Dubai the perfect tonic for Arsenal after Newcastle humbling

Hadn't Arsenal been so damn good at the weekend, some of us wouldn't have gotten so giddy over the prospect of mounting an unlikely comeback on Wednesday.

The tie was over. The damage had been done at the Emirates a month ago after the Gunners refused to breach Martin Dubravka's defences. However, Sunday's beatdown of the champions combined with Newcastle's recent malaise sparked hope.

"It's not the Bernabeu!" some cried in a bid to rationalise our delusion. Newcastle most certainly isn't Madrid, but there's not a team in the world that'd be up for facing Eddie Howe's Magpies under the lights at St. James' Park. Not when they're in this sort of mood.

Mitigating a fervent Toon Army was one of the obvious pre-match keys for Mikel Arteta's men, but Arsenal instead ignited the home crowd in the opening exchanges, setting the tone for a hellish evening.

Dubai the perfect tonic for Arsenal after Newcastle humbling

The Gunners were merely trying to survive as Newcastle, bullish in their approach, harried and refused to let their visitors settle. Touches went awry and passes were persistently loose. They manifested the apprehension of an upstarting outfit bereft of experience attempting to hold onto a 2-0 lead in the trickiest of environments, not one needing to pull off the near-impossible off the back of Sunday's joyous occasion.

This Arsenal squad are well aware of the perils St. James' Park supplies. Before Wednesday, they hadn't scored on their two previous visits, losing both games 1-0. There was an impressive 2-0 win in May 2023 to keep their title hopes alive, with that triumph arriving a year after Arsenal crumbled under the spotlight to all but end their tilt to secure a top-four spot.

Any semblance of a foothold dissipated after Newcastle took the lead 18 minutes in with Alexander Isak, Arsenal's tormentor in the first leg, playing a major role. The Swede was once again exceptional against a revered centre-back pairing, thrusting William Saliba into a state no Gooner has ever seen the serene Frenchman manifest. He was stunned, shaken, and paralyzed by Isak's talent.

With midfield harrier Joelinton unavailable, Howe changed tack and outsmarted Arteta once again. The English coach has a knack for saving his best work when duelling the Spaniard, and Arsenal had no answers for Newcastle's varied approach without the ball, which included heavy man orientation across the pitch. The Magpies shifted into multiple shapes and weren't afraid to regain possession in Arsenal's third. A 5-4-1 offered compactness when Arsenal settled in the Magpies' half, with their sturdy defensive block laying the foundations for thrilling forays forward inspired by Isak, Anthony Gordon, and the power of Sandro Tonali from midfield.

Crosses were met by three man mountains, and Arsenal had absolutely no joy from set pieces despite racking up 13 corners. It's been a while since we've seen Nicolas Jover.

Arsenal's mental collapse was complete at the start of the second half when David Raya sent Declan Rice to the hospital with a hopeless pass which was seized upon by Fabian Schar, who'd tracked Rice to the edge of the Gunners' box - depicting the extent of Newcastle's man marking. Gordon ensured the tie was dead.

The England international may have put the final nail in the coffin, but such a blow was merely inevitable. The Arsenal team we've grown to adore over the past couple of years wasn't present on Wednesday night. This was a performance out of the banter era vintage.

There was a sequence towards the end of the first half when Gordon, after Newcastle had once again mitigated what was left of Arsenal's counter-pressing capabilities, sparked another counter-attack, breaking down the left. Thomas Partey, insistent on chasing shadows as opposed to black and white stripes, was left behind, before a despairing Rice lunge came up short. The midfielder, excellent as of late, looked to the turf in a state of borderline despair as Gordon curled wide. It was a tired lunge, and Rice's exasperation depicted the physical toll a gruelling start to 2025 has taken. Wednesday was a game too far.

Arsenal have played 11 days since New Year's Day, and the reward for their FA Cup exit is a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. It's a time for the threadbare Gunners to refresh ahead of a quieter period. While there are concerns over Gabriel Martinelli's hamstring, Ben White should soon be back and there are only three more games in February.

We can only hope our reset in the UAE reaps similar benefits to last year's rendezvous because our latest trip to Tyneside supplied a humbling reality check for a squad running on fumes just days after Sunday's lucid dream of a high.

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