Player Ratings as Newcastle suffer away defeat at Arsenal

Newcastle suffered a convincing defeat away against Arsenal in their Premier League fixture at the Emirates stadium on Monday night.

On an evening where Newcastle United were stubborn and organised, but flat for 90 minutes against Arsenal, Dean Fisk analyzes each Magpie and provides his Newcastle Player Ratings versus Arsenal.

Martin Dubravka – 7

Dubravka was solid throughout the game. The Slovakian keeper stopped Aubameyang and collected the ball well as Arsenal probed. He was let down by his defence for Ramsey’s disallowed goal from a corner, but was too slow off his line as Lacazette lofted the ball over him for Arsenal’s second goal. Arguably Newcastle’s best player.

DeAndre Yedlin – 6

Made some good runs down the wing but was often left exposed as Arsenal broke while Yedlin was high up the pitch. Yedlin was also guilty in possession with too many passes going astray. Not one of his best nights.

Paul Dummett – 6

Solid and dependable as usual where he has performed admirably in central defence in the absence of Clark, Fernandez and Schar. He was left exposed by the pace of Arsenal’s attack, but did well to cover at times.

Jamaal Lascelles – 6

Not one of his better nights, but he began the game well. He marshalled his defensive line in the early stages of the first half, but mistakes began to appear later in the game. He should arguably have done better in the lead up the Arsenal’s second goal.

Florian Lejeune – 6

Lejeune was solid but unspectacular in defence. Organised and resolute, but unable to handle the pace and movement of Arsenal, as Newcastle’s defence as a whole. He covered well and threw his body to block shots.

Matt Ritchie – 5

Not his best evening. Ritchie was repeatedly caught out of position in the first half by Maitland-Niles and was thankful for Dummett repeatedly covering his tracks. Ritchie was on hand, however, to keep Newcastle in the game at the end of the first half with a spectacular headed clearance off the goal line. Ritchie has performed well at left-wing back in his last few months, but a player of a higher quality will be needed in the summer.

Mohamed Diame – 5

Diame never really got going this evening. Although he broke up play well, he gave possession away far too often and did not track Arsenal’s runners in midfield. Due to Newcastle’s defensive shape and lack of possession, he was not able to break from midfield with his powerful runs.

Isaac Hayden – 5

Was due a poor performance after two months of excellent form, and unfortunately last night was the night. Hayden never looked comfortable sitting in front of Newcastle’s three central defenders and, like Diame, struggled to cope with the movement of Arsenal’s midfield.

Miguel Almiron – 6

Struggled to get into a game where Newcastle had very little possession, but he continued to show his fantastic turn of pace and willingness to run forward. Arsenal players were concerned every time he was on the ball, and he will continue to have a larger impact for the Toon.

Ayoze Perez – 6

As with the rest of Newcastle’s front-line, Ayoze was marginalised for much of the game. He tracked back well, but attempted to link up with Rondon and Almiron when Newcastle broke forward. His final ball was lacking last night, but as usual his running and movement was good.

Salomon Rondon – 6

Rondon was very isolated throughout the game, but tried to hold the ball up as much as possible. He looked tired, possibly from his international outings for Venezuela  last week.

Substitutes (Players must play at least 15 minutes for a rating)

Ki Sung-Yeung (67th minute for Isaac Hayden) – 6

Newcastle woke up once Ki entered the field and he tried to be positive in his passing during a period when Newcastle were still 0-1 down. Could have done better with his shot from the edge of the box, but did okay for his time on the field.

Kenedy (75th minute for Matt Ritchie) – 5

Kenedy made his return to the Newcastle side after not appearing for a while under Benitez. Kenedy was given little time to offer an impact, and soon after his arrival Newcastle found themselves 0-2 down.

Yoshinori Muto (77th Min for Ayoze Perez) -N/A