LONDON: Arsenal will try to continue their strong defensive record on Sunday when they visit a Newcastle United side still struggling to score goals since the departure of Alexander Isak.
Arsenal (3-1-1, 10 points) have allowed just two scores so far in league play. And Manchester City’s Erling Haaland became the first and so far, only Premier League player to score against Arsenal from open play in the ninth minute of last weekend’s 1-1 draw.
Manager Mikel Arteta says the club’s stinginess is a credit not only to his rearguard, but to the approach of all 11 players on the field.
“We start from our frontline and the amount of pressure and work that they put into any defensive line, any goalkeeper, is tremendous,” Arteta said. “So, it’s something collective, it’s a team sport and in anything that we do, everybody has a pivotal role in that.”
Even so, the Gunners still find themselves five points back of Liverpool and already managing injuries to several key players.
However, Arteta said attacker Bukayo Saka should be fit for Sunday’s clash and that his removal following a heavy challenge in Wednesday’s 2-0 League Cup win vs. Port Vale was planned.
Newcastle (1-1-3, 6 points) have scored only three goals so far in the league amid the saga that eventually saw Isak move to Liverpool for a reported fee of $170 million.
The Magpies moved for Stuttgart’s 23-year-old Nick Woltemade as a replacement at the transfer deadline. He’s scored once so far in two league appearances after he had 12 goals in a breakthrough Bundesliga campaign.
That said, Newcastle have won their last three against Arsenal at St. James’ Park, including the second leg of last year’s Leagues Cup semifinal en route to the club’s first major honor in 70 years.
And they’ve been very competitive so far in two home matches against global footballing powers, a 3-2 league loss to Liverpool in the second game of the Premier League season, and a 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to FC Barcelona on Sept. 18.
“It has always been a competitive game against Arsenal, and there has been an edge to those games as both teams want to win,” said Magpies manager Eddie Howe. “The more competitive we are, the better we play. We need to bring that to the game on Sunday.”
Defensive-minded Arsenal out to squash scoring-limited Newcastle United
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Defensive-minded Arsenal out to squash scoring-limited Newcastle United
- “We start from our frontline and the amount of pressure and work that they put into any defensive line, any goalkeeper, is tremendous,” Arteta said
- Newcastle (1-1-3, 6 points) have scored only three goals so far in the league amid the saga that eventually saw Isak move to Liverpool
Karl and Gnabry spark Bayern to comeback win over Sporting
- Gnabry set up defender Jonathan Tah for a late goal to ensure Bayern claimed all three points
- Karl became the youngest player to score in three consecutive Champions League games
MUNICH: Revitalized striker Serge Gnabry and teenage forward Lennart Karl helped inspire Bayern Munich to a come-from-behind 3-1 home win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday.
With Bayern trailing to a Joshua Kimmich own-goal midway through the second half and staring down the barrel of a second-successive European loss, Gnabry and Karl scored in quick succession to wrestle the match in Bayern’s favor.
Gnabry set up defender Jonathan Tah for a late goal to ensure Bayern claimed all three points and rose to second in the league phase standings, behind Arsenal on goal difference.
“The first 10 minutes of the second half weren’t very good, but we stayed calm,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told DAZN.
“We have done our job well so far and we want to see it through to the end.”
The top 24 sides make it through to the knockout rounds, with the top eight qualifying for the last 16 directly.
Karl became the youngest player to score in three consecutive Champions League games, beating the record previously held by Kylian Mbappe.
“To be in the Champions League at the age of 17 is something very, very special for me,” Karl told DAZN. “I’m proud of myself — and of the team.”
Despite the loss, the Portuguese champions sit ninth in the 36-team table with two games remaining.
- Seven changes for Bayern -
Kompany made seven changes to his starting XI, recalling Harry Kane, Gnabry, Karl, Manuel Neuer and Tah who were rested on Saturday against Stuttgart with Sporting’s visit in mind.
Bayern have scored more goals than any other club in Europe’s top-five leagues this season and went agonizingly close several times in the opening half.
Karl’s fifth-minute goal was ruled out for offside and Kane hit the post on the half-hour mark. Kane, Karl and Gnabry all forced Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva into acrobatic stops before the break.
Sporting’s best chance in the opening half came when Geny Catamo put in a cross which Tah almost guided into his own net, forcing Neuer into a reflex save.
Some more Bayern friendly fire put Sporting in front early in the second period, with Neuer this time helpless as Kimmich deflected a Joao Simoes cross in with 54 minutes gone.
The goal jolted Bayern into gear and the German champions soon struck back to take the lead with two goals in four minutes.
Unmarked at the back post, Gnabry tapped in a Michael Olize corner to level things up. Karl latched onto a Konrad Laimer pass before blasting in on the turn from a tight angle.
With 13 minutes remaining, Kimmich and Tah made good on their defensive errors by combining for Bayern’s third, with a little help from Gnabry.
Kimmich looped in a dipping cross to Gnabry, who headed centrally for Tah to poke home.
With three minutes remaining, Kompany withdrew Gnabry and brought Alphonso Davies onto the pitch, the Canada captain playing his first match since tearing his ACL in March.
