Arsenal 0 - 1 Newcastle

Carroll (left) profited from a mistake by Fabianski to score Newcastle's winner
Carroll (left) profited from a mistake by Fabianski to score Newcastle's winner


By Ian Hughes
Andy Carroll's first-half header gave Newcastle their first victory over Arsenal for almost five years.
The striker beat goalkeeper Lucasz Fabianski to Joey Barton's free-kick and nodded the ball into an empty net.
Earlier, Cesc Fabregas had hit the bar with a deflected free-kick and Samir Nasri's shot was saved by Tim Krul.
Theo Walcott crashed a shot against the bar before Laurent Koscielny was sent off late on as Arsenal's title ambitions suffered a big blow.
There may be a long way to go this season but the north Londoners are now slipping ominously off the pace set by league leaders Chelsea, who can make the gap eight points with a win at Liverpool later on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger's side struggled to create chances against a well drilled and disciplined Newcastle side who have delivered a result that moves them up to fourth in the table and should significantly ease the pressure on their manager.
Speculation has been rife that Chris Hughton's job has been on the line since the Magpies were thrashed 4-0 by Arsenal in Carling Cup.
But after masterminding this win, coming after the 5-1 thumping of Sunderland last week, Hughton must surely now have earned himself some breathing space.
Tactically, he pulled off a surprise by appearing to employ two strikers, although it turned out to be a clever plan for Shola Ameobi to bolster the midfield and intermittently support Carroll up front.

606: DEBATE
Shearers Receeding Hairline

It meant Arsenal did not have much room to operate in the middle of the park and the Gunners struggled to break down their opponents, with Fabregas in particular unusually subdued and inaccurate with his passing.
And the visitors took advantage of Arsenal's early sloppiness to enjoy some decent possession - although it did not carry much of an attacking threat.
But steadily Arsenal began to find some fluidity and cause the Newcastle defence some problems.
They came close to taking the lead when a 25-yard free-kick from Fabregas took a deflection off the wall and cannoned back off the bar.
Fabregas was involved again when he collected a superb pass from Alex Song and was just crowded out before he could get a clean shot away.
As the Arsenal skipper's influence grew, so did Arsenal's dominance. The Spaniard fired a shot into the side netting and shortly after delivered a precise pull-back for Samir Nasri whose well-struck shot forced a fine save from Krul.
But just before half-time it was Newcastle who broke the deadlock, with their first effort of the match. Barton's free-kick from deep should have been collected by Fabianski but the keeper was beaten to the ball by Carroll, whose header bounced into the unattended goal.
After the break, Arsenal signalled their intent to get back on terms quickly as they increased the tempo of their play.
It almost paid dividends when Wilshere poked the ball through to Walcott and his fierce drive beat Krul only for the crossbar to deny Arsenal for the second time in the game.
Moments later Marouane Chamakh was close to getting the final touch to Song's low cross as Newcastle's defence just about stood firm.
It was certainly a better rearguard performance from Newcastle than on their previous three visits to Arsenal that had all ended in 3-0 defeats.
In an effort to break the visitor's resistance, Arsenal introduced Andriy Arshavin and Robin van Persie - the Dutchman making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury in August.
Arshavin looked lively and the likeliest to find a way through. He almost played in Walcott and later crossed for Fabregas, who headed straight at Krul.
Despite Arsenal pushing forward and having all the possession, chances were at a premium - with Nicklas Bendtner's introduction having little effect.
And a frustrating afternoon for the hosts ended on a very sour note when Koscielny was shown a straight red card for holding back Nile Ranger.

0 Response to "Arsenal 0 - 1 Newcastle"

Đăng nhận xét

powered by Blogger | WordPress by Newwpthemes | Converted by BloggerTheme