3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Arsenal 0 Newcastle 2

The Mag

·8 January 2025

3 Positives and 3 Negatives to take from Arsenal 0 Newcastle 2

Tuesday night’s match ended Arsenal 0 Newcastle 2.

Ahead of each match we ask one of our writers to come up with three positives and three negatives following the game.

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Plenty to talk about after this one…

On this occasion it is The Armchair Fan:

Here’s the very easy part:

POSITIVES

Isak

Is there a better striker in the world right now?!!

Fifty goals in just eighty nine appearances is phenomenal and this match saw our talismanic striker score his tenth goal in his last nine appearances. He’s on fire right now and is just as good at creating goals as he is scoring them.

I want him to stay at NUFC for many years to come. He only needs one hundred and fifty seven more to overtake a certain Mr Shearer as our all time greatest goalscorer (ok, I may be getting ahead of myself a bit here).

The fans love him, the manager loves him, he’s making all the right noises about enjoying his time at the Toon and he’s regularly hitting the back of the net. Happy days!

Form

Seven wins from seven games in all competitions is an incredible run of form for any team at any level.

The best thing is, we’ve deserved to win all of them too.

With twenty goals scored and just the two conceded, we are on top of our game all over the park. We’re proving hard to break down at the back, combative in midfield and deadly in attack. The next game is always the most important so let’s look to keep this run going.

What a Result!

Football is a results business and cup football certainly is all about the final score.

I felt going into this one, that a draw or even a narrow defeat wouldn’t be the end of the world, but to bury the Gunners 2-0 was tremendous.

They hadn’t lost a home game for nine months but the Toon ran out worthy winners at the end of a brilliant performance.

People can quite rightly remind us, with caution, that we’re only halfway through the tie, but that means we’re 2-0 up at half0-time. A great position to be in.

NEGATIVES

Negatives???

You actually expect me to come up with negatives when the Toon take a two goal advantage into a home leg of a cup semi-final…?

Oh, go on then, let me see what I can do:

Isak rumours

For some weird reason, we’ve been inundated with tedious rumours about the future of Alexander Isak. Apparently Arsenal want to sign him, well of course they do…as does everyone else in word football right now!

He’s not only not for sale but he’s ours and ours to stay. He’s also given Arsenal the runaround for the past two matches between the clubs. Why on Earth would he want to sign for a side with less chance of winning a trophy this season than the Toon? Pipe down and hands off!

Wait for 2nd leg

Four weeks and a day?! That’s worse than a kid waiting for Christmas.

The second leg should surely be within a fortnight. We’re now all in limbo waiting to see if Newcastle United are going to Wembley and counting down the days until Wednesday February 5th when hopefully our dreams come true.

Thankfully there’s five more matches to enjoy until then, starting with another cup tie this Sunday.

Dubravka’s swansong?

Dubravka has been brilliant during our recent run of superb form.

He left the field close to tears after applauding the away end amid rumours he could be leaving NUFC.

Not the first choice ‘keeper but an incredible back up for Nick Pope. It makes absolutely no sense to sell him right now, especially when he’s on top of his game.

Here’s hoping he stays and pushes hard for a place in the first team, whether Pope is injured or not.

Arsenal 0 Newcastle 2 – Tuesday 7 January 2025 8pm

Newcastle United:

Isak 37, Gordon 51

Arsenal:

Possession was Newcastle 31% (42%) Arsenal 69% (58%)

Total shots were Newcastle 7 (5) Arsenal 23 (14)

Shots on target were Newcastle 4 (2) Arsenal 3 (3)

Corners were Newcastle 1 (1) Arsenal 11 (4)

Touches in the box Newcastle 15 (10) Arsenal 47 (19)

Newcastle team v Arsenal:

Dubravka, Livramento, Botman, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Willock (Longstaff 65), Joelinton, Murphy (Kelly 65), Isak (Barnes 65), Gordon (Almiron 76)