Arsenal 1–0 Newcastle United: Rice strike secures Champions League return as Gunners clinch second place | OneFootball

Declan Rice’s second-half strike proved decisive as Arsenal clinched a 1–0 win over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium, guaranteeing a top-two Premier League finish with one game to spare.

As it happened

Newcastle made the brighter start, and could easily have taken the lead in the opening 20 minutes if not for a heroic display from David Raya. The Arsenal goalkeeper denied Bruno Guimarães twice from close range, before pulling off another excellent double-save to stop Dan Burn’s header and Sven Botman’s rebound. Harvey Barnes also came close as the visitors registered 1.2 expected goals in the first 25 minutes alone.

Arsenal struggled to build any attacking rhythm in the first half, largely restricted to set-pieces and long-range efforts. Their best chance came from a Thomas Partey header, which Nick Pope did well to claw away. At the other end, Raya continued to repel Newcastle’s pressure, making five saves before the interval to keep the game goalless at half-time.

Mikel Arteta introduced Riccardo Calafiori for the injured William Saliba at the break, and Arsenal looked more settled in the second half. The breakthrough came in the 55th minute when Martin Ødegaard played a neat reverse pass into Rice, who opened his body and guided a first-time finish beyond Pope from the edge of the area. It was Arsenal’s first shot on target since the 14th minute, but they made it count.

Ben White came inches from doubling the lead 10 minutes later with a low drive that fizzed past the far post, while Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard both continued to pose problems down the flanks. Newcastle introduced Joe Willock and Will Osula in an effort to change the momentum, but their clearest second-half chance came from a speculative Willock effort that flew wide.

The game turned feisty in stoppage time. A late scramble in the Arsenal box saw Pope venture forward for a corner, but Raya held firm once again. After a series of minor scuffles involving Burn and Jakub Kiwior, both players were shown yellow cards. Raya, who had been booked earlier for time-wasting, deservedly took home Player of the Match honours.

Arsenal’s final-day trip to Southampton is now without consequence in terms of league position, while Newcastle must beat Everton next week to be sure of a top-five finish and possible Champions League football.

The lineups

ARS: Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Ødegaard; Saka, Trossard, MartinelliNEW: Pope; Schär, Botman, Burn; Livramento, Tonali, Guimarães, Murphy; Barnes, Gordon; Wilson