Arsenal vs Newcastle match report: Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla help Arsenal overcome 'crisis' and blow Magpies away

Arsenal 4 Newcastle 1: Talk of crisis and Arsène Wenger’s future is averted as much-missed striker leads Gunners’ line in their demolition of in-form Newcastle

(Getty Images)

Maybe Arsene Wenger has gone on too long at Arsenal, but on nights like this you have to think most clubs would welcome a ‘crisis’ like theirs. Newcastle, the Premier League’s form team, were made to look distinctly ordinary by an Arsenal side that, apart from a few glimpses of anxiety, played with poise and purpose as they secured their second 4-1 in a week since the notorious defeat at Stoke.

Olivier Giroud, underlining how much he has been missed, scored two excellent goals and gave the team a focal point. Santi Cazorla marked his 30th birthday with two more, Mathieu Debuchy played centre-half as if to the manor born, and Alexis Sanchez was, as usual, a class apart.

There remain doubts regarding their central defence and defensive midfield, but there is not much wrong with this Arsenal team a successful transfer window could not fix.

“Defensively we were quite solid despite we are a bit depleted, going forward we were always dangerous and we scored great goals,” said Wenger. “It was needed, the response was strong after the Stoke game. I cannot fault any individual performance.”

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“We have won five of the last six matches, but we need a few more wins to lift completely the confidence. We were a bit edgy at 3-1, there was the ghost of Anderlecht a little, in the crowd as well.”

Alan Pardew also referred to the Anderlecht Champions League tie, when Arsenal drew 3-3 after leading 3-0, when he said “At 3-1 I thought, we had a chance if we scored, maybe the demons of Anderlecht would come back.” But he admitted: “They deserved to win. They came out flying. We found it hard to handle their front players.”

Wenger once again had to patch up his defence, this time deploying right-back Debuchy in the centre. It was a ‘gamble’, said Wenger, but it did not look it as the first three times Jak Alnwick launched the ball into the night sky Debuchy’s head that met it despite pressure from Sammy Ameobi.

With the back door secure Arsenal’s remaining trio of fit midfielders took an early grip on the game against a Newcastle team badly missing the banned Mousa Sissoko. Alnwick, who was making his debut start after 45 minutes as substitute against Chelsea last week, soon found himself under seige.

After just nine minutes he was beaten, as Per Mertesacker met a Cazorla corner with a header that looped over the 21-year-old ‘keeper, but hit the bar and bounced away.

Giroud scores the opening goal (Getty Images)

Six minutes later there was no such reprieve. Hector Bellerin won the ball from Yoan Gouffran on the halfway line, possession was switched to Sanchez, and he dug out the perfect cross for Giroud to head powerfully in.

Two minutes later Arsenal thought they had doubled their lead. Kieran Gibbs fed Danny Welbeck who muscled past Daryl Janmatt before scooping the ball over Alnwick. Lee Mason, however, had seen a foul few others had spotted and disallowed it.

By now Pardew had re-jigged his attacking midfield in an attempt to gain a foothold. Gouffran moved to the right, Ameobi to the left, and Ayoze Perez dropped in behind Cisse. Gradually Newcastle began to gain a measure of possession and push Arsenal back.Indeed, after 34 minutes they nearly levelled. Jack Colback’s free-kick was met by Gouffran. Wojciech Szczesny parried the header but it fell to Cisse only for Szczesny to deny him too.

With the counter-attacking pace they have Arsenal are as much a threat when under pressure as in possession and seven minutes from the break Sanchez should have had a penalty when Paul Dummet clumsily halted a breakaway. The foul was given, but as none of the officials had spotted it was committed in the area the punishment was merely a free-kick, which came to naught.

Debuchy was impressive on his first run out as a centre-back (Getty Images)

Newcastle began the second period more brightly, but this promise was illusory. Arsenal suddenly quickened the tempo and won the game with a two goals within five minutes. Cazorla passed to Sanchez then darted into the box to take the return before hurdling Fabricio Coloccini’s tackle and scoring from an acute angle.

Next Oxlade-Chamberlain burst forward and fed Bellerin on the overlap. His fierce low cross was cleverly turned in by Giroud who had inexplicably been left unmarked by Coloccini.

In between goals Pardew had shaken up his attack withdrawing the ineffectual Ameobi and disinterested Cisse. Giroud’s second seemed to render the changes irrelevant but Perez gave Newcastle hope when he lost his marker to neatly glance a whipped Colbeck free-kick past Szczesny for his fourth goal of the season.

Cazorla scored twice on his 30th birthday (Getty Images)

Wenger, though, was confident enough to withdrew Giroud, likely to protect him for the busy programme on the horizon. That meant Welbeck was able to move into the centre but he and Sanchez then somehow conspired to mess up a two-v-one against Coloccini.

However, the striker redeemed himself in a foot race with Dummet that ended, this time, with Mason giving a spot-kick. Cazorla deceived Alnwick with a Panenka and the crowd broke into a chorus of ‘there’s only one Arsene Wenger’. Crisis, what crisis?

Arsenal: (4-1-2-3) Szczesny; Bellerin, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla; Sanchez, Giroud (Podolski, 73), Welbeck.

Newcastle Utd: (4-2-3-1) Alnwick; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, Dummett; Tiote, Colback; Perez (Armstrong, 82), Ameobi (Cabella, 56), Gouffran; Cisse (Riviere, 56).

Referee: Lee Mason

Man of the match: Giroud (Arsenal)

Match rating: 8/10