Arsenal's £220m quartet prove Mikel Arteta has attacking tools to salvage dismal season
If Mikel Arteta had a checklist of everything he wanted to get out of this Newcastle game, then you cannot imagine there was anything left unticked come the final whistle.
After a two-week break, which included a training camp in Dubai, the Spaniard first and foremost needed a result to kickstart Arsenal’s season and he got it with this 4-0 victory.
But the positives extend beyond the scoreline alone.
His defence kept back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since April last year, teenager Bukayo Saka shone again at left-back, midfielder Dani Ceballos marked his first start since November with an eye-catching display and club record signing Nicolas Pepe finally came to life with a goal and two assists.
The icing on the cake was Alexandre Lacazette coming off the bench with five minutes to go and ending his nine-match goal drought.
But the opening half an hour on Sunday did not suggest the afternoon would be so productive. Arsenal were ponderous and poor, lacking any real pace or precision to the extent that Newcastle could have even been ahead at the break.
However, the Gunners clicked into gear during the second half as for the first time we got a glimpse of how Arteta wants this team to attack. So far, he has focused on making his side solid in defence, but against Newcastle the shackles came off going forward.
It was the first time Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe have all got on the scoresheet in the same match.
It is a statistic that seems startling, not least when you consider the combined cost of that quartet is around £220million. Under Unai Emery, they failed to gel as a unit and it is no surprise Arsenal’s attack has stuttered this season when they’ve not been getting the best out of their prized assets.
In fairness to Emery, he had to battle with the fact Pepe had just moved to England — but the ostracisation of Ozil earlier this campaign was his own doing and on Sunday's evidence it looks like a bad decision.
During Arsenal’s second-half blitz, in which they scored four goals in 41 minutes, the German was instrumental and it felt fitting his goal finished a move that included 35 passes and every Gunners player touching the ball.
It is the most number of passes for any goal in the Premier League this season and an example of how Arteta wants this team to attack.
To achieve that style of football will not be easy, but the 37-year-old has a unit capable of doing so. In the summer there was plenty of excitement about what Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil and Pepe could do together, but only now have we seen why.
A key issue has been the lack of a solid base behind the quartet as, with Arsenal leaking goals, they’ve hardly been able to let the shackles off and go at sides.
Given the defensive solidity Arteta has now implemented, expect them to click into gear more often. It may be dangerous to get too carried away, though.
Arsenal did only beat a Newcastle team who have won just three matches on the road all season.
But this is an Arsenal side who are 10th in the Premier League, so maybe their supporters are right to get a bit carried away.
Either way, this victory taught us one thing — Arteta has the attacking tools available to salvage what has so far been a miserable season for Arsenal.
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