3 positives & negatives from Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle

Arsenal fell behind to a header from familiar name Alexander Isak and laboured to find a response against Newcastle United at St. James' Park. It didn't help big summer signing Mikel Merino couldn't exert any influence in midfield, while Gabriel Martinelli's apparent return to form suddenly stalled.

Positives were in short supply, but Declan Rice stayed resilient and industrious against the strong middle of Newcastle's team. Although he will be counting the cost a poor header with the goal at his mercy in injury time.

Elsewhere, Oleksandr Zinchenko's return to the pitch didn't exactly go smoothly, but he at least gave Arsenal balance as a natural left-back. Balance was needed to help a midfield let down by another ponderous outing from Leandro Trossard.

Ultimately though, this was another display that underlined Arsenal's growing mediocrity on the ball. Particularly in the attacking third.

3 positives and negative from Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Newcastle

Negative #1: Mikel Merino lost vs Newcastle press

Mikel Arteta loves physicality throughout his starting XI, particularly when it comes to height, but the emphasis on brute force is diminising Arsenal's ingenuity in the middle of the park. No player summed up this problem more than Merino, who simply couldn't deal with the swarming hosts.

Merino was cowed early by Newcastle's relentless runners from deep. Notably, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock, the Arsenal academy graduate who got away.

Rather than be progressive to punish the home side's risky strategy, Merino became passive. When he wasn't caught in possession, the 28-year-old was too quick to make the safe, nay, the negative choice.

His start to life at Arsenal has generally been positive, but it's not unreasonable to expect more in tough fixtures like this from a player who cost over £30 million.

Positive #1: Declan Rice gave it his all

That miss in stoppage time aside, Rice was the only Arsenal player who merited plaudits. Maximum effort is the norm for the 25-year-old, but it's still impressive to see, particularly when things aren't going his way. Rice also found himself besieged by the Newcastle press, but he responded with more determination to find solutions.

Often times, those solutions meant Rice turning away from pressure and breaking forward. He was bold, while Merino stayed timid.

Rice wasn't afraid to carry the fight to the Magpies, but his industry and verve weren't matched by enough of his teammates. The disparity was most obvious when a static Kai Havertz opted not to gamble on getting to a teasing Rice delivery in the box.

This match, and probably the 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth before it, would've ended very differently if Arsenal had a few more like Rice.

Continued on the next slide...