How did the players fare in Newcastle United's 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal?
NEWCASTLE (3-5-2):
6 Dubravka: Didn’t have a chance with the goal, but made a decent first-half save from Aubameyang and was quiet for long spells
6 Schar: Did everything that was asked of him in defence, but was wasteful on a couple of occasions when he strode upfield
7 Lascelles: Won most of his personal battles against Aubameyang and impressed at the heart of his side’s back three
5 Dummett: Put Willems under pressure with a poor pass out of defence and lacked composure when he was on the ball
6 Manquillo: Kept Willock quiet in the right wing-back berth and delivered a couple of useful crosses into the box
6 Shelvey: Came close with a first-half shot that thudded against the post but departed before the hour mark after he picked up a knock
5 S Longstaff: Wasn’t able to make much of an impression and he struggled to get time on the ball in the central third
7 HAYDEN: Was the pick of Newcastle’s midfielders, winning possession repeatedly and driving forward whenever the opportunity arose
6 Ritchie: Performed effectively at left wing-back, but didn’t seem to know what was expected of him when he was moved into midfield
5 Almiron: Showed the occasional nice touch, but lacked an end product and took the wrong decision more often than not
6 Joelinton: Held the ball up neatly and tested Leno with a sharp first-half shot – a promising enough debut from the Brazilian
Subs:
4 Willems (for Shelvey, 53): Was badly at fault as he hesitated to allow Maitland-Niles to win possession in the build-up to Arsenal’s goal
5 Saint-Maximin (for Longstaff, 66): Showed plenty of pace as he made his Newcastle debut, but his efforts didn’t really amount to anything
(not used): Darlow (gk), Clark, Fernandez, Krafth, Muto.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1):
Leno 6; MAITLAND-NILES 8, Chambers 7, Sokratis 7, Monreal 7; Guendouzi 6, Xhaka 7; Mkhitaryan 8 (Martinelli 84), Willock 6 (Ceballos 64, 5), Nelson 6 (Pepe 71); Aubameyang 7.
Subs (not used): Martinez (gk), Luiz, Torreira, Lacazette.
Man Of The Match: AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES – The youngster was rock solid on the right of Arsenal’s defence, and broke forward to match-winning effect as he set up his side’s goal.
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