Arsenal 1–0 Newcastle: Takeaways As Gunners Secure Champions League Place | OneFootball

Arsenal established a stranglehold on second spot in the 2024–25 Premier League table by beating Newcastle United 1–0 at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners were kept in the contest by their goalkeeper, David Raya, in the opening exchanges as the visitors dominated proceedings, but there was a clear improvement after halftime which resulted in their slender triumph.

Declan Rice’s wicked curling effort proved to be the difference between the two teams, as the Gunners secured their first win over the Magpies this season at the fourth attempt. The victory means Arsenal will compete in next season’s Champions League, but Eddie Howe’s men are still in a thrilling mix with one game to go.

Declan Rice: goalscoring midfielder

Declan Rice's pure ball striking came to the fore again / IMAGO/Paul Marriott

Debate has raged for the past couple of years as to whether Declan Rice is a number six or a number eight. In truth, there is no right answer. Rice boasts a profile which allows him to shine in both roles, with game-state and the nature of the opponent determining which function suits the Englishman.

Mikel Arteta has converted Rice from a double-pivot midfielder in his West Ham days into a box-to-box operator whose influence in and around the penalty area is ever-increasing. He’s still not particularly great at receiving ahead of the ball, but he remains a major threat when carrying possession from deep into more advanced zones.

Rice thrives in open space and has developed into a legitimate goal-scoring threat as a result of his excellent ball-striking. His precise set-pieces facilitated a career-high seven Premier League assists last season, and his pinpoint accuracy from range—as well as newfound comfort inside the penalty area—has helped him to the most prolific campaign of his career. Rice’s pearler on Sunday was his ninth goal in all competitions this term.

A unicorn midfield profile.

David Raya still in Golden Glove hunt

Arsenal’s number one has performed better in his sophomore year compared to last season, but Raya has long trailed Matz Sels in the Golden Glove ’race’.

The Spaniard is aiming to become the fourth goalkeeper in Premier League history to retain the award, and Sunday was a huge day for the former Brentford man. Sels was on his way to extending his clean sheet lead over Raya to two earlier in the day, but Jarrod Bowen’s majestic late volley handed Arsenal’s shot-stopper life.

As a result, Raya’s deficit remained one come kick-off at the Emirates, but it looked like Newcastle were going to feast upon an Arsenal team which sleepwalked their way through the opening 45 minutes. The hosts had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping them in the game. Raya saved superbly on numerous occasions in the opening 20 minutes, showcasing the very best of his shot-stopping capacity.

He demonstrated cat-like reflexes to deny Dan Burn, impressive anticipation to shun Bruno Guimarães, and great athleticism to deny Harvey Barnes. No save was the same, and he was deserving of a quiet second half. This was a clean sheet Raya very much earned, and he’s now level with Sels heading into the final day. While Nottingham Forest host Chelsea, Arsenal visit bottom-of-the table Southampton.

You have to say it’s advantage Raya.

Newcastle without Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak missed Sunday's game due to a minor injury / IMAGO / Every Second Media

Nobody would’ve been more relieved to hear about Isak’s absence than Arsenal’s two centre-backs. Not only has Isak been in tremendous form this season, but he’s saved some of his best work for outings against the Gunners.

Isak has forced William Saliba and Gabriel into a couple of their poorest performances in Arsenal colours, and the Swedish international would’ve backed himself to shine again in north London with Jakub Kiwior partnering Saliba in Gabriel’s absence.

A few optimistic Arsenal supporters online suggested Isak had refused to play on Sunday due to his desire to join the Gunners this summer, but Howe confirmed that the striker was absent due to a minor knock. The Newcastle boss didn’t rule him out for their final-day encounter at home to Everton, and the manager must’ve been encouraged by his side’s level of performance at the Emirates without their leading goalscorer, especially in the first half.

Callum Wilson hasn’t seen the field all that much this term, but he filled in pretty well here—in the opening period, anyway. He lacks Isak’s burst and genius in tight spaces, but the Englishman was a willing runner who disrupted Arsenal’s defence via his capacity to combine. Wilson was never going to get through the full 90, so there was a rare William Osula sighting in a Premier League fixture for the final half an hour.

Newcastle will hope to have their main man available for what’s now a hugely important home fixture against the Toffees.

Positive end to season imperative for Arsenal

Arsenal had long put their eggs in the Champions League basket, rendering their eventual defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals a lot tougher to take. The Gunners were so close yet again, this time in Europe, but their elimination confirmed 2024–25 as a fifth successive campaign without a piece of silverware.

Mikel Arteta’s project came in for ridicule in the aftermath, but there’s a sense that the Gunners are a strong summer away from ascending the final summit.

In the wake of their Parisian heartbreak, a strong end to the domestic season is imperative. It looked like they’d succumb to a throwback Anfield beatdown, but the character of Arteta’s squad was on full display as they fought back from nowhere to escape with a point.

Arsenal were similarly poor in the first half here, and while there was nothing spectacular about their second half upsurge other than the winning goal, the Gunners nonetheless claimed some sort of revenge for the misery Newcastle have inflicted upon them this season.

They’ve stuttered down the stretch, but second spot and Champions League football are now all but confirmed. Batter Southampton next week and supporters will look towards the summer with the same optimism as Arteta.