Arsenal locked horns with Newcastle United at the Emirates earlier tonight. The home side created several chances throughout the 90 minutes as Aubameyang and Pepe managed to get themselves one-on-one with Martin Dubravka on a couple of occasions, however, the Slovak goalkeeper came out on top every time.
It was Emile Smith Rowe who broke the deadlock in the second half of the extra time as the youngster produced a composed finish to find the back of the net. A few minutes later, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored from close range to make it 2-0 for the Gunners.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player fared during the clash against the Magpies.
Bernd Leno – 7/10
The German shot-stopper was untroubled for the majority of the game but he made a brilliant save in the 91st minute to deny Andy Caroll from close range.
Cedric Soares – 6/10
The Portuguese full-back looked a bit careless in defence as he gave away the ball on a number of occasions. His attacking play didn’t look impressive either.
David Luiz – 7/10
The Brazilian defender dominated at the back and took most of the defensive workload as he won some important headers and made some strong tackles to make things easier for his side.
Pablo Mari – 7/10
Once again, the Spanish centre-back looked calm and composed under pressure. Besides, he made some crucial clearances to take the pressure off at times.
Kieran Tierney – 8/10
The Scottish left-back took up a very advanced role on the left flank as usual. He whipped in some quality crosses for the Arsenal frontmen time and again. Got himself an assist as well.
Joseph Willock – 6/10
The 21-year-old took up a deeper position to accommodate Willian (and then Emile Smith Rowe) in the attacking midfield position. Attacking wise, he was decent; however, he could have done better to head the ball past Dubravka at the 64-minute-mark.
Mohamed Elneny – 7/10
The Egyptian midfielder put up a tidy performance at the centre of the park. His ball retention and distribution were top-notch; however, he lacked creativity in the opposition half.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6.5/10
The Gabonese striker found himself in a couple of 1-on-1 situations but failed to convert any of those as he looked blunt in the final third. Nonetheless, he got his name on the scoresheet late into extra-time.
Nicolas Pepe – 6.5/10
The ex-Lille winger showed great ambition down the right-hand side as he engineered some clear-cut chances for his team-mates.
Willian – 5/10
Well, it’ll be fair to say that the number 10 role didn’t suit Willian at all. The Brazilian struggled to create opportunities for the front-men for as long as he was on the pitch.
Reiss Nelson– 6/10
Looked relatively quiet down the left-hand side, but his link-up play was satisfactory.
SUBSTITUTES:
Bukayo Saka– 7/10
The Englishman added pace and directness to Arteta’s attack and provided his side with some extra energy going forward.
Emile Smith Rowe – 8/10
Moved the ball quickly once he came on. Scored the all-important goal in the extra time to hand over his team a victory.
Granit Xhaka – 6/10
The Swiss international added solidity to the home side’s midfield.
Alexandre Lacazette – 6/10
The French striker made some good runs to exploit the space behind the tired Newcastle defenders.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – N/A
It was too late when he came on.
