It was the award of a Newcastle penalty that swung this breathless game in Arsenal’s favour.
Mikel Arteta’s side were gasping for air come the eighth minute as they did their best impression of Tottenham here a fortnight ago. They badly needed a time-out.
Conceding a spot-kick probably did not feel like the respite they so craved but, when the decision was overturned, the flow of the game changed with it.
From masquerading as Spurs – now there is an insult – to morphing into a team who have not given up on the title, Arsenal were deserved winners thanks to the brilliant Martin Odegaard’s first-half strike and a Fabian Schar own goal midway through the second period.
It keeps them within one point of Manchester City – who have a game in hand – but given this was the match Arsenal were supposed to lose, the coronation of the defending champions will have to wait.
The manner in which they recovered from Newcastle’s post-kick-off blitz also displayed a resilience we thought had faded, much like their title hopes. Not so.
Arsenal produced a convincing performance to win 2-0 at Newcastle and maintain their Premier League title bid
Mikel Arteta’s side have recovered from a four-game winless run to beat both Chelsea and Newcastle within a week
Martin Odegaard put Arsenal one goal ahead in the first half and had opportunities to further extend their advantage
The spider cam above the pitch needed more than eight legs to keep up early on. It was all a wonderful advert for the Premier League, if not for the health of its managers.
Arteta, in particular, looked ready to explode. Newcastle’s artillery left his players shelled and shocked during a start in which Messrs Gung and Ho read like the first names on the home team-sheet. It was, in fact, Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson whom Eddie Howe had paired for the first time together.
Jacob Murphy smacked the post inside 70 seconds, Isak saw a goal-bound blast deflected wide and, with only four minutes on the clock, it felt like Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was calling for a truce as he measured a goal-kick with all the care of putt to win The Masters.
But then came Newcastle’s penalty and, with it, the laying down of arms that Arsenal so desired. The two-minute break as the officials tried to determine whether the ball had struck the arm of Jakub Kiwior, from a Bruno Guimaraes shot, afforded them some oxygen. It was rightly reversed – the ball had first hit the defender’s thigh.
A significant turning point in the game appeared to be VAR overturning a penalty award for Jakub Kiwior handling the ball
Arsenal were just finding their feet, not to mention their breath, when Odegaard found the bottom corner from 25 yards on 14 minutes.
It looked like Newcastle’s defence was also having a breather, the way in which they stood off the Norwegian as he drilled low beyond Nick Pope. It was a lovely finish, but questions remained about the urgency of the closing down. Perhaps, also, the speed of Pope’s reaction.
Either way, the goalkeeper was the sole reason his team did not trail by four come half-time. Twice Arsenal cut through Newcastle with ease and Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka were denied by Pope’s boot and midriff respectively.
Then, in first-half stoppage-time, Odegaard thought he had his second only for Pope to intervene once more, blocking a close-range steer that seemed destined for the net.
On reflection, 4-0 is a dangerous half-time scoreline for Arsenal here, given the lead they surrendered in drawing 4-4 in 2011.
When pressing for an equaliser Newcastle conceded what proved to be a decisive second goal via Fabian Schar’s outstretched leg
Eddie Howe’s side now have a fight on their hands in the final games of the season to ensure Champions League qualification
The result ensures Arsenal stay in the hunt for the title and their post-match celebrations displayed as much
Arsenal defended resolutely as they saw out a crucial 2-0 victory – securing a rare clean sheet away at a top level side
But Newcastle could not even recover one goal this time. They played well enough – Isak headed against the post, Ramsdale saved fabulously from Schar’s six-yard header and Granit Xhaka blocked from Joe Willock inside the goalmouth.
The result was made all but safe in the 71st minute when Martinelli was allowed to carry into the penalty area – the defending was poor – and his cross deflected off the tired leg of Schar and beneath Pope.
Arsenal were beaten 2-0 here last May and so lost out on the top four to Spurs. The direction of travel of those North London rivals in the 12 months since could not have been more different.
They may not win the league, but they’ll take City to wire. One misstep and the champions could yet fall from it.
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