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Arsenal vs Newcastle: This is what we wanted, right?
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s loss against Newcastle was as frustrating as they come, but isn’t this exactly what we were asking for as fans? We have our priorities straight.
Yet again, Arsenal sucked it up. Going into St. James Park against a Newcastle team that had won four on the fly and were looking to secure their safety in the Premier League, it was always a nervy one. But mostly just because it was an away game.
So, when the Gunners came out with a highly experimental, young squad, it was to be expected, right? This side had just secured their berth in the Europa League semi-finals against Atletico Madrid and they will be keen on keeping as much freshness as possible going into that tie.
Which is why so many fans have been calling for the focus to be on the Europa League, with the Premier League coming a bit of a test tube of youth and experimentation.
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Well, experiments can be messy. And with the injury problems combined with the number of players that need to get back to full fitness, Arsene Wenger decided to do what he had been doing and what everyone had been calling on him to do – he put a squad out there that was devoid of a lot of those key players.
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You can’t expect to play a fired-up Newcastle side desperate to secure their safety, with an experimental side of youngsters, and still come out the other end looking like it was business as usual.
I’m just as peeved about this match as the next guy and, honestly, I’m furious at some of Wenger’s decisions – like starting Calum Chambers at right back, or not letting Sead Kolasinac start over Nacho Monreal – but I have to remind myself that the Premier League really doesn’t matter, and that maybe this is all just an attempt to get some playing time for needy players, regardless of what the result is.
It’s going to suck, suffering results like that, but it would suck worse if we started Mesut Ozil and he picked up an injury because, guess what? If that happened, fans would be fuming at Wenger for not rotating more than he did.
Next: Arsenal vs Newcastle Player Ratings
He made some silly calls in this one, Wenger did, but on the whole, he got the intention right. It sucks to lose, but it would suck worse to not be in the Champions League next year.