team’s coach, Mikel Arteta, screamed at his players to get back together. Additionally, in the players’ section, Martin Odegaard displayed his own impatience.
Arsenal’s frustration was not only due to the ability, but also to the refereeing and the way their opponent played. Doubtful officiating errors, combined with Newcastle’s defensive play, took Arteta out of his composure and at the end of the game, the coach commented on this: “I won’t talk about the refereeing, but I will talk about what I saw, and what I saw were two clear penalties. Newcastle? They planned to play defensively . They don’t usually play like that and they haven’t tried to do anything like that against any other team so far.”
The Norwegian became annoyed with Bokayo Saka during the game when he did not press the Newcastle players well enough and responded by throwing his hands in the air and muttering indistinct words. Once again, Arteta took advantage of an injury to Joelinton to call all the players into action – including goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. Unfortunately, his words did not ultimately affect the outcome of the game.
Even before the match in the Emirates, Gary Neville, Sky Sports commentator and former footballer, provided a certain “prophecy”, when he claimed that the enthusiasm for Arsenal’s ability is too early: “Arsenal will have a good season if they finish in the top 3, it will be a great season for them. Regarding a title, we should Be very careful.”
“They’re in a great position,” continued Neville, “but I feel like there’s still a long way to go, we’re not even halfway through the season. For these players, the marathon has only just begun. I think things will start to get complicated if they’re 6 or 7 points off the top in the February zone March, then the pressure will rise. Teams think they are close to the title at that time, but they are not. They are miles away from the title.”
