Careless Magpies suffer minimal defeat in season opener

The Steve Bruce era at Newcastle United starts with a loss as Arsenal claimed a 1-0 victory at St. James’ Park today.

Newcastle United and Arsenal battled it out on a rainy opening day at St. James’ Park in front of 47,000 fans. Arsenal entered this match as favorites and they got the job done with a 1-0 victory on the road. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang ‘s goal in the 58th minute was enough for the Gunners to claim all three points in their season opener.

First Half

It took both teams quite some time to settle into this match as the first attempt on goal from either side didn’t come until the 16th minute when Matt Ritchie delivered a cross for Joelinton, but the Brazilian’s header was just wide of the target . Up until that moment, Arsenal enjoyed most of the possession, but Newcastle United did well to apply pressure and forced many horizontal and backward passes.

Newcastle United began to wake up after that moment as Jonjo Shelvey struck a wonderful volley in the 19th minute, but his shot hit the woodwork. That would have been some goal to open the season.  Arsenal finally took their first shot of the game in the 23rd minute, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired a close range effort into the stands.

Newcastle United nearly took the lead in the 26th minute when Joelinton dribbled around two Arsenal defenders to get inside the box, but his shot was fired directly at Bernd Leno. Four minutes later, Arsenal broke free down the wing and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang had a good look at goal, but Martin Dubravka stepped up to make an impressive save at the near post.

Between the two teams there were eight total shot attempts in the first half, but each team only had two meaningful chances to open the scoring. Overall, the 0-0 result at halftime was fair.

Second Half

The second half got off to a lively start in the opening five minutes as both teams traded possession and got forward multiple times, but no real chances were created until Aubameyang gave the Magpies a scare in the 51st minute. Newcastle United saw the need for a modification after that and made their first substitution in the 53rd minute when Shelvey made way for newcomer Jetro Willems.

Suddenly, in the 58th minute, Arsenal intercepted a pass out wide and Aubameyang was left wide open in the middle of the box. Ainsley Maitland-Niles saw the prolific striker on his own, crossed it in for him and Aubameyang simply chipped it over Dubravka for what should be his easiest goal of the season.

Allan Saint-Maximin then made his debut to loud cheers from the stands as he replaced Sean Longstaff in the 65th minute. It didn’t take the new signing long to have an impact as he dribbled past multiple defenders out wide and earned his side a corner kick in 30 seconds. Five minutes later, Arsenal also brought on their new star signing Nicolas Pepe.

The game slowed down after that substitution and the Magpies did not show much urgency in their search for an equalizer in the final stretch. Arsenal enjoyed plenty of space in the middle of the park and Newcastle United spent more time chasing the ball then working with it to create much-needed chances.

Saint-Maximin created something out of nothing in the 83rd minute when he cut inside past two defenders, but his grounded shot from outside the box was saved by Leno with minimal difficulty. The Magpies desperately tried to get some shots off in the final minutes of the match, but Leno was left untested.

What’s Next?

Next up on the schedule for Newcastle United is newly-promoted side Norwich City. The Magpies will travel to Carrow Road next weekend. Bruce’s men will be the favorites against Norwich City, but the atmosphere will certainly cause some problems for Newcastle United.