It was a frustrating night at the Emirates for Arsenal as the match with Newcastle ended 0-0 to kick off 2023.
The Gunners were only able to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to eight points before Manchester City kick-off against Chelsea on Thursday. It felt like a missed opportunity in the match with moments that could have changed things if they had gone in Arsenal’s direction.
There is a lot to unpack, so let’s get into it.
3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle
Here are three positives and negatives from the Newcastle stalemate.
Positive #1: Give Gabriel his flowers
Gabriel produced another assured performance. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Gabriel has caught a lot of unwarranted slack this season when he’s made mistakes. He’s done that every once in a while, but he has been immense overall this season and it’s time for fans to start respecting him again.
With William Saliba still shaking off the World Cup rust, he stepped up again and delivered a monster performance against Newcastle.
Negative #1: Referees
The refereeing in this match was absolutely shocking.
It’s always frustrating to feel hard done by the referees because there’s a lack of control that is had over that. Still, Arsenal had three different potential penalty shouts that were not even explicitly checked by the referees. The foul on Gabriel was the most obvious: Dan Burn pulling his shirt from a free kick – a foul that had been consistently called all match.
Still, it’s frustrating to have the refs impact the game. But, the reality is that Arsenal must not rely on the officials for a result which leads me into…
Continued on the next slide…
https://t.co/51ltLVfIrK <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://t.co/40lQCNrTjx">pic.twitter.com/40lQCNrTjx
<p>— cmbftbl (@cmbftbl) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://twitter.com/cmbftbl/status/1610392715576877056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>January 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Still, it’s frustrating to have the refs impact the game. But, the reality is that Arsenal must not rely on the officials for a result which leads me into…</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive & negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Positive #2: Solid play, lacked finishing touch.</h2>
<div id="attachment_131523" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131523 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1245968124.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245968124.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245968124-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Eddie Nketiah was denied superbly by Nick Pope late on (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Arsenal played solid in this match but they couldn’t quite put it together in the final third.</p>
<p>It was a match of inches, with efforts slightly missing their target or shots being slightly mishit. Eddie Nketiah had a great chance at the end but he was brilliantly denied by Nick Pope, while Gabriel Martinelli’s header slipped just wide of the post.</p>
<p>Arsenal were so close to being able to score in this match but just couldn’t make it happen. Newcastle are the best defensive team in the league and they performed stoutly once more. The Magpies were compact and their defensive line was tough to penetrate, so credit to them for not making it easy by any means for the Gunners.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Lack of subs</h2>
<div id="attachment_131237" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131237 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244604071.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244604071.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244604071-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal need more options off the bench. (Photo by Mikolaj Barbanell/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Arsenal made one (1!!!) sub in this match. Takehiro Tomiyasu came on for Ben White and played well after coming on, and he isn’t the issue here. The problem is that there was no attacking option that Arteta trusted off the bench to make an impact late on.</p>
<p>Both Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos were unused by the boss.</p>
<p>The way that this match went, it made sense for Arteta to stick with his starting attacking line, but a spark and fresh legs were badly needed. The return of Emile Smith Rowe cannot come soon enough for the Gunners, and here’s to hoping he can be fit enough to get a run out against Oxford United in the FA Cup before the North London Derby.</p>
<p>Arsenal has also made a <a title="Mykhaylo Mudryk’s signing is an inevitability this month" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/02/arsenal-signing-mykhaylo-mudryk-inevitability/" rel="">second bid for Shaktar’s Mykhaylo Mudryk</a>, who would be an electric addition to add to this side. If Arsenal are serious about a title bid, they need to add to their bench because matches are only going to become more congested down the stretch.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive & negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Positive #3: Breaking the press</h2>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131517 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1245967889.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1245967889.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1245967889-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal sustained pressure for large swathes of the contest. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Newcastle tried their best to exhibit pressure on Arsenal from minute one, pressing much higher than many clubs dare to at the Emirates. That proved to be a moot effort as Arsenal cut through the Magpies’ high press with ease in the first ten minutes of the match, resulting in a bombardment from the home team toward the visitors’ goal.</p>
<p>However, they managed to see out the storm and then shifted their tactics, instead deciding to sit deeper in a low block that proved much more effective in snuffing out Arsenal’s opportunities. They were compact and could overload their defence, leaving Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka alone against two or three defenders with no outlets.</p>
<p>It proved to be a good tactic, with Arsenal failing to score.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Time wasting</h2>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131524 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2010,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1245967171.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2010" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245967171.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1245967171-768x482.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Newcastle were masters of the dark arts on Tuesday night. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<p>The ball was in play for only 53 minutes at the Emirates.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">53 – Minutes the ball was in play for Arsenal vs Newcastle. That is the 18th shortest this season and 8 minutes shorter than the average of 61 minutes</p>
<p>— Cannon Stats (@CannonStats) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/04/3-positives-and-negatives-from-arsenal-0-0-draw-with-newcastle/"https://twitter.com/CannonStats/status/1610401061415817217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>January 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Newcastle seemed dead set on this from the get-go; they were time-wasting galore in this match. Every time Arsenal had a throw-in or free-kick, a player in black-and-white would disrupt the play or throw the ball away. The ref lost control, and there was nothing done about it the entire match.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, just a total of seven minutes was added on. It’s frustrating to see time wasted like this when Arsenal could have won this match. The World Cup would frequently have much longer stoppage times in matches to make up for the lost time during the 90 minutes. Yet the Premier League still seems to rely on a seemingly random system of guessing how much time will be added. It’s infuriating.</p>
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<p>It was a frustrating match, but Arsenal are still top of the league. Tough matches lie ahead, but this team can beat anyone they come across.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
