Ten years ago, at St.James’ Park, these two clubs gifted us with one of the Premier League classics. Arsenal had a four-goal-lead after 26 minutes however the scoreboard at the end of the game showed 4-4 thanks to a red card for Arsenal, two penalties and a wonder volley in the 87th minute by late Cheick Tiote.Today – an interesting match sure but hardly a classic with two ‘only’ goals scored. Yes, there were opportunities on both ends however strikers were not accurate enough and goalkeepers performed better than their colleagues did a decade ago.Vieira vs Gerrard – no, it is not Arsenal vs Liverpool in the 2000sArsenal needed to redeem themselves after the reality check called ‘4-0 loss to Liverpool’ a week ago and get back on a positive note. On the other end, Eddie Howe was in the dugouts for the first time as a Newcastle manager and introduced a offensive starting line up to the pitch – Willock, Saint-Maximin, Joelington and Wilson were set to implement Howe’s attacking philosophy.On few occasions it looked as if it might bear fruit but Aaron Ramsdale proved again he is the most important new addition to Arteta’s ranks.Arsene Wenger coming back to Arsenal?Arsenal opened the match in the 16th minute via Bukayo Saka. He caught a cross from Albert Sambi Lokonga, but his shot went a whisker wide of the right post. Five minutes later Martin Odegaard fired in a promising strike from the free kick just outside the penalty area – his nice effort flew towards the top left corner but was denied by Martin Dubravka, who pulls off a beautiful save.The Magpies had their first chance at the half-hour mark, and what a chance that was. A rebound landed at the feet of Jonjo Shelvey, he sent a promising strike from long range but Ramsdale pulled out a marvelous deflection and redirected the ball to crash against the crossbar.The 41st minute showed us the moment of the match, besides the goals of course. A prolific goalscorer such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should not waste opportunities like the one that he had. First, Emile Smith Rowe jumped high to meet a cross and glanced a promising header from close range, but Dubravka made a save. The ball ended up at Auba’s feet, he had the easiest of tasks to just place the ball in the net but he sent the ball crashing of the right post.Second half showed more of the same. In the 51st minute Saka was close to scoring again by producing a promising shot towards the bottom left corner after his wonderful solo run, but Dubravka thwarted him with a fabulous save and the score remained the same.But not for long. Five minutes later Saka was more successful – Nuno Tavares provided him with a nice pass inside the box and it allowed Saka to finish with a precise effort into the bottom right corner.In the 65th minute, Tavares was under the spotlight again for tackling Callum Wilson on the edge of Arsenal’s goal area, almost gifting a penalty to Newcastle but referee Stuart Attwell did not see enough to point to the spot. Seconds after it was two-nil – Takehiro Tomiyasu sent a beautiful pass and Gabriel Martinelli showed good awareness inside the box as he caught on and fired a first-time shot inside the left post.The second goal shattered all the hopes of the Toons. The attempts from the Newcastle attackers were not strong enough to frighten Arteta and his men.Arsenal sit fifth after thirteen rounds and are surely happy with the way things are developing. Meanwhile Newcastle should seriously dig in into their ‘Championship’ folder and prepare for the worst. Even though new owners and new manager are in, it does not look good in the north of England.PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 13SaturdayArsenal – Newcastle 2-0 (0-0)/Saka 56, Martinelli 66/18:00: (1.33) Liverpool (5.90) Southampton (9.50)18:00: (2.30) Crystal Palace (3.35) Aston Villa (3.40)18:00: (3.80) Norwich (3.15) Wolverhampton (2.25)20:30: (2.10) Brighton (3.50) Leeds (3.80)Sunday17:00: (2.40) Brentford (3.25) Everton (3.30)17:00: (1.65) Leicester (4.00) Watford (5.80)17:00: (3.90) Burnley (3.50) Tottenham (2.05)17:00: (1.32) Man.City (5.90) West Ham (10.0)19:30: (1.62) Chelsea (4.00) Man.Utd. (6.25)
