Arsenal Vs Newcastle United: Rafa Benitez perfect tactician for Gunners

Rafa Benitez traditionally sets his team up extremely deep when playing the top teams. Given the relative strengths of Arsenal this season, that is ideal.

Arsenal travel to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon as the Premier League returns after the first international break of the season. After two wins and two losses, it has been a balanced start to the campaign and Unai Emery era, but anything other than a win here would be disappointing.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

Newcastle, meanwhile, have extensive experience of playing the best the Premier League has to offer — they have already fallen to Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City. In those matches, manager Rafa Benitez’s approach was heavily criticised by pundits and analysts in the media.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

This was especially poignant after the 2-1 defeat to City, particularly after Wolves showed that it is possible to cause the champions problems with the right strategy implemented. But Benitez was vehement in a defence of his system, in his interview after the match, stating:

"“They won because they are a good team, but we were in the game. We were close to maybe getting something and that is the positive thing for the future – to see a team that is trying to do what they have to do to maximise what we have. We have to do what we did, and we did well but still we need something more if we want to get points against this team, especially away. The team effort was there, the mentality was there – you could see the players fighting for each other.”"

Now, I am not here to state whether Benitez’s approach in the City — and Chelsea and Spurs, for that matter — match was the right or wrong one. There are very valid arguments on either side. But what is certain in my mind is that the tactical elements that Benitez employed in these games will perfectly suit Arsenal.

In totality, Benitez instructed his players to sit as deep as they dare. They had just 22% possession against City. That figure was just 18% against Chelsea. At Spurs, it was a little greater at 40% and they certainly played better in that match, but the defensive frailties because of the higher line were exploited. And this is a quintessential Benitez tactic. He has always prioritised defensive stability, particularly when his side is considered the lesser of the two, as Newcastle are in these type of contests.

For Arsenal, this is the perfect opposition to play against. As Neil Warnock revealed last week, he understood that his Cardiff players were not good enough to repel waves of Arsenal attacks. Eventually, they would make a positional error and it would be exploited. But he said that if he played aggressively and pressed higher up the pitch, the Gunners midfield would struggle to provide the apt service into the final third. For the most part, he was right.

So if Benitez does conduct his usual defensive tactics, then it could actually play right into Arsenal’s hands. Newcastle could cause problems with a speedy and athletic midfield and front line. But if they don’t use them, I am sure Emery will be very happy indeed.