By Holly Allison
Goals from Arsenal captain Aaron Ramsey and striker Alexandre Lacazette helped the Gunners climb to third after a 2-0 victory against Newcastle United at the Emirates.
In the 12th minute Arsenal had a goal disallowed; from a corner skipper Aaron Ramsey volleyed the ball into the back of the net, but Sokratis Papastathopoulos had a handful of Florian Lejeune’s shirt, which referee Anthony Taylor spotted and ruled out the goal.
With half an hour played, Ramsey put the Gunners in front – and this time it counted – after a clever sequence of play, with contributions from Matteo Guendouzi and Alexandre Lacazette, followed by Ramsey coolly slotting home to make it 1-0 to Arsenal.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 01: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on April 1, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Arsenal almost doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time but Matt Richie’s diving header clearance on the line prevented Alexandre Lacazette from making it 2-0.
Just after the hour mark, calls for a penalty from the Arsenal players fell on deaf ears, with Newcastle defender Paul Dummett appearing to have handled the ball in the area. But referee Anthony Taylor only awarded a corner for the Gunners.
Ramsey was substituted in the 66th minute going off injured, after receiving treatment on the pitch before being replaced by Mohamed Elneny. The skipper put in a fantastic performance for the Gunners.
It was later confirmed by Unai Emery that the Welshman was only suffering from cramp in his leg and will be fine to feature for the Gunners against Everton on Sunday.
With half an hour to play, Alex Iwobi made way for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 60th minute, as the home side looked to double their advantage and put the game to bed.
Less than 20 minutes later, the substitute appeared to pay-off as Aubameyang’s headed pass set-up Lacazette, who put the ball over keeper Marin Dúbravka in the 82nd minute to make it 2-0.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 01: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on April 01, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Arsenal were denied a third in the 87th minute after Anthony Taylor ruled that Lacazette had deemed to have fouled Martin Dúbravka, before putting the ball into the back of the net.
A 2-0 victory to Arsenal it ended at full-time, a good display from Emery’s side now up to third but it leaves Newcastle United looking for just one more victory to secure safety for another season in the top-flight.
Mesut Ozil put in an impressive shift for the Gunners with an effective display. His performance was merited was a Man of the Match award.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 01: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal under pressure from DeAndre Yedlin and Martin Dubravka of Newcastle during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on April 1, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
After Spurs suffering defeat on Sunday to Liverpool, the Gunners leapfrogged Spurs and Manchester United into 3rd place on 63 points, two points ahead of both Spurs and Manchester United.
Manager Emery said in his post-match comments: “Our demands are very big demands, individually and collectively, and I want to be together in the difficult moments and in the good moments.”
Leave a Reply