Lucas Torreira came on to change the game yet again on Saturday, as Arsenal got another three points on the board away from home against Newcastle.
Arsenal got their first consecutive league wins in away games for over a season with a 2-1 win at St. James’ Park. They had to overcome a fairly poor first-half performance to get the result, but much maligned duo Granit Xhaka and Mesut Özil ended up coming up with the goals that proved enough, despite conceding a late consolation.
Let’s have a look at how each player did individually on the day.
2Midfield
Granit Xhaka 8.5
Xhaka scored a fantastic free-kick to give Arsenal the lead, played the ball in which eventually led to the Gunners’ second and overall had a very good match. He was also the only one of Arsenal’s midfield trio starting the game not to get caught in possession at any point. A very good performance to prove some doubters wrong.
Matteo Guendouzi 6
Unfortunately, Guendouzi couldn’t find a way to move the ball forwards through the Newcastle midfield, and the team really struggled as a result. For most of the first half they were trapped, unable to beat the press from their opponents, and it was only after Torreira came on that it all changed.
Guendouzi didn’t do anything particularly wrong, this just wasn’t the game for him, and Xhaka-Torreira continues to be the more convincing pairing.
Aaron Ramsey 7
Ramsey was caught on the ball a bit too often, and didn’t get any shots off, but did create a few for his teammates. His passing was solid, and he helped out defensively with a couple of tackles, but needs to do more if he wants to keep that central position.