Arsenal in danger after losing to Newcastle

Coach Mikel Arteta used his strongest lineup for the match against Newcastle at Emirates on the evening of January 7, with the best players David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz. But that was not enough for the "Gunners" to gain an advantage before the second leg at St. James' Park on February 5.

Arsenal were superior in every parameter with 70% possession, 23 shots with 3 on target - compared to 7 and 4 for Newcastle. But the absence of Bukayo Saka and possibly a classy striker left the home team powerless to "tear the net" of the opponent.

The home team's best chance came in the 57th minute, when the ball fell into the middle of Newcastle's penalty area. Havertz rushed into the area unmarked, but missed his header, letting the ball hit his shoulder and go wide of the goal.

On the contrary, having a striker in top form was the key to Newcastle's "demolition" of Emirates. In the 37th minute, goalkeeper Martin Dubravka kicked the ball into the penalty area for Newcastle players to compete for, then Alexander Isak seized the opportunity to score from close range to open the scoring.

Early in the second half, Isak continued to leave his mark with a run into the box and a cross-angle shot that Raya could not hold. Anthony Gordon swooped in and scored to seal a 2-0 victory. The English striker ran to the corner flag to recreate the celebration of legend Thierry Henry right at the Emirates.

Arteta had few options on the bench in the deadlocked match and was behind. He brought on Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho and Oleksandr Zinchenko in turn, but could not make a difference in the rest of the game.

Newcastle extended their winning streak in all competitions to seven games, since losing 2-4 at Brentford in the Premier League on December 7.