Football

Newcastle vs Arsenal Player Ratings: Martin Odegaard Leads the Gunners to Victory

May 7, 2023 7:00 pm
Newcastle vs Arsenal Player Ratings: Martin Odegaard Leads the Gunners to Victory
Newcastle Uniteds Fabian Schar (right) and Arsenals Edward Nketiah have an altercation during the Premier League match at St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne. Picture date: Sunday May 7, 2023. - Photo by Icon sport

  • Arsenal take home a valuable three points after beating Newcastle at St James’ Park.
  • A wonderful first-half strike from Martin Odegaard and a Fabian Schär own goal keep the Gunners in the hunt for the title.
  • Eddie Howe’s team left to rue missed chances as they rattle the woodwork twice.

Newcastle Team Ratings: Fabian Schär left with egg on his face

Nick Pope 6/10 – Made some big saves in the first half but will perhaps feel that he should have done better with Odegaard’ goal.

Kieran Trippier 7/10 – Was definitely up for this one and dealt with Martinelli well.

Fabian Schär 6/10 – Harsh to blame him too much for his own goal because if he hadn’t touched it then Odegaard would have had a tap-in. Aside from that, he did okay against Jesus.

Sven Botman 6/10 – Battled away in defence but was caught out a few times.

Dan Burn 6/10 – Didn’t do as poorly against Saka as many had predicted but still looks somewhat out of his depth against skillful wingers.

Bruno Guimarães 6/10 – Wasn’t the Brazilian’s best game. Struggled in midfield against Jorginho and Xhaka.

Joe Willock 5/10 – Missed a golden chance to equalise and was sloppy in possession.

Joelinton 5/10 – Another big game where Joelinton’s passing ability was lacking. Needs to add more composure to his game.

Jacob Murphy 8/10 – Had an excellent game against Zinchenko and was unlucky not to score early on.

Alexander Isak 6/10 – Missed a sitter following some great play from Murphy and looked sluggish at times.

Callum Wilson 6/10 – Wasn’t really in the game.

Substitutes

Miguel Almiron 5/10 – Didn’t enjoy the same success as Murphy down the right flank.

Allan Saint-Maximin 6/10 – Tried to work an opening and had a good effort saved by Ramsdale late on.

Anthony Gordon 5/10 – Offered very little.

Elliot Anderson 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Matt Targett 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Arsenal Player Ratings: A long-awaited clean sheet for Arteta’s men

Aaron Ramsdale 8/10 – Made some terrific saves in the second half to keep his clean sheet intact.

Ben White 7/10 – Didn’t do much going forward but was as solid as ever defensively.

Gabriel 7/10 – His availability would have been a huge boost to Arteta and he lead the defensive unit superbly.

Jakub Kiwior 7/10 – Looks far more assured than Rob Holding which has allowed Arsenal to play higher up the pitch once again.

Oleksandr Zinchenko 5/10 – Made Jacob Murphy look like Lionel Messi at times. His defensive work must improve.

Jorginho 8/10 – Has made a huge difference in recent weeks after replacing Thomas Partey in the team. The Italian ran the game from midfield.

Martin Odegaard 8/10 – Scored another important goal after scoring two against Chelsea in the week. Would have had another had Schar not put the ball into the net first.

Granit Xhaka 7/10 – Made an incredible block on a goal-bound Joe Willock effort with the scoreline at 1-0 and played well alongside Odegaard and Jorginho.

Gabriel Martinelli 7/10 – Struggled against Trippier for the most part but his wizardry brought about Arsenal’s second.

Bukayo Saka 7/10 – Had the better of Dan Burn but faded towards the end of the second half.

Gabriel Jesus 6/10 – Worked hard but looked wound up for most of the match. Failed to create any real openings for himself or his teammates.

Substitutes

Kieran Tierney 7/10 – A great substitution from Arteta which stopped the flow of Newcastle attacks down the right-hand side. He nullified Murphy and then Almiron when he came on.

Thomas Partey 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Leandro Trossard 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Reiss Nelson 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Eddie Nketiah 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Newcastle vs Arsenal Match Summary and Highlights

After seeing Manchester City beat Leeds yesterday, Arsenal kept their hopes of winning the Premier League title alive after coming away with a huge three points at St James’ Park. The match was a well-fought contest with both teams giving everything throughout but it was the Gunners who came out on top thanks to a long-range effort from Martin Odegaard and an own goal from Fabian Schar.

The game could have panned out entirely differently, however, with the home side having the better of the chances in the opening 15 minutes. Jacob Murphy rattled the post after two minutes and the Magpies also had a penalty shout overturned by VAR. Then, out of nothing, Odegaard gave the Gunners the lead with a fabulous strike from the edge of the box which went into the bottom right corner.

From then onwards, Arteta’s team calmed down and took control of the game and they would have gone in at half time with a bigger lead if it wasn’t for Nick Pope. They eventually got the all-important second goal when Gabriel Martinelli fired the ball across the goal in the 70th minute. The ball looked destined to find Odegaard at the back post but it was inadvertently deflected into the net by Fabian Schar.

The Gunners will now look forward to the visit of Brighton next weekend while Newcastle will look to bounce back against Leeds United.

Player of the Match: Jorginho

Jorginho has come into the team in recent weeks following Thomas Partey’s dip in form and the Italian has been a big reason for Arsenal’s upturn in fortunes. Today, he was at mercurial best and got a grip of the game after the early Newcastle pressure. He kept the ball moving in midfield and everything positive that Arsenal did seemed to go through him. Performances like this suggest that he may well make his loan move a permanent one in the summer.

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