It was a win, and maybe that negates the aesthetics of it for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, but this did not look or feel like Premier League champions in waiting.
The waiting, rather, goes on – waiting for individuals like Declan Rice to take control of his side’s destiny. Waiting for the collective to soothe the anxiety that exists inside the Emirates, a tension that threatens to derail this title push on the last few bends.
Arteta knows as much, and did not try to dress up the 1-0 win as anything other than ‘job done’. But could he really take four more games like this?
‘Yes! We’ll take 50!’ he shot back, with a conviction lacking on the field, especially in the final third. ‘We are where we are. I don’t expect it to be a path of roses and beautiful music after 23 years. It’s going to be like this and we are ready for it.
‘It is so hard to win this league. The message at half-time was clear, we needed to score a second. We tried but when you are not that efficient in certain areas, you have to have other things to win a game.
‘We certainly had discipline, courage and great habits defensively, but with the ball, there are habits we have to do much better if we want to be more dominant in the game. In many areas, in the way we don’t finish actions and the amount of times we get into positions where we have to have some end product but the play breaks up. We wanted a bigger margin but it’s not possible.
‘The important thing is the reaction when that happens. We certainly did the job. I know the immense effort they are putting in and I know how much they want it. They are so willing and I just try to help them.’
Mikel Arteta jubilantly celebrates Arsenal’s winner – as his side earn a 1-0 win over Newcastle
The Gunners reclaimed top spot thanks to a wonderful curling strike from Eberechi Eze (right)
Arteta had one major gripe, not with his players, but the officials. Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope escaped a red card after bringing down Vikor Gyokores after missing a clearance 40 yards from goal. The Arsenal boss even hinted at conspiracy.
‘In my opinion it’s a clear red, I’ve watched it 10 times,’ he said. ‘If you’ve ever played football, it’s a red card. It’s the second time in two games. When Kai Havertz goes through (against Man City) and (Abdukodir) Khusanov fouls him, at 1-1 , the title is there. These are the margins. Hopefully that will change. Because the trajectory, no keeper there… if it was the other way round it’s a red card.’
Arteta, meanwhile, says the injuries which forced off match-winner Eberechi Eze and creator Havertz are ‘muscular niggles’ and the pair could yet be available for the Champions League semi-final trip to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
For Newcastle, this felt like a result that got away and a run of nine defeats in 12 increases pressure on Eddie Howe.
The head coach said: ‘This was much better from us as a group. There were positive signs that we’ve rediscovered our best defensive mentality. With Bruno (Guimaraes) back we were more controlled and brave on the ball. The chances were there for us, but we can’t lose sight of the fact we’ve lost too many games. I can’t be too critical, though. I’ve been critical at times in recent weeks. We have to take the positives and the performance and know that will ultimately change results.’
Arteta, by contrast, hopes that nothing changes – ugly wins will do just fine for him.
