- Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 thanks to a stunning Mesut Ozil goal
- The Gunners had to fight for the three points in a close game against the Magpies
- Alexandre Lacazette missed some chances and fans are torn about who’s to blame
- WATCH: Mesut Ozil stunner gives Arsenal the lead, Manchester United fans hijack celebrations
Mesut Ozil’s first-half wonder-goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
The Gunners flopped in midweek with a draw against struggling West Ham, but ground out the three points today against a resilient Newcastle side.
Ozil’s goal will steal the headlines, and here’s our take on the key highlights from the match…
Man of the match
While it wasn’t exactly a vintage display from Arsenal, Ozil ran the show from midfield with some fine passing and, of course, the superbly-taken winning goal in the first half.
Adjusting his body perfectly, Ozil kept his eye on a dipping ball and guided it right back across the Newcastle goal with an inch-perfect volley.
Manchester United fans may have loved it as they think the German is just trying to impress Jose Mourinho, but for now this kind of class is for Arsenal fans to enjoy.
Flop of the match
Oh dear, it was not a good afternoon for this man in front of goal.
Alexandre Lacazette had a number of fine chances when put through on goal, but couldn’t make them count.
One included a bizarre piece of decision making as he tried an audacious chip over the opposition ‘keeper when all he had to do was drill the ball past him.
The Frenchman brings plenty to the side with his pace, but he looked a bit of a headless chicken today and it’s goals his club will want after paying what they did for him in the summer.
Stat of the match
Arsenal’s win against Newcastle today makes it ten in a row in the Premier League for the Gunners against the Magpies. Pretty decent.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Cech 7, Koscielny 8, Monreal 7, Bellerin 6, Maitland-Niles 7, Xhaka 6, Wilshere 7, Iwobi 6, Ozil 9, Sanchez 6, Lacazette 5 / Subs: Welbeck 6, Giroud 6, Coquelin N/A
Newcastle: Elliot 7, Lascelles 7, Lejeune 7, Yedlin 6, Manquillo 6, Hayden 6, Merino 7, Murphy 6, Atsu 6, Joselu 7, Perez 6 / Subs: Gayle 5, Ritchie 6, Diame 6
Reaction
It’s little surprise to see Lacazette getting a bit of a hard time from Arsenal fans as he failed to help them kill off Newcastle in this tight game…
What happened with laca?
— Lacazette is the best striker in the league (@Kolasatank) December 16, 2017
Lacazette cost 52 million pounds our record signing. He hasn’t lived up to the price tag and needs to. Stop making excuses for him he has been shit in front of goal
— ???????????????????????????????????????? (@AFChymnSheet) December 16, 2017
Some, however, have questioned if Arsene Wenger has simply ruined the player’s confidence…
Wenger doesn’t deserve Lacazette.
— Nigerian Food. (@nsr__7) December 16, 2017
Wenger’s handling of Lacazette has been mostly idiotic.
— Omo (@Omo_6) December 16, 2017
Lacazette woukd have so many more goals if Wenger wouldn’t keep subbing him or benching him, take off Sanchez if anyone ffs smh
— Jordyn (@jordyngc) December 16, 2017