Goals:

0-1: Giroud (24, helped Welbeck’s flick-on beyond Krul with a fortunate finish off his knee)

0-2: Giroud (28, allowed to glance a header in from Cazorla cross despite the presence of Williamson)

1-2: Sissoko (48, arrived on cue to side foot Cabella’s cross beyond Ospina from 12 yards)

Bookings: None

Referee: Mike Jones (Chester) – did well to keep his cards in his pocket and keep the game flowing. 7

Attendance: 50,544

Entertainment: PPP

Newc Arsenal

Shots on 4 3

Shots off 12 4

Corners 9 4

Offsides 2 2

Fouls 11 7

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1):

6 Krul: Solid enough performance which included a couple of decent saves to keep Arsenal down to two;

7 Taylor: Had a positive game, contributed to Sissoko’s goal and even in the first half he was not the defender at fault

8 JANMAAT: Was the strongest member of the defence even if he had never played centrally before

4 Williamson: Failed to deal with the threat of Giroud particularly when the Frenchman nodded in his second

4 Colback: Must have thought his left-back days where behind him when he left Sunderland;

4 Anita: Struggled from start to finish, even when Newcastle improved after the restart

5 Gouffran: Asked to play out of position as a holding midfielder and after a shaky start he looked stronger;

7 Cabella: Proved a real nuisance to the Arsenal defence in the second half, it’s just a shame he never looks like scoring

7 Sissoko: Took his goal superbly and was often the driving force from Newcastle’s midfield

6 Ameobi: Looked dangerous in the final third when he attacked Chambers but often misplaced a pass;

7 Perez: Showed flashes again of the player attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs

Subs:

Gutierrez (for Anita 71)

Armstrong (for Ameobi 88)

(not used): Elliot (gk), Obertan, Riviere, Satka, Kemen.

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ospina 7; Chambers 4, Koscielny 5, Gabriel 7, Monreal 5; Coquelin 6, Ramsey 6; Sanchez 6 (Rosicky 71), Cazorla 7 (Flamini 71), Welbeck 6 (Bellerin 88); GIROUD 8. Subs: Szczesny (gk), Gibbs, Mertesacker, Walcott.

MAN OF THE MATCH: OLIVIER Giroud – at the double to separate him from the game’s other best performers.