Fresh from Dubai after the warm weather training camp during the Premier League winter break, Arsenal took on Newcastle United at the Emirates Stafoum on Sunday evening.
The display of the team in general indicates that Mikel Arteta and his coaching crew did a lot of tutoring out there in Asia. It was not a wasted training camp after all.
Dani Ceballos reappeared in the starting lineup after a very long time, Eddie Nketiah earned his first league start as Alexandre Lacazette dropped to the bench.
Starting XI: Leno; Bellerin, Mustafi, Luiz, Saka; Ceballos, Xhaka, Ozil; Pepe, Nketiah, Aubameyang
Subs: Martinez, Sokratis, Torreira, Willock, Kolasinac, Lacazette, Martinelli.
The first period would make anyone feel that we have stepped up our play but the performance in the next half made the initial one look like child's play.
Before the break we conceded some shots from the visitors though Saka also put them under pressure with his curling shot which went wide.
Counter attacks rolled in from both ends. Nketiah came close with a shot but Dubraka was able to keep the game goalless. Nicolas Pepe's freekick close to halftime also got obstructed by the visiting goalie.
The next half witnessed an obvious change in approach from the Gunners who held on consistently to possession which later paid off in what we would call a goal rush.
The clocks beckoned to us to open scoring in the 54th minute and we did through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's well-placed header that was aided by a classy cut in from Pepe. He'll soon get rewarded
Pepe sidefooted our second seconds later. Shkodran Mustafi anticipated putting his name on the scoresheet as Saka's cross was heading towards him but it was Pepe that latched unto it to extend our lead.
The introduction of Lacazette late in the game paid off. The Frenchman received the ball from Pepe, then flicked into the path of Ozil who hit it in. It was his last touch of the match.
Lacazette ended his goal drought in injury time and everyone was vividly joyful. Massive screaming from his teammates is an evidence that they have all waited for him to break the goalless spell. 4-0!
It is a game one would want to watch over and over again. It's been a while we saw this kind of zeal and coordination in this set of players. Scoring four without conceding is a good step in the right direction.
Arsenal will be in Greece this Thursday to resume Europa League action for the year 2020. We will be locking horns with Olympiacos in the first leg of our round of 16 encounter with them.
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