I saw Newcastle star Joelinton go wild and Arsenal players couldn’t believe it
Ciaran Kelly
4 – 5 minutes
It was a fitting way to mark an upcoming anniversary. It is nearly three years to the day since Eddie Howe took charge of Newcastle United and outlined his ‘non-negotiables’ in one of his first meetings with the squad. Top of the list? Putting the team’s interests before their own.
Newcastle players certainly did that during Saturday’s 1-0 win against Arsenal and it was rather telling that Howe made a beeline for Sean Longstaff at full-time and pulled him in for a hug following the Geordie’s tireless display in the middle of the park. You would not have known it was just Longstaff’s first league start since mid-September.
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“For what the manager has done for me, I’ll always be a good team-mate and be good around the dressing room,” Longstaff vowed. “Whether I’m playing or not.”
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Howe was the first to admit last week that it had ‘taken us longer than we initially hoped’ to get the harmony back ‘absolutely where it should be’ following a difficult summer. The Newcastle boss struck a different tone after this victory and a morale-boosting week. “You need the right attitude and you need to be selfless for the team,” he said. “Those players were and they got their rewards.”
Take Anthony Gordon and Joelinton, for instance. The pair were not playing in their usual positions, after moving out to the right and left respectively, but they dug in and protected their full-backs as Newcastle became just the second side to stop Arsenal scoring in the Premier League this season.
Gordon, of course, set up what proved to be a winning goal with a superb cross, which was met by the head of Alexander Isak, but the England international was also so effective going the other way. It was Gordon who took one in the face to block Declan Rice’s free-kick; who teamed up with Livramento to harry Leandro Trossard as the Arsenal star stumbled and knocked the ball out of play; and who sprinted back in the 84th minute to take the ball from Gabriel Jesus in his final act before coming off.
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Joelinton, similarly, doubled up with Hall on the opposite wing to limit the threat of Bukayo Saka. That is easier said than done.
Saka, after all, has been directly involved in 10 of Arsenal’s 17 top-flight goals and the England star has created more chances than any other player in the Premier League. Yet Newcastle managed to keep him quiet.
“There’s a lot of players in the team who probably don’t want to be doing those jobs,” Hall admitted. “But they did fantastically.”
Lewis Hall and Joelinton kept Bukayo Saka quiet
Lewis Hall and Joelinton kept Bukayo Saka quiet
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Joelinton, in truth, relishes this side of the game. The Brazilian even turned to the Leazes End and celebrated like he had scored a goal at one point after holding off Gabriel at the back post. Arsenal are the best team in the league at set-plays, but the ball harmlessly bobbled out of play to the visitors’ disbelief as Thomas Partey looked to the heavens and Gabriel Martinelli threw his arms out.
It summed up Newcastle’s commitment to the uglier side of the game and brought back memories of what this side did best on their way to gate-crashing the top four.
“It was actually very reminiscent of that season in terms of our general defending and our attitude to defending,” Howe added. “Heroic blocking, really tight spaces, nullifying their threats. I was really pleased. It was a throwback, but it’s great to win 1-0 and keep a clean sheet.”
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