Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players

We asked Davey Hat-Trick to give us his match ratings and player comments after Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1.

If the editor of The Mag hadn’t asked me to write this, I would have switched channels after 15 minutes. This was a horror show if you are a Geordie.

Arsenal started off playing as if we weren’t there and gave us a thorough battering. They were up for this, we were not.

First half was probably the best Arsenal have played this season and the worst we have. We looked petrified, we didn’t tackle, and we couldn’t keep the ball.

You could argue that the second half was better from a Newcastle perspective, as we showed more attacking intent and got a good consolation goal.

However, Arsenal had it won on 45 minutes, then turned down the gas after that.

A couple of my mates suggested we were saving ourselves for Tuesday. I’m sure that is not true, but if it is, we’d better flipping win.

With that game in mind, possibly, Eddie made a raft of second-half substitutions.

It’s difficult to give marks to players, as hardly any of them did anything of note. If anyone reading this wildly disagrees with the figures, I won’t argue.

Loris Karius – 7

First game in a year + third-choice keeper + Arsenal away = recipe for disaster.

A bit of a disaster it was but none of it was his fault.

In fact, he made a few decent saves, and he was probably my Player of the Match.

Felt a bit sorry for him. Let down by others.

Kieran Trippier – 5

Tried. He always does.

However, never exerted any control.

Fabian Schar – 4

Lost at sea for a lot of the game.

A couple of decent tackles and passes but a poor defensive display.

Sven Botman – 3

I’m not sure what’s happened to Sven but he looked lost in this game.

The own goal wasn’t his fault and he did win a couple of headers but he didn’t seem to know what was going on.

If his confidence is shot, he needs a spell out of the firing line.

Tino Livramento – 4

This was the inclusion that a lot of Newcastle fans wanted.

I’d have made the same change myself but to be honest, he made little difference.

Looked out of his depth against Saka.

Sean Longstaff – 4

A brilliant block to deny Martinelli first half but ineffective otherwise.

Stepped up a bit second half but to no avail.

Bruno Guimaraes – 4

A couple of decent touches but Arsenal just bypassed our midfield time and again.

Lewis Miley – 5

Probably one of our better performers but that’s not saying much.

Got stuck in a bit but outplayed by the Arsenal midfield.

In fact, by the end of the game, he looked exhausted.

Miguel Almiron – 3

Didn’t do much.

I love Miggy but he’s not delivering.

Alexander Isak – 5

Included from the start, much to my surprise.

A gamble worth taking, given we have a winnable FA Cup game on Tuesday?

Hard to say.

He barely got a kick until the second half.

Showed a bit of style but nothing to show for it.

Anthony Gordon – 7

If there was a player who stood out for good reasons, it was AG.

Covered Tino the best he could and at least he wasn’t afraid of the ball.

I wouldn’t say he had a good game but he wasn’t the worst on display.

SUBS:

Jacob Murphy – 4

No better or worse than Miggy, in my view.

Lots of energy but to little effect.

Harvey Barnes – 5

Involved in the goal.

I expect to see a lot more of him before the end of the season

Jamaal Lascelles – 5

Looked quite assured when he came on.

I wouldn’t be averse to a Schar / Lascelles central pairing based on what I’ve seen this year.

Dan Burn – 6

In reality, no worse than Tino defensively, and got an unlikely (but very good) assist for our goal.

Joe Willock – 6

Great to see him back.

I’d put him in at Blackburn to give Miley some respite. Scored a classy goal.

Stats via BBC Sport:

Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 24 February 2024 8pm:

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Willock 84

Arsenal:

Botman OG 18, Havertz 24, Saka 65, Kiwior 69

Possession was Arsenal 55% Newcastle 45%

Total shots were Arsenal 18 Newcastle 3

Shots on target were Arsenal 8 Newcastle 2

Corners were Arsenal 9 Newcastle 0

Referee: Paul Tierney

Attendance: 60,298 (3,000 Newcastle)

Newcastle team v Bournemouth:

Karius, Trippier, Schar, Botman (Lascelles 73), Livramento (Burn 73), Longstaff, Guimaraes (Willock 73), Miley, Almiron (Murphy 64), Gordon, Isak (Barnes 64)

Unused subs:

Gillespie, Ritchie, Krafth, Hall

(Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)

(Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1 – A bad night at the office must be followed by a better one in Blackburn – Read HERE)

Newcastle United confirmed matches to end of March 2024:

Tuesday 27 February 2024 – Blackburn v Newcastle (7.45pm) BBC1

Saturday 2 March 2024 – Newcastle v Wolves (3pm)

Monday 11 March 2024 – Chelsea v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 16 March 2024 – Crystal Palace v Newcastle (3pm) ***If Newcastle beat Blackburn, NUFC will be playing in FA Cup sixth round this weekend instead.

Saturday 30 March 2024 – Newcastle v West Ham (12.30pm) TNT Sports