Arsenal's Unbeaten Streak Shattered with 1-0 Defeat to Newcastle: Player Ratings

Arsenal experienced their first loss of the season with a tight 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park. Anthony Gordon secured the victory for Newcastle just after the sixtieth minute, capitalising on a failure by Arsenal's defence.

The victory, following up Newcastle's Carabao Cup success over Manchester United, boosts Eddie Howe's team into the sixth position. They are just three points shy of the top four. Both teams struggled to mount an attack in the final third. Gabriel Martinelli was the only player to take a shot on target during the first half stoppage time, which was saved by Nick Pope.

The first half of the match was far from boring, with referee Stuart Attwell kept busy. The game heated up at 35 minutes when Havertz initiated a rash challenge on Sean Longstaff, which resulted in a booking. The event triggered outrage among Newcastle's players and fans, leading to bookings for Longstaff, Gordon and Fabian Schar, setting the tone for the remainder of the half.

Evidently, Declan Rice's strong challenge on Guimaraes, who was lucky to keep his place on the pitch. Just before the halftime whistle, Guimaraes caught Jorginho with his forearm as he cleared a ball, but VAR official Andy Madley did not escalate the issue for a red card recommendation.

Newcastle started the second half with a substitution as Dan Burn was replaced by Tino Livramento due to a back issue. Howe then made another two changes, introducing Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock who immediately made an impact.

Newcastle capitalised on their advantage when Murphy failed to find the target, but Willock pursued the ball, crossed into the box and after a scramble, found Gordon who fired home the goal.

Despite a four-minute VAR check for possible fouls and an offside, the goal was awarded triggering ecstatic celebrations amongst the St James' Park spectators. Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta responded with three substitutions of his own but despite increasing pressure, his team failed to break through Newcastle's defence, handing Newcastle a remarkable victory.

Fan-favorite player ratings were as follows: Nick Pope (7/10), Kieran Trippier (8/10), Jamaal Lascelles (8/10), Fabian Schar (8/10), Dan Burn (6/10), Sean Longstaff (7/10), Bruno Guimaraes (7/10), Joelinton (7/10), Anthony Gordon (9/10), Callum Wilson (6/10), and Miguel Almiron (6/10). Substitutes included Tino Livramento (6/10), Joe Willock (7/10), and Jacob Murphy (7/10).

Manager Eddie Howe was awarded a 9/10 for his decision-making, especially for substituting both Murphy and Willock who played a significant role in the match securing victory.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's David Raya and Ben White earned ratings of 2/10 and 5/10 respectively, with the former blamed for Newcastle's successful goal.