Arsenal were designated as the administrative home team for the game, suggesting they would have aimed to secure a favorable result to take to St James\u2019 Park for the second leg. However, this did not materialize, as Newcastle performed excellently and took the lead in the first half through Alexander Isak\u2019s close-range goal.<\/p>\n
In the second half, they doubled their lead when David Raya\u2019s parry fell to Anthony Gordon, who finished to make it 2-0. Eddie Howe\u2019s team delivered an exemplary away performance in preparation for the second leg, but Arsenal\u2019s experience was vastly different.<\/p>\n
Despite registering 16 shots in the first hour, Arsenal failed to score, with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka only making three saves during that period. Arsenal increased the pressure toward the end but still could not break through, resulting in a 2-0 victory for Newcastle.<\/p>\n
Arsenal fans believe two attackers, in particular, should be dropped by Mikel Arteta for the return leg on Tyneside. Many pointed out Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli as players who should either be left out of the lineup or even considered for departure from the club entirely.<\/p>\n
One fan commented: \u201cTrossard and Martinelli can leave now, not good enough anymore, just pathetic and consistently poor.\u201d Another remarked: \u201cGabriel Jesus, our most in-form player, is being benched by Trossard and Martinelli.\u201d A third stated: \u201cSterling surely can\u2019t be worse than Trossard and Martinelli tonight.\u201d Another simply said: \u201cMartinelli\u2026 not good enough. Trossard\u2026 not good enough.\u201d A fifth added: \u201cWe need better attackers, including better wingers than Martinelli and Trossard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Arsenal were designated as the administrative home team for the game, suggesting they would have aimed to secure a favorable result to take to St James\u2019 Park for the second leg. However, this did not materialize, as Newcastle performed excellently and took the lead in the first half through Alexander Isak\u2019s close-range goal. [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n