Arsenal put up another poor performance in week 10 of the English Premier League. Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle seemed like the end of the road for them until Manchester City saved them.

Without a doubt, the EPL title race is among Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. Having come second twice in succession, the expectations from Arsenal fans to win the league this season are very high.

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Moreover, the team showed promising signs early on in the season, winning 3 and drawing 2 matches in their first five EPL games. The 3 wins include beating archrivals Tottenham Hotspur while they managed the draws under bizarre circumstances. They had a man sent off in each of the matches against Manchester City and Brighton.

However, the last 3 matches of the North London-based club have been nothing to write home about. Arsenal has only managed to get just a point out of a possible 9.

Arsenal lost 2:1 to Bournemouth on October 19 and drew 2:2  against  Liverpool on September 27. Going into the game against Newcastle, fans expected that they would use the home team to make a comeback statement.

The Match Against Newcastle 

Things however took rather bitter turns. Despite dominating the game, Arsenal lost yet again. It was a bitter pill for the fans to swallow. Arsenal’s long-term transfer target, Alexander Isak put the home team in the lead 12 minutes into the game.

Newcastle then put up a resilient pressing structure and an impermeable defensive line. Despite employing different dynamics to break down the defence, Newcastle remained resolute. So, Arsenal dropped yet another point.

There was a lot of improvisation by the head coach Mikel Arteta. Due to injuries to a lot of key players, some players had to play out of positions. The creative midfield role was assigned to Trossard who is a natural winger. This was necessary as the side’s captain Martin Ødegard picked up an injury.

Also, Timber who plays as a right-back had to be deployed as a leftback due to the unavailability of Calafiori. Zichenko was available but not a hundred per cent fit.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s best midfielder this season had to be deployed at right-back. Thomas Partey did his best but the synergy of the backline was affected. This also affected Arsenal’s creativity as Trossard, Martnelli, Saka and Harvertz could create any real chance. This is evident in the game stat; Despite having 64% possession, Arsenal only managed 1 shot on target.

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How Manchester Saved Arsenal

Despite being rivals, Arsenal fans are happy Manchester City saved their season. How? A win for Manchester would have meant that Arsenal would be 8 points behind them while 10 points behind Liverpool.

The Citizens’ 2:1 away loss to Bournemouth keeps the point difference to 5 points. Even though Liverpool currently sits top of the league log, most Arsenal fans don’t see them as a threat.

Arsenal will make a trip to Italy to take on Inter Milan in a Champions League fixture on Wednesday.