Arsenal Draws 4-4 Away at Newcastle United

Newcastle United has made an excellent come-from-back draw with Arsenal at home. Considering Arsenal’s 4-0 lead at the half time, it was a tremendous performance for the Magpies. No doubt, Newcastle fans would remember this performance for a long time because their never-give-up mentality was in evident in the second half.

Arsenal went ahead in the first minute when Walcott scored after receiving a through ball from the midfield. Djourou doubled the lead converting an Arshavin free-kick with a superb header in the 3^rd minute. Just 7 minutes later, Arsenal got the third through Robin van Persie who scored after receiving a Walcott cross from inside the box. The fourth came in the 26^th minute when Sagna’s excellent in-swing cross was well-connected by Van Persie as his flying header took it to the net.

Arsenal scored most of the goals while on counter attack and this was because Newcastle played all out. However, the Gunners had dominant presence in the first half of the match. Almost everyone was just thinking about the winning margin of Arsenal at the half time

However, the scene changed dramatically as the home side appeared with a very attacking mode which saw them threatening at the Arsenal box from the very beginning of the second half. The turning point of the match was when Abou Diaby was sent-off for his clash with Joey Barton. No doubt, Diaby’s marching order was the crucial blow for Wenger boys.

Newcastle United played so well that they could have won the match. In fact, Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny denied Newcastle at least 3 goals in the second half. Barton scored the first goal for the Magpies in the 68^th minute from a penalty and after seven minutes they got the second through Best. In the 83^rd minute, Barton converted another penalty, but on the TV screen it looked there was no contact between Koscielny and the Newcastle player. Then Tiote scored a superb equalizing goal with a long-range shot in the 87^th minute.

Overall, Diaby’s madness and Arsenal’s lackluster performance in the second half cost them 2 points on Saturday evening. No doubt, this performance would come as a big blow for the Gunners and the most important thing is that they now have to keep their confidence level up.