Positives and negatives from Newcastle’s loss against Arsenal

Newcastle United opened their 2019-20 Premier League campaign with a home defeat against Arsenal.

For the third year in a row, Newcastle United opened their Premier League campaign with a loss at St. James’ Park. Newcastle United hosted Arsenal in what was a competitive match, but Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang just needed one good look at goal to give the Gunners a 1-0 victory on the road.

Newcastle United were the underdogs in this match, but at some points they actually looked like the better team. The final result was not what Newcastle United wanted, but there were some positives to take away from this match. That being said, let us take a look at some of the positives and negatives from yesterday’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal.

Positive: Isaac Hayden and Miguel Almiron

Isaac Hayden and Miguel Almiron were the best players on the pitch for Newcastle United yesterday. Hayden’s work rate was unmatched by any other midfielder as he recovered the ball from the opposition multiple times, tried to orchestrate a few attacks from the wing and played with urgency for all 90 minutes. In other words, Hayden picked up right where he left off last season.

Almiron caught some criticism for his simulation booking in the box, but he was the most active attacking player from both teams. Almiron constantly called for the ball and he tried to create something out of nothing. It would have been nice to see him get more touches inside the penalty area, but his performance was encouraging and he will be a major handful for Norwich City.

Negative: Careless Passing

I would not worry about this negative observation too much seeing that it was the first game of the season, but Newcastle United did not look good when they tried spreading the ball around. For starters, Martin Dubravka was kicking the ball to ghosts  down the flanks and, as a result, gifted Arsenal with two throw-ins. Secondly, the wingers did a bad job of switching the field as some passes flew over the intended target, some passes lacked sufficient power and were easily picked off and other passes were just mistimed. The Magpies need to do a better of job completing their passes this weekend against Norwich City.

Positive: Composure in Defense

Aside from the horrible defending in the 58th minute when the goal was conceded, the back-line was stable and played well for most of the match. Paul Dummett and Fabian Schar were confrontational and made some good tackles in and around the box, while Jamaal Lascelles was quick to close in on defenders and made some timely clearances. The back-line limited Arsenal to only eight shots yesterday and only two of those shots were on target. Steve Bruce can be proud of the way his defenders played against a top six opponent.

Negative: Lack of Support for Joelinton

Despite playing in a 3-5-2 formation, Joelinton often found himself isolated up top or he had to run deep in midfield just to get a touch on the ball before sending it back out wide. In preseason, this formation worked like a charm and Joelinton benefited from several incoming crosses, but yesterday the Magpies showed too much respect to Arsenal and were dependent on counter-attacking.

That is expected against superior opponents, however, our midfielders need to maintain more possession and look for Joelinton more frequently. With Allan Saint-Maximin most likely set to start against Norwich City things might improve in this regard, but Bruce must make it a priority in training this week.