Arsenal picked up an important victory despite a wild second half that saw Newcastle hammering on the door for nearly the entire 45 minutes. Olivier Giroud’s first half brace proved the difference though as the Gunners ensured they’ll remain in 3rd place.
3 things we learned from Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Newcastle
The Gunners held off a furious second half onslaught from the Geordies and picked up three crucial points.
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After an early push from Newcastle, Arsenal took control of the match and slowly began to erode the Magpies defenses. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Olivier Giroud's touch off his knee guided the ball wide of Tim Krul. Santi Carzola's free kick started the play as Danny Welbeck headed it down towards Giroud who made the final touch.
Less than three minutes later Giroud scored again.
This time he found the goal with his head, directing a header past a Newcastle defender who was covering the far post on a corner kick. Despite being nearly wrapped up by Michael Williamson, Giroud was able to fight him off and get the header on frame.
Newcastle fired back early in the second half when Moussa Sissoko showed tremendous skill in controlling a cross from Remy Cabella, and firing it back David Ospina to make it 2-1.
While they had their chances throughout the second half, Newcastle couldn’t find the equalizer and were forced to settle for a disappointing loss. They had every reason to feel like they deserved a point from the match, but the Gunners will be pleased to escape with all three and remain in the top four of the table.
Newcastle: Krul, Colback, Williamson, Janmaat, Taylor, Sissoko, Anita (Gutiérrez 72’), Ambeobi (Armstrong 89’), Cabella, Gouffran, Pérez
Goals: Sissoko (48’)
Arsenal: Ospina, Monreal, Koscielny, Paulista, Chambers, Coquelin, Ramsey, Sánchez (Flamini 71’), Cazorla (Rosicky 71’), Welbeck (Bellerin 89’), Giroud
Goals: Giroud (24’, 28’)
3 things
1. When Olivier Giroud is in form, he’s quite good - He’s a very streaky scorer, but when’s he’s confident, he can score goals in bunches. It helps having a pretty solid attacking group around you too, but the skill the French striker showed on his two goals was impressive. If only he could help the Gunners’ defense.
2. Newcastle lost, but played well overall - Despite the result, Newcastle fan have to feel good about how their team played. They responded well to going down two goals, fought back hard the entire second half and showed a lot of heart. That should bode well for them the rest of the season, assuming their can repeat the performance.
3. This is a great match to sell your friends on soccer - Great goals, high tempo, extremely entertaining, this really was a great match ... for neutrals. Not every match can be great, but if you’re trying to convince someone to give the sport a shot, these are types of games you want to show them.
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