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Four star Arsenal rout Newcastle in Emirates thriller

Arsenal 4 Newcastle United 0

Arsenal ripped apart Newcastle United with four unanswered second half goals to earn their second Premier League win since Mikel Arteta took over in December. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started the goal fest on 54 minutes with Nicolas Pepe doubling the lead three minutes later. Newcastle who had threatened in a lively opening half hour when Joelinton, Allan Saint-Maximin and on loan Valentino Lazaro created chances, but couldn’t deliver the end product.

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Aubameyang headed in Arsenal’s 54th minute opener

Arsenal punished Newcastle further deep into the second half when Mesut Ozil started and finished the move to make it 3-0. Substitute Alexandre Lacazette added further gloss to the scoreline with his first Premier League goal since early December to round off a comprehensive rout of Steve Bruce’s side.

The opening exchanges suggested that Newcastle would prove to be their obdurate and threatening of late and so it proved. Saint Maximin and Lazaro were cause for early concern with problems down the Gunners’ left. Lazaro is on loan from Inter Milan, and Arsenal had to get to grips with the Austrian, unfairly so with Granit Xhaka shown a yellow card for holding as he threatened another break from deep.

It was from a Lazaro corner, that Sean Longstaff struck a long range shot which came off Dani Ceballos, leading Bernd Leno to save low to his left. The visitors kept up the pressure as Joelinton stuck just wide from Saint-Maximin’s cross from the left.

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Pepe (r) made it 2-0 in the Gunners rout of Newcastle

Arsenal were having to work hard to keep the Magpies at bay. Their first threat on Martin Dubravka’s goal came on the quarter hour mark when Bukayo Saka received Xhaka’s return to curl just over the target. Eddie Nketiah then fizzed a first time effort which Dubravka held.

Playing deeper than he is accustomed to, Ozil and Ceballos started to link up. Ozil played in Aubameyang, but Dubravka managed to gather his shot. The Gunners’ momentum continued, Ozil teed up Nketiah, however Dubravka gathered again. The Slovakian was alert again when Aubameyang unleashed from thirty yards. Pepe’s free kick  awarded when Saint-Maxim caught Ceballos was tipped over and Shkodran Mustafi’s goal bound effort was cleared by Joelinton as Arsenal finished the half strongly.

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Ozil (c) scored Arsenal’s third goal against Newcastle. It was his first goal since last April

Nketiah was preferred ahead of Lacazette, and he should have opened the scoring five minutes after the re-start, but skied his shot off the bar after some good work from Pepe. With their next move, Arsenal took the lead. Once again it originated from Pepe’s threat from the right. He hung up a cross for Aubameyang to peel off his marker and head in for the game’s opener after 54 minutes. A mere three minutes had elapsed and the Gunners were two goals to the good. Saka burst past Nabil Bentaleb and Lazaro  to pick out Pepe for Arsenal’s record signing to sweep home to make it 2-0.

Newcastle still had fight in them, and Ciaran Clark was unlucky to see his goal bound effort clip David Luiz’s boot for a corner. When Ceballos was caught deep in his own half, Saint Maximin should have made Arsenal pay, but saw his low shot come back off Leno’s upright. Lacazette replaced Nketiah with five minutes to go and his late cameo caught out  a tiring Newcastle side.

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Lacazette (l) scored his first Premier League goal since December to make it 4-0 against Newcastle

Deep into the second half, Ozil, now free of defensive shackles, burst through to find Pepe on the right. He found Lacazette who couldn’t shoot but managed to cross back for Ozil. Dubravka fluffed his tame effort and Arsenal were now 3-0 to the good.

With six minutes of time added on, there was still time for an Arsenal fourth. Substitute Joe Willock slipped in Pepe. He crossed for Lacazette to sweep home to make it 4-0 to the Arsenal and a rewarding return for Arteta’s side after the winter break.

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