One normal weekend of Barclays, that’s all Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal team were left asking for on Saturday evening.
This season has seen an unparalleled amount of attention on the PGMOL and Howard Webb’s merry band of referees.
The standard of officiating in this country has seemingly plummeted to an all time low. Apologies have made, statements have been shared left, right and centre, and yet still decisions are being made incorrectly.
Arteta may well need to look closer to home for why they lost 1-0 to Newcastle at a raucous St James’ Park this weekend, but the officiating for both sides left a lot to be desired.
A ridiculous and untimely challenge from Kai Havertz in the first half could have warranted a red card on another day while Bruno Guimaraes could have been sent for an early bath too after deliberately using his forearm to hit Jorginho in the back of the head.
The biggest moment of controversy, however, came when Newcastle took the lead.
How Arsenal lost to Newcastle
Truth be told, the Gunners didn’t play too badly in the north east on Saturday night.
A rigid and organised defence that had kept a clean sheet against Manchester City was on display again while Declan Rice’s powerhouse nature ensured Arteta’s men won the midfield battle.
However, it was in attack where they were lacking. A 0-0 draw would have been a fair result until a moment of chaos ensued just after the hour mark.
A stray shot from Jacob Murphy almost went out for a goal kick down by the corner flag but Joe WIllock, once of Arsenal himself, didn’t give it up. On the angle we were given during the TV coverage, it looked as though the ball was out. Alas, that was one of three VAR decisions that was seen as fine after Anthony Gordon had scored from close range.
A flighted ball in was missed by David Raya and couldn’t be dealt with by Gabriel who was seemingly shoved to the ground by Joelinton. No foul was adjudged to have been made. The next decision was assessing whether Gordon was onside.
The VAR claimed he was, although Arteta wasn’t happy, launching an aggressive series of vocal attacks towards the officials in his post-match press conference.
Indeed, he could blame the officiating all he likes, but the fact of the matter is that a number of players in red and white let him down.
Arsenal’s worst player vs Newcastle
After a £65m move from Chelsea in the summer much has been expected of Havertz but it was his ludicrous tackle in the first half that nearly put Arsenal down a man.
It was a big evening for the German who was given more of a creative role with Martin Odegaard missing through injury. Create he did not. In fact, he only served to frustrate more as the Gunners failed to score.
A large part of their failings in offensive areas was also down to the average performance of Eddie Nketiah.
A week ago the club’s number 14 was in inspired from against Sheffield United, netting his first Premier League hat-trick.
It was a display that saw him become the club’s joint top goal scorer this season alongside Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. That fact doesn’t tell the full story though.
At home, Nketiah offers the ability to hold the ball up and run the channels. He doesn’t set the world alight but his performance levels are generally sufficient.
Away from home, however, the English striker has been the definition of mediocre. In 52 league outings on the road, he’s only found the net five times. For a team chasing a Premier League title that simply isn’t good enough.
It was feels harsh to criticise someone who’s scored three only a week ago but barring that, Arsenal need to see a lot more from Nketiah while Gabriel Jesus is out injured.
On Saturday, he struggled for any real service and was starved of the ball. That said, he very rarely made himself available.
As per FotMob, Nketiah only registered 33 touches of the ball, just one more than Raya and completed 16 passes, the worst of any starter for Arsenal, including the enigmatic Havertz. Even substitute Oleksandr Zinchenko made more with 30. Only two of those passes, meanwhile, were in the final third. Worrying for your focal point in attack.
Shots
1
Pass Accuracy
14/16
Expected Goals (xG)
0.15
Touches
33
Touches in opposition box
5
Successful Dribbles
0/2
Duels Won
5
Duels Lost
9
Fouls Committed
2
Stats via FotMob.
To make matters worse, the forward managed one shot, which was off target, and failed to complete either of his two attempted dribbles.
On top of that, the 24-year-old won 33% of his ground duels and 40% of his aerial duels as the Newcastle defenders well and truly bullied him. It was hardly a surprise to see his display get labelled as "anonymous" by some, including Arseblog's Andrew Allen.
This was not a night to savour for Nketiah who offered very little in attack. With the academy graduate largely underwhelming and Jesus’ fitness record inconsistent, the purchase of a new striker could well be looming in January. Such an eventuality may well determine whether Arteta’s men have what it takes to win the title.