Despite fielding arguably their strongest side on paper from the start - with exception to the injured Robin van Persie, who returned from injury as a substitute - they were successfully edged out by Newcastle. Although showing glimpses in the second half, questions will be raised over Arsenal's credentials as genuine title contenders this season.
Coming up against a relatively in-form Newcastle side, who prior to the match were unbeaten in three league games, Arsene Wenger's men knew that they would not be gifted the three points. As it turned out, going behind on the stroke of half-time to Andy Carroll header deprived them of one.
To their credit, Arsenal responded well at the start of the second period, but their failure showed Wenger still has many issues to address.
The constant goalkeeping issue at the Emirates just does not seem to go away. Lukasz Fabianski has been in fine form of late, but the suspicion that he will forever be accident-prone arose again as he made another mistake in goal, gifting Carroll the opener. There are a number of quality goalkeepers around who would surely be willing to join Arsenal, and perhaps the time is right to finally admit he is in need of a quality shot-stopper and make the change.
The likes of Hugo Lloris from Lyon and young Italian Emiliano Viviano of Bologna are two that have been linked to the club in the past, and so Wenger simply has to concede that he does require a new man between the sticks, to avoid a recurrence of such catastrophes.
Additionally, Arsenal need to rediscover a sense of consistency, to compete for an entire 90 minutes. It may be a mental issue that Wenger needs to address and it must be addressed promptly if they are to keep pace with Chelsea and Manchester United.
The fine play of the opening minutes of the second half is something they need to show more regularly. If they play with those levels of energy and flair, it would be difficult for any team to match them.
Bouncing back from a disappointing Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk midweek was always going to be a test for Arsenal. The key to their success this season will be determined by how many points they can accumulate in matches where they may not have been at their absolute best. Failing to attain even a point from the visit of Newcastle suggests that, for now, they are failing the test.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Andy Carroll
The striker was a constant threat up front for the visitors, and looked sharp with every touch of the ball. While his goal may have been a gift from Fabianski, it was a just reward for all of the hard work he put in. He has continued his brilliant run of form this season, and manager Chris Hughton said: "Andy is on the right path to being called up by the England national team."
ARSENAL VERDICT
Another mediocre home performance, and for the majority they looked a shadow of the side that hit three past Manchester City at Eastlands a few weeks ago. Perhaps the return of Robin van Persie may spark the side into action, but then again, they haven't been struggling to score of late. They have other problems that they need to rectify immediately, and the remaining matches in 2010 will say a lot about how far this Arsenal team can go this season.
NEWCASTLE VERDICT
Unbeaten in four league matches now, and clearly full of confidence, especially considering they were beaten 4-0 by a second-string Arsenal side just a few weeks ago in the League Cup. Climbing into fourth place in the league standings as a result of their third win in their last four away games, the Toon should begin to have real belief about a genuine challenge for a Europa League place for next season.
Source: Adrian Del Monte, ESPN Soccernet on 7 Nov 10
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