Report: Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle (inc goals)

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz

Subs: Ramsdale, Cedric, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Trossard, Vieira, Nelson, Nketiah, Jesus

Arsenal ensured they kept pace with their title rivals after hammering Newcastle 4-1 at Emirates Stadium, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Jakub Kiwior and an own goal from Sven Botman.

Mikel Arteta made one change to the side that lost against Porto on Wednesday with Jorginho coming in for Leandro Trossard, leaving Havertz up front as the centre forward.

Gabriel Jesus was also a welcome inclusion to the bench after stepping up his recovery from a knee injury, although Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Thomas Partey missed out again.

It was a bright start from Arsenal who were pressing and snapping into challenges early on, with Havertz setting the tone after his strong challenge on Fabian Schär energised the crowd.

Within a minute there was a chance for Saka who curled over, before Declan Rice broke through after a lovely move and forced a save from Loris Karius – making his first Premier League start since 2018.

But the constant Gunners pressure would eventually tell and they took the lead in the 18th minute, when Gabriel rose highest at the near post to draw a good save from Karius, only for a combination of Tino Livramento and Sven Botman to bundle the ball over their own goal-line. 1-0.

Arsenal doubled their lead just six minutes later when Jorginho found Gabriel Martinelli in behind, who ghosted away from Kieran Tripper and Botman before crossing for Havertz who swept home from six yards out. 2-0.

It could have been three moments later when Schär was caught in possession yet again by Martin Odegaard, whose cutback for Havertz looked set to earn him his second of the night, only for Sean Longstaff to recover and intercept with the goal gaping.

The visitors were drowning at this point and could not deal with the Arsenal press, with Saka forcing another good save from Karius after dancing his way through two or three Newcastle challenges in the box.

It was a first half clinic from Arsenal who pressed hard, played beautifully and restricted Newcastle to 0 shots.

Havertz should have sealed the game less than a minute into the second half after being played through by Martinelli but dragged his finish wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Newcastle did make a rare foray into then Arsenal penalty box when Alexander Isak was played in behind by Bruno Guimaraes, although David Raya was alert and out quickly to smother any danger.

With Arteta’s men struggling to match their first half intensity, the visitors grew into the game had another sight at goal when Isak cut inside Ben White easily before curling over.

But that momentum didn’t last long when Saka found himself isolated against Livramento after good play from Rice and Havertz, before twisting the young defender inside out and curling into the bottom corner. 3-0.

Just four minutes later, there was another goal to celebrate – this time from Jakub Kiwior – whose near post header nicked off Lewis Miley and past Karius to spark further celebration. 4-0.

With 15 minutes remaining, Arteta rang the changes after a busy week with Saka, Odegaard and Havertz all replaced by Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah for a well deserved rest.

The sides’ clean sheet record unfortunately wouldn’t last three games in a row when Hale End graduate Joe Willock headed brilliantly past Raya after strong running from Dan Burn, although Nelson was guilty of switching off in the build-up. 4-1.

It was almost another perfect Premier League night when Smith Rowe looked set to score after more calamitous Newcastle defending, although Burn showed great awareness to retreat and clear off the line with the stadium ready to celebrate.

After their European disappointment it was imperative that Arsenal reacted quickly to get back on track – and get back on track they did.