Arteta got lucky? A late goal secures Arsenal 3 crucial points
Areteta managed to get 3 points from a hostile away stadium. Matches with Newcastle United are never easy. Newcastle United were very confident on the ball; Arsenal dominated with ball possession.
Lack of clinicality still haunts Arsenal; they have ample chances but often rely on stoppage time to score the winning goal. As title contenders, Arsenal needs to get more clinical and kill as many games as possible. Stretching the match result till the very end only increases the chances of mistakes.
Timeline
- 34’ GOAL! Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United) – From a corner kick from the left. Gordon and Tonali, after a few passes, deliver a curling cross, and Woltemade finishes it with a stylish header.
- 84’ GOAL! Mikel Merino (Arsenal)-Rice delivers a cross from a corner kick, Merino, with the highest leap, scores with a wonderful header.
- 90+6’ GOAL! Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal – Odegaard’s cross from a corner, Gabriel leaps in the air and heads accurately into the centre of the net and seals 3 points.
Final Score: Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Tactical Breakdown
Arteta fixed last matchday’s mistakes. A start to Eze and Trossard from the first minute was a game-changer. Declan Rice and Zubimendi are both extremely confident on the ball, and that reflects on their ball distribution.
Arsenal, from the very first, tried to keep as much possession as they could.
Areteta knew keeping possession would make the game slow, and then his boys could tune up or down the pace as they wanted. With Rice and Zubimend, that was a flawless execution. The unexpected twist comes when the state of play Woltemade scores.
After that goal, everything changed. Newcastle sat back and let Arsenal control the possession. Newcastle’s defense was solid and impactful until Merino’s goal. Newcastle couldn’t keep up the pace till the end, which was obvious with the quality difference.
Arteta has to find ways for his team to score goals from open play. Both goals came from set pieces. This overdependency on set-pieces might cost them a few matches.
Areteta, now, after last season looks more confident with his decisions and brave. Though in some matches the naiveness gets reflected too, optimism should be the way forward. Especially his way to play Saka inward and Eze wider toward the flank has been proven highly creative and decisive.
Standout Performers
- Gabriel Magalhães – Solid defending and clearing.Maintained defensive structure during transitions and scored the winning goal in the last moments.Brilliant ball distribution from back and track back.
- Declan Rice – The Main engine of the midfield.Controlled the whole game pace with his precise ball distribution and sharp vertical passes.Wonderful crosses from setpieces and an important assist.
Manager and Player Reaction
🗣️ “I don’t think we were quite at our best today, credit to Arsenal. Although the effort and defensive resilience was huge from the team.”
Eddie Howe tries to focus on the positives after a disappointing late defeat for Newcastle.
🎤 @AndyKerrtv #beINPL #NEWARS #NUFC pic.twitter.com/5gXyKo5Oib
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 28, 2025
Ruben Amorim:
I don’t think we were quite at our best today, credit to Arsenal. Although the effort and defensive resilience were huge from the team.”
🚨 NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO 🚨
UNBELIEVABLE FEELING WHEN YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE! 💪 | Mikel Arteta | Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
👉 https://t.co/4xoYTuXYC5 pic.twitter.com/i0PuPNOR3j
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) September 28, 2025
Mikel Arteta:
“For me, it was a penalty… we were told unless it’s clear and obvious, VAR won’t intervene. Thank God we found a way to win”.
Stats
Newcastle 1 : 2 Arsenal
▪ Penbox shots: 7 – 16
▪ Deep Entries: 5 – 23
▪ Buildup completion: 68.4% – 81.1%
▪ PPDA: 14.0 – 8.7
▪ High turnovers: 5 – 2 pic.twitter.com/Xy8ma9thqN— markstats bot (@markstatsbot) September 28, 2025
Effects on the Premier League Table
Arsenal needs to maintain this momentum of consistently winning matches to challenge Liverpool toe-to-toe. They can’t afford to lose points, matchdays like this, where the big 6 clubs, especially Liverpool, lose points, they have to capitalize on the opportunity and take the lead.
After Matchday 6 Day 2, the table looks like this:
Fan Reactions
I have told Arsenal fans that Arteta learns and he has to learn on the Job. This is a manager that can now sit his captain on the bench until late in the game. Now we do not have to play half fit players. Saka did not have to finish the game. Last season with the lean squad he…
— Samson Kasumba (@SamsonMKasumba) September 29, 2025
Conclusion
A very good weekend for Arsenal, Arteta managed to steal the points where Liverpool had the most points. Despite a win for Arsenal, Arteta should focus on how to kill games. Fighting the title against Liverpool will be very ruthless, and points in this kind of matchday will only make the difference at the end of the season. Every match is important and mistake is not an option.
