Late Ozil & Lacazette goals put Arsenal four up against Newcastle

SMS Message: Newcastle have £40m Joelinton up front because they wouldn't pay £18m for Rondon. If anything epitomises the clubs transfer dealings it's that. from Bob

Newcastle have £40m Joelinton up front because they wouldn't pay £18m for Rondon. If anything epitomises the clubs transfer dealings it's that.

Worth a watch for all you Arsenal fans.

Wrighty = legend.

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce to BBC Sport: “I was extremely pleased with how we played in the first half. We defended well and looked a threat on the counter-attack. We had one or two opportunities where we didn’t take the right option at the end. I didn’t see that coming in the second half. We gave bad goals away which isn’t like us. We usually don’t give much away. When that fourth goal happens you think it wasn’t our day.

On Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener: “When it comes in, you think we should be defending better. The cross loops into the box and he gets in between our centre-backs. They should be dealing with that. Poor goal. Our strength all season has been not giving stuff away.

"The second goal was too easy – they got down the side of us. Before you know it the game’s gone in five minutes. You scratch your head when you lose that 4-0, it was a bit harsh.

“Joelinton has got to learn and improve. He has to be in the box more often. We have to keep reminding him to get in the box and be more selfish. Strikers are judged on goals. He played well, led the line well but he’s got one goal all season in Premier League.”

On Ciaran Clark’s injury: “He’s got a bad one. It doesn’t look good. By the state of his ankle it looks pretty serious. We’ll know more in next 24-48 hours.”

Adrian Li: What a second half from Arsenal. Why, why, why can't we play like this for 90 mins?

More from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta speaking to Sky Sports: "We wanted to put draws into wins and the home form is going to be vital. It was a little bit slow and you can get frustrated but we started to manage the game better after 25 minutes, had a talk at half time and improved in the second half.

"In the final third we were poor in the first 25 minutes. The most important thing is the reaction of all the players and staff towards him [Alexandre Lacazette], the players, everybody really likes him he works so hard for the team."

On competing for a European place and Manchester City: "Ten days ago I was disappointed with the draw at Burnley and it looked so far away. Now it's up to us to put a run together.

"Very difficult. [I am] Not conflicted at all. I want the best for Manchester City, for Pep, for the players. The only thing I want for them was positive and good things. I want us to do the best we can to achieve what we can deserve."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to BBC Sport: "After the break we started saying we had to start closing the gap on the top teams and turn draws into wins. Today was the first opportunity and we’ve done it. All good.

"I'm so pleased for Laca [Alexandra Lacazette] – the reaction of the players and staff towards him. He fights hard for everyone. He’s been unlucky. He will gain confidence from this and knows how everyone appreciates him.

"Bukayo Saka is doing really well. He keeps his head down and wants to learn. He's peforming like a senior player.

"Dani Ceballos is a good example. He was injured and when he started to train I didn’t think he was fit enough. He completely changed his behaviour and trained like an animal. I thought he was the best player on the pitch."

The Gunners also kept back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time this season.

Arsenal scored four or more goals for the first time since February 2019 in the Premier League (5-1 v Bournemouth).

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce speaking to Sky Sports: "The disappointing thing is the goals we gave away are not like us. They were too easy. For an hour we were where we have been all season. We switched off from that and gave away sloppy goals.

"I was delighted with the way we played in the first half. We made the wrong pass or selection when we [attacked]. Second half, we knew they would come with more intensity and we didn’t start well.

"We’ve played well enough in the first half - we have to try and keep to those levels but we didn’t get anyway near it in the second half. When you get a beating like you have, you have to lick your wounds and get on with it."

Kassim Patel: Great win for Arsenal as we move 10 points clear of the relegation places!

Stephen: I guess those that were lamenting Arsenal under Arteta are now comparing him to Klopp. It's like the roller coaster in 'Temple of Doom' - there's two ways to reach the same destination - but you get to choose the route.

Ahhh, handy. Opta have made a touchmap of the build-up to that Mesut Ozil goal too. Lovely stuff.

OptaCopyright: Opta

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang speaking to Sky Sports: "We started not at our best but in the second half we put some more energy in and we scored the goals.

"We spoke at half-time and the coach told me to stay as a second striker and take my position off Eddie [Nketiah]. They were playing very deep and compact so it was good for us to have me in the middle to give more space out wide."

On playing under Mikel Arteta: "We feel better. We have an idea of playing. It's very clear and we are trying to maintain this level."

Someone asked how many touches were involved in Mesut Ozil's goal earlier. Well, there were 35 passes - the most for any goal in the Premier League this season.

All 11 players touched the ball for Arsenal during it too.

Confirmation of Arsenal's bump up to 10th on goal difference.

Newcastle drop down into 13th, level on points with Southampton and level on goal difference. They have scored eight goals less.

BBC SportCopyright: BBC Sport

What Mikel Arteta has done with Matteo Guendouzi today, leaving him out of the squad, will have shaken him up a bit and that's what he did with Alexandre Lacazette by leaving him on the bench.

That's what managers have to do sometimes, leave them out to keep them honest.

Abdhakeem: Nicholas Pepe showing some signs of heavy price tag on him.. good second half... still a long way to go...

Smiles all round from Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Dani Ceballos. That victory moves Arsenal up into 10th place.

Still LOTS of work to do but they are just seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, as opposed to the 10 they were this morning.

All over. A routine win for Arsenal in the end.

There has been changes since Mikel Arteta came in but there's a long road before they get back to where they want to be - challenging for the Premier League title.

If you look at Liverpool, Arsenal, like all the other teams in the league, are way behind them.