Arsenal produced a hard-fought win over Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday.
A 52nd-minute own-goal from Magpies skipper Fabricio Coloccini was the difference in the end as Steve McClaren's men battled with ten men for around 75 minutes after striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Francis Coquelin.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's angled effort was deflected into his own goal by Coloccini as the Gunners grabbed their second win of the season to move up sixth on the table as the Toon dropped to 19th.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Newcastle United: 0
Arsenal: 1 (Fabricio Coloccini (OG) 52')
St James' Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne - 50,388
Debuts: NEW - Florian Thauvin (first Premier League start)
TALKING POINTS
- Already two yellow cards and a red, is Mitrovic too brazen for the Premier League?
- Is this result good enough for Arsenal? Or is the win simply enough?
WHAT'S NEXT?
Newcastle return after the international break with a Monday night trip to West Ham United on September 14 as Arsenal prepare to host Stoke City two days earlier.
TWITTER INSIGHT
The team gave everything in a tough game. Proud of the team and our solidarity. Thank you for your support and your messages.#NUFC#ToonArmy
— Florian Thauvin (@FlorianThauvin) August 29, 2015Not always easy against 10 men but we stuck at it and it's a happy coach for the journey home pic.twitter.com/Vma6EwFtc0
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) August 29, 20153 points, clean sheet ... Job done ! Have a great weekend everyone!
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) August 29, 2015
QUOTES CORNER
Newcastle's McClaren on Mitrovic red:
"It definitely was not dangerous. It was clumsy, but I have seen plenty of clumsy challenges. Football is a contact sport, it's a physical sport and we cannot take that away."
Arsenalboss Wenger on getting the win against 10 men:
"You play away from home 11 against 10, you know that they play 15 yards deeper. They defended well - they showed why they didn't concede at Manchester United as well - and in the end, we are happy to have the three points and to win 1-0."
STATS SPECIALS
4.4% - Arsenal have scored with just 4.4% of their shots in the Premier League so far in 2015-16 (2 goals/45 shots - excl. blocked). Loose.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 29, 20152 - Two of Arsenal's three Premier League goals so far in 2015-16 have been own goals. Fortunate.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 29, 20152/1 - Aleksandar Mitrovic has now been given a red card and two yellow cards in his first four Premier League appearances. Mist.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 29, 2015TEAM LEADERS
ARSENAL
Goals - Olivier Giroud 1
Assists - Mesut Ozil 1
Clean sheets - Petr Cech 2
Yellow cards - Four players all on 1
NEWCASTLE
Goals - Papiss Cisse, Georginio Wijnaldum 1
Assists - Gabriel Obertan 1
Clean sheets - Tim Krul 1
Yellow cards - Aleksandar Mitrovic, Daryl Janmaat 2
Red cards - Aleksandar Mitrovic, Daryl Janmaat 1
