CRAIG HOPE: Mikel Arteta’s decision to let Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave in January without signing a replacement has proven a COSTLY gamble… you wouldn’t have known Arsenal were battling for a top-four finish on this evidence
- Arsenal saw their top four hopes dashed with a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United
- A Ben White own goal and Bruno Guimaraes’s late strike saw the Magpies win
- Arsenal knew they needed to beat Newcastle in their top-four hunt but failed
- The Gunners were toothless in a Premier League battle they should have won
- Without Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal would already be consigned to Europa League
Tottenham have Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. Arsenal have Eddie Nketiah, a rookie with nine Premier League goals across five seasons. Out of contract, he will also likely be leaving the club this summer.
That was the hand Mikel Arteta chose to play when, without a replacement, he allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave for Barcelona in February.
Nketiah, for the record, has performed manfully in recent weeks. Without his pair of braces against Chelsea and Leeds, Arsenal would already be consigned to Europa League football. They, however, are his only Premier League goals of the campaign.
Newcastle dashed Arsenal’s top-four hopes with a 2-0 victory at St James’s Park on Monday
Mikel Arteta (above) allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave without a replacement
Without Eddie Nketiah (left) Arsenal would already be consigned to Europa League football
If Arsenal are to qualify for the Champions League – and that looks incredibly unlikely now – it would always have been despite those deployed in the central-striking role this season, not because of them. For that, Arteta and the club should carry the can as much as anyone on the pitch.
It said much that Alexandre Lacazette – another ready to leave the Emirates – was the saviour they sent for when Newcastle took the lead before the hour. He has two league goals from open play this season, and the last of those was in December.
By then, we had seen enough of Arsenal to know that they had been blinded beneath the lights of a dazzling St James’ Park. Throwing on forward players – Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe were also introduced – was little more than window dressing. Why did it take them the best part of 75 minutes to enter Newcastle’s penalty area?
Newcastle took the lead after the ball was bundled over the line by Arsenal defender Ben White
Bruno Guimaraes doubled the lead in front of an open goal with just six minuted remaining
Spurs, we should remember, put five past this Newcastle defence last month. While Eddie Howe has, on the whole, improved the backline beyond recognition from the rabble he inherited, their newfound solidity does tend to liquify against the best teams. That should, in theory, have included Arsenal.
Before Monday night, their record against the top five read: played nine, lost nine. The aggregate score? A staggering 27-4. The point is, Arsenal should be beating Newcastle. At the very least, they should be creating chances and scoring goals.
Come half-time, they had recorded one shot. It was Newcastle striker Callum Wilson who took a whack in the mouth and needed some dental attention. In truth, it was Arsenal who were toothless.
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson who took a whack in the mouth and needed some attention
Yes, they have got by this season and the double-figure returns of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe have plugged a glaring weakness in their artillery. But it is a miracle, really, that without a predator they have remained in the hunt for the top four. You would not have known it was they who were bidding for such a lofty finish on Monday night.
The game’s most effective frontman was Wilson, a guy who last started a game in December. But Newcastle were better in every department, not just in attack.
Arsenal knew what they had to do and failed, hopelessly. Then again, they probably knew they had to sign a striker in January. It has taken until now to realise, but what a costly gamble that has proven to be.
