Newcastle defeat showed why Arsenal need to add some spontaneity back into their attacking play

It ended with a Bukayo Saka cross straight into the arms of Nick Pope. A floated, telegraphed delivery sent more in hope than expectation, which summed up an Arsenal performance lacking imagination and belief.

The clock read 96 minutes as Newcastle defended their box and the Gallowgate End demanded to hear the final whistle. It had the look and theatrics of a title challenger barging down the door in the search for an equaliser, but it did not have that feel.

The biggest concern for Arsenal is not just that the 1-0 defeat leaves them fourth (and possibly as low as sixth by Sunday evening), seven points behind Liverpool after 10 games. It is that Arsenal have returned to the risk-averse approach that made much of the first half of last season so stale.

The closer Arsenal have got to Manchester City, the more Mikel Arteta has sought to squeeze the margin for error. Removing the bandwidth for spontaneity, condensing the game into fewer big moments and reducing big games to low-xG affairs has become the recipe for visits to places like St James’ Park.

The meanest defence and the most suffocating press was the bedrock of last season’s title challenge. It was mostly effective, albeit a grind rather than glamorous, but Arsenal moved away from that at the start of the calendar year, emerging from a poor run over Christmas as a team unburdened. The improved freedom saw them score 31 goals in seven games and they were rampant for an extended period.

The first 10 games of this season, whether by accident or design, has seen a gradual return to a more attritional approach. With solidity prioritised, it has seen Arsenal evolve into a functional team in possession that rarely surprises, compared to the expansive style that originally turned them into title challengers in 2022-23.

The problem with a restrictive approach is that if you go behind it is difficult to loosen the reins, particularly if your midfield has been composed to compete rather than control. Arsenal have found this out the hard way, having fallen 1-0 behind in four of their last six Premier League games, as many as their previous 31.

Saturday’s loss — the first time they have lost consecutive games at St James’ since a run of three between 1994 and 1996 — was a repeat of the failure a year ago. Only this time, there was no controversy over Newcastle’s goal to distract from Arsenal’s deficiencies.

Last November’s defeat was the second-lowest xG of any Arsenal game last season and the only time in 38 games that they had fewer than two shots on target in a game. They repeated that unwanted feat on Saturday with only a single shot testing Pope.

In Martin Odegaard’s absence, the midfield has become an unproductive zone. Mikel Merino looked caught between three positions, as did Leandro Trossard. No player was connecting the different sections of the team.

It was the seventh game from 10 that Arsenal failed to create over 1.0 expected goals (xG) from open play. A large part of their open-play total of 0.65 xG at Newcastle came from Declan Rice’s headed miss in the 93rd minute, the only moment in the game that Arsenal created a clear-cut chance outside of dead-ball situations.

And that is the concern for Arsenal. The only time Newcastle and the home crowd seemed to sense imminent danger was when Arsenal had a corner or a free kick.

Creating so many goalscoring opportunities from set pieces can be a superpower. It has been for Arsenal on many occasions, particularly in breaking the deadlock or getting them level, but there is a danger that it starts to compensate for a lack of chance creation.

Arsenal have only registered 37 shots (7.4 per game) on the road this season, the second-lowest total behind Brentford. They have had a very tough schedule so far having travelled to Aston Villa, Manchester City, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Newcastle but those numbers still paint a picture of their attacking ambitions.

The absence of Odegaard, whose return from ankle ligament damage is imminent, was initially overcome by Arteta showing flexibility in his choice of shape but he has become conspicuous by his absence.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that Arsenal’s game is over-reliant on the Norwegian, with 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri the only similar type of player in the squad.

“Yeah, we don’t have him. We can discuss that all day long,” said Arteta after Saturday’s game.

“We haven’t had him for the last four or six weeks and we don’t have him yet. But we have many other answers that have been very effective. Today we need to look at ourselves and congratulate Newcastle and move on.”

They were struggling to create chances in the early months of last season, too, but the crucial difference is that they were able to fall back on the watertight defence.

Whereas Newcastle were regularly winning duels and cut through Arsenal’s midfield four or five times in the first half, which will have been an unsettling sight for Arteta.

“You know the game they want to play. It’s clear,” said Arteta of Newcastle.

“You get dragged into that kind of game too often and we weren’t good enough and didn’t have enough answers to get out of that constantly, especially to create the threat that we needed and discussed.”

Is it a case of Arsenal being so distracted by the idea of winning the battle that their technical ability suffers as a result? Arsenal looked in desperate need of a player taking charge and bringing some direction to their play.

“It’s easier to say it than to get it done,” said Arteta. “We knew and we respect that every opponent has its characteristics and qualities. They are very good at what they do.”

Arteta tried to gain control. He introduced Oleksandr Zinchenko as an inverted full-back, moved Thomas Partey from right-back into midfield and gave Ethan Nwaneri more than half an hour. He even threw on Jorginho in the 86th minute in a bid to find some rhythm but it never came.

Arsenal are now winless in their last three Premier League games. The 2-0 loss to Bournemouth had the caveat of William Saliba’s red card and the 2-2 draw with Liverpool was against a title rival.

It is too early for panic but, regardless of context, Arsenal find themselves in a rut. Two seasons ago they could not untangle themselves from a defensive decline that set in during the run-in, while last season it was a run of five games in December that proved costly.

Arsenal are too strong and consistent a team to fade away but they need to be bolder and revive the spark in their attacking play if they are to prevent this bad run from becoming terminal.

(Header photo: George Wood/Getty Images)