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[Ratings & goals] Arsenal 4-0 Newcastle: Pepe & Saka star as Gunners thrash Magpies

By on February 16, 2020

nicolas pepe arsenal

Arsenal produced a second half masterclass to thrash Newcastle United 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

After a rather dull first half, Arsenal eventually sprung to life after the break as we opened the scoring in the 54th minute. Nicolas Pepe was the creator as his cross found Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and our top scorer headed home for 1-0.

Just three minutes later Arsenal doubled their advantage when Pepe swept home at the near post following some excellent work by Bukayo Saka down the left side.

The three points were secured in the final minutes when Mesut Ozil scored his first goal in 25 appearances thanks to some sloppy goalkeeping before Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to make it 4-0 with a much-needed strike. The 4-0 victory sees Arsenal cut the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to seven points.

Here are the confirmed line-ups:

Leno  6/10 | Made a good save in the first half to keep it at 0-0. Much quieter in the second half. Solid distribution and didn’t really put a foot wrong.

Bellerin  6/10 | Still not back to his best as he struggled at times against the tricky Saint-Maximin. Got forward a few times to support Pepe.

Mustafi  7/10 | Solid performance, to be fair. There were no ‘brain-dead moments’ and he dealt well with multiple crosses into the box.

David Luiz  6.5/10 | Another steady display from the Brazilian. Didn’t put a foot wrong at the back and coped against a physical Joelinton in the Newcastle attack.

Saka  8.5/10 | Superb all-round performance from the youngster. Especially dangerous going forward as he caused the visitors all sorts of problems in the second half. Set up the second goal with a wonderful assist. Really taking his chance at left-back.

Ceballos  7.5/10 | Great to see him back in the team and he didn’t disappoint. Dictated the tempo of the game for long periods, especially in the second half. Played some lovely forward passes and worked hard to help out defensively too.

bukayo saka arsenal

Xhaka  6/10 | Picked up an early booking for a silly shirt pull so was walking a tightrope for most of the match. He’ll never learn. Did well not to get himself sent off I suppose.

Pepe  9/10 | Outstanding. Set up the first goal with a nice cross and made it 2-0 with a near post finish. Caused Newcastle no end of problems down the right wing in the second half and grabbed another assist following some good work to tee-up Lacazette. A confident Pepe is a real player!

Ozil  8.5/10 | The pressure was on and Ozil stepped-up with a terrific display. Started slowly but grew into the game and was unplayable at times in the second half. Found pockets of space to hurt Newcastle and he was central to everything going forward. Got himself a goal too which was great to see. Also worked hard defensively.

Nketiah  6/10 | A surprise starter up front and didn’t really take his chance. Clipped the bar when he really should have scored following a lovely move. Worked hard for the team but wasn’t his day.

Aubameyang  7/10 | Still played out wide despite Lacazette being left out but Auba scored the all-important opening goal with a fine header. Was out-shone by some of his team mates but we’d be nowhere without his goals.

Subs:

Torreira   6/10 | On to see out the final 10 minutes.

Lacazette   7.5/10 | Only on the pitch for a few minutes but ended his drought with a much-needed goal and grabbed an assist for Ozil’s effort. Great impact.

Willock   N/A | On too late.

Watch all the goals here:

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