Player Ratings: Arsenal's dominance over Newcastle ends European struggles in 4-1 victory

Arsenal maintained their position with their Premier League competitors with a decisive 4-1 victory at home against Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

The Gunners had doubts to dispel following their unexpected 1-0 loss to Porto in the first round of their Champions League's last 16 tie on Wednesday. Their outstanding performance on home ground proved their critics wrong.

From the beginning, the Magpies were inferior and deserved to depart from the Emirates Stadium without any scores.

From the get-go, Newcastle were under pressure, with Arsenal snatching the ball frequently high up on the field. Early attempts were made by both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice that forced Loris Karius to defend, who had stepped in for the unwell Martin Dubravka.

Arsenal took the lead 18 minutes in, due to the early pressure. A corner from Saka reached Gabriel Magalhaes who forced Karius to make a save, but the rebound was offset by Sven Botman's legs.

Six minutes later, Arsenal scored their second goal. An astute pass from Jorginho to Gabriel Martinelli who was running across the box from left to right, enabled the Brazilian to return the ball to Kai Havertz for the goal.

Karius once again saved Newcastle by protecting the goal from Saka, who had managed to squeeze between Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon.

Without a single shot, Newcastle retreated for the break - this was the first time this happened since 2014. Their second half didn't fare any better as Havertz slipped past their defence, however, this time the German missed his shot, giving the Magpies a breather.

The visitors got their first shot 49 minutes in, with Gordon charging into an open space, but his shot was effortlessly saved by David Raya from 20 yards away.

On the 60-minute mark, Alexander Isak tried to score by bypassing William Saliba, but his shot soared far above the bar.

Arsenal swiftly scored their third goal with their next attack. Havertz exploited a careless pass from Botman and found Saka who easily manoeuvred past Livramento and scored.

Jakub Kiwior added another goal to Arsenal's tally, their 19th of the season from set pieces, following a corner from Declan Rice.

A consolation goal was finally scored by Newcastle in the last five minutes via former Gunner Joe Willock, whose header from Dan Burn's cross successfully crossed over Raya and made it to the inside of the post.

A last-minute attempt by Emile Smith Rowe was cleared by Burn, finalising the score as 4-1 in favour of Arsenal.

GK: David Raya was assigned 6/10 as he was seldom rattled and proved quick to clear any threats. Ben White, the defender received 6/10 for only being surpassed by Gordon when the game was already out of Newcastle's reach.

Centre-back William Saliba was given 7/10 for his smooth defence, despite one small hiccup when Isak passed him. Leading the pack with 9/10 were Gabriel Magalhaes, who caused trouble for Newcastle with set pieces and Jakub Kiwior, who didn't face any challenges from Almiron.

Declan Rice and Jorginho both were given 9/10, with Rice making successful attempts at the ball high up and Jorginho controlling the movements and assisting Arsenal's second goal. Bukayo Saka also received 9/10 for his continuous threats, which culminated in a goal similar to Arjen Robben's style.

Martin Odegaard received 7/10 for his contribution although he didn’t stand out, and Gabriel Martinelli was awarded 8/10 for his energetic and relentless effort. Finally, Kai Havertz was given 9/10, having scored a goal and an assist, despite missing one chance.

Substitutes Leandro Trossard, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Eddie Nketiah were given scores of 7/10 and 6/10 respectively, while Mohamed Elneny was not assigned a score.

Substitutes Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Cedric Soares, Mohamed Elneny, Fabio Vieira, and Gabriel Jesus did not play the game.