Arsenal Vs Newcastle United: 5 things we learned – Game of two halves

4. Matteo Guendouzi inexperience clear

In contrast to Torreira’s game-changing introduction at half-time, the man he replaced, Matteo Guendouzi, struggled greatly in the first half. There was a moment midway through the first period which perfectly illustrated the consistent struggles of the Frenchman throughout his 45 minutes on the pitch.

Arsenal enjoyed an extended period fairly safe but unprogressive possession against a mid-low Newcastle block. The ball is repeatedly shifted between Granit Xhaka and the two centre-halves, trying to engineer an angle and passing lane to move the play into a more advanced area. Guendouzi dropped almost into the right-back position. It allowed Bellerin to push higher up the pitch, but it provided little to no options for the centre-backs to play forwards to and completely isolated Xhaka in midfield.

At this point, you can see Xhaka gesticulate with Guendouzi, demanding that he move closer to his midfield partner and stay more central, in front of the centre-backs. Guendouzi’s positioning consistently restricted the number of options that the centre-backs had to play to. It meant that Arsenal couldn’t evade Newcastle’s high press and initiate attacks. This is inexperience at its finest.