Arsenal seize ‘massive opportunity’ by proving mentality

Arsenal was quickly running out of time.

Newcastle United held on to a commanding lead at St James’ Park with 83 minutes remaining on the clock thanks to a deft header from Nick Woltemade.

And it appeared to be one of those visitors’ days.

Following Nick Pope’s apparent attempt to down Viktor Gyokeres, a penalty award had previously been overturned following a video assistant referee’s (VAR) intervention.

An effort was smashed off the post, according to Leandro Trossard.

Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber both made excellent saves to keep out one more and Pope made superb saves.

Arsenal won thanks to Gabriel’s dramatic stoppage-time goal, but they also came equal through substitute Mikel Merino.

No wonder Mikel Arteta’s side fought back from the touchline with ferocious celebrations as they moved within a point of Liverpool, the league’s top team.

He told Match of the Day, “Wow, what a feeling to win in the manner that we have done.” At the conclusion of the match, “football is about going through emotions and going through things,” and today we had one of those emotions.

That is the entry point for a different level. by experiencing those circumstances and absorbing the lessons.

On recent visits to St. James’, Arteta has experienced completely different emotions.

In all competitions, Newcastle had previously defeated Arsenal three times at home.

These games have historically had a certain edge that has allowed Newcastle to extract its best from each other.

And Eddie Howe, the head coach of Newcastle, has frequently said that his players play better when they encounter that “sweet spot of aggression and competitiveness.”

Before the game, midfielder Joelinton yelled, “We are competitors. We want to compete, “. We want to win.

Jamaal Lascelles wrote in his pre-match programme notes that playing at a febrile St James “makes you feel like you can run through a brick wall” as if Joelinton’s words didn’t upend his team-mates enough.

Arsenal had to overcome that obstacle, not the least of which when the home support roared at tackles and blocks in the first half.

Even “Mikel Arteta – it must be the ball” was used as a rip-off for the Arsenal manager’s explanation for how his team failed to hit the target in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final last year.

However, Arteta also had a few well-known trump cards to turn to, including his bench and set-plays, for the first time.

Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Martinelli had previously collaborated for Manchester City’s equaliser. After coming off the bench against Athletic Club in the Champions League, Martinelli and Trossard both scored. Trossard’s substitution substitution helped seal Port Vale’s midweek EFL Cup victory.

What do these sets-plays and this side have in common?

In order to put this context, Arsenal has scored 36 goals from corners in the Premier League since the start of the 2023-24 season, which is 15 more than any other team during that time.

This game was ultimately turned on its head by Arsenal’s set-piece prowess.

Arsenal took a short corner in the opening frame before Declan Rice swung the ball into the box in the 84th minute.

In front of Sven Botman, Merino tapped the ball in off the post.

And Joe Hart, a match of the day pundit, knew the decision to cut short.

The former Manchester City goalkeeper told BBC Sport that Rice was willing to “do something off the cuff” to score the goal. That is someone who is unconcerned with the issues Arsenal was facing, that was someone looking for a solution, and that was the solution at that time.

When he needs to make those last-ditch tackles, he does it, and when he needs to do something special, like that kind of blind round the corner ball that Merino’s team needed, that is what he does.

Merino had previously spent a year at Newcastle, but there was no chance the Spaniard would be able to control his celebration by punching the air.

However, the fact that each Arsenal player raced backwards to get the game back on track was instructive.

They were aware that a new twist was about to occur, and it did so in the 96th minute.

Arsenal went right after conceding an equalizer before Martin Odegaard found Gabriel, who headed home with a near post.

Even though this side make it a habit to score late goals, the away end ended up in the gods could scarcely believe it.

That demonstrates both set-pieces strategy and mentality, Mentoro told Match of the Day. If six or seven corners are not scored by other teams, they lose faith in the qualities.

“But for us, it’s a matter of keeping doing what we do, doing it at the highest level, and ultimately, the final one, the last second, we scored,” he said.

The Gunners’ ability to pass this was still in its early stages, of course, but it did seem like a good one to put the title challengers to the test.

After watching Liverpool’s team’s 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Arteta’s men ultimately took advantage.

Arsenal have now closed the gap, closing it five points clear of them.

Ellen White, the record-scorer for England women, told BBC Sport, “The character they showed today was as impressive as the result.” “They have had some difficult games there recently and some things aren’t quite going their way because St. James’ Park has been such a difficult place for them to go.”