Arsenal 1–0 Newcastle: Player Ratings As Rice Stunner Sinks Magpies

Sports Illustrated FC

·18 maggio 2025

Arsenal 1–0 Newcastle: Player Ratings As Rice Stunner Sinks Magpies

Declan Rice’s second-half strike proved to be the difference as Arsenal sealed Champions League qualification by beating fellow European hopefuls Newcastle United 1–0 on Sunday afternoon.

Newcastle were aiming to seal their fourth victory over the Gunners this season, but they were without star striker Alexander Isak on Sunday afternoon due to a minor injury. That seemingly made the visitors’ task tougher, but they were dominant in the opening exchanges.

OneFootball Video

By the 20-minute mark, Eddie Howe’s side had registered eight shots and forced David Raya into five saves. While the Spaniard, who is still in Golden Glove contention, struggled to pick out a red and white shirt with the ball at his feet (presumingly confused by Arsenal wearing their new threads for 2025–26), he shone as a shot-stopper.

Raya saved brilliantly from Bruno Guimarães, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes to keep the scores level, while Nick Pope denied Thomas Partey from opening the scoring at the other end of the pitch. Arsenal struggled against the Magpies’ new look 3-4-2-1 which troubled Chelsea last week, but they did pose a few problems of their own from set-pieces. Partey's header came from a pinpoint Bukayo Saka set-piece.

The sloppy hosts failed to get a foothold in proceedings during the opening 45 minutes, with Newcastle the better side for the duration. The visitors constantly sought to turn Arsenal’s defence around and exploit the space in behind but were also able to manipulate the hosts’ midfield and progress up the pitch centrally with ease. However, after their early barrage, Howe’s men were unable to work Raya during the second quarter of the contest.

Mikel Arteta must’ve turned to his iteration of the ‘hairdryer treatment’ at the interval after Arsenal’s flat first half, but the Gunners boss was seemingly able to light a fuse within his team. Their improvement after the restart was significant. The insipid unit bereft of runners and a semblance of intensity burst into life, and their upsurge was rewarded by Declan Rice opening the scoring with a wonderful strike from distance which curled beyond Pope.

The hosts were then able to keep their visitors at arm’s length, with the momentum Newcastle built throughout the first half completely sapped by Arsenal’s improvement. The Magpies pushed for a potentially significant equaliser, one which would've thrust the Gunners’ second-place status back into doubt, but the hosts did a fine job of ensuring Sunday’s finale was drama-free.

Kai Havertz was back in action for the first time since February, while Arteta handed late cameo appearances to Kieran Tierney and Jorginho ahead of their likely summer exits.