Arsenal 1 Newcastle 0 – Can they take title race to the wire? Are Howe’s side in the relegation fight?

Arsenal are back on top of the Premier League after beating Newcastle United 1-0 in a edgy game at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta’s side were knocked off the top for the first time since October last weekend but with Manchester City playing in an FA Cup semi-final (they won 2-1), they were able to restore a three-point advantage at the top.

Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game with a superb curling finish after Arsenal decided to deploy short corners against Newcastle’s big defence. Arsenal now have four league games remaining, while Man City have five, though it was not all good news.

With only 47 days until the World Cup there were concerning injuries for two Arsenal players, with first Kai Havertz going off after 34 minutes and then Eze needing to be substituted too, early in the second half.

Newcastle, meanwhile, wasted good chances for Will Osula, again chosen to start up front, and Yoane Wissa, who came off the bench, and are just two points above the four clubs fighting for survival — though they are still eight clear of Spurs, who are 18th.

Here The Athletic’s Art de Roche and Chris Waugh break down the key talking points.

Can Arsenal take the title race to the wire?

Arsenal carried elements of their promising performance at the Etihad into the first half of this game, but much of that depended on the players who were available.

When Eze and Havertz were on the pitch, the pair combined nicely with Odegaard in central areas in a similar fashion to last weekend. Aside from those short corners, Eze had the freedom to drift into the centre circle at times, which gave Newcastle different problems to solve.

Arsenal collectively struggled to keep the match under control once those two were forced off, however. Long balls up to the front line did not stick, which allowed the match to become way more transitional than Arteta would have liked.

Arsenal had their fair share of counter-attacking opportunities, but decision-making in the final third kept them from truly killing the game – which has been a common theme throughout this season.

That was typified in added time. Piero Hincapie had excellently regained possession against Anthony Elanga and played Viktor Gyokeres in behind. The centre-forward somehow failed to find one of three team-mates supporting him in a four-v-one situation, keeping the game open right until the end of the added seven minutes.

If they are to take this title race down to the wire, more composure across the team is a necessity. They may have lost some of that in Eze and Havertz, but Arteta will be thankful to have Bukayo Saka back from injury to reinstate some of the calm that will make his side a threat.

Rock Art

How did Arsenal surprise Newcastle?

Arsenal had played six short corners in the Premier League all season, so three in quick succession showed there was a clear strategy — even if there were groans after the second.

Eze being the player perched on the edge of the box was a sign by the time the second short corner was attempted.

Regular readers may already be familiar with this quote, but speaking about Eze earlier this season, Arteta said: “He has such a quality and capacity to finish actions in different ways that we need to play him very close to the box. The more he spends time there, the better for the team.”

Arsenal themselves conceded an Eze goal from a corner last season, so finding a way to make use of his quality in that area was intelligent. Those three

While some may blame Newcastle for not heeding the warning signs from the first two corners, those were both played to Martin Odegaard near the corner flag. For the one Eze scored, Noni Madueke did well to find Kai Havertz inside the box instead, catching out the two Newcastle defenders who followed Odegaard.

This was only Arsenal’s third goal in the opening 10 minutes of a Premier League match this season. That tally is fewer than each of their last three seasons, which has contributed to some nervy matches this term, but such a sublime effort helped settle the Emirates — until Havertz came off injured at least.

Forced off with injury himself early in the second half, Arteta will hope Eze’s issue is not too serious as Arsenal’s best football in recent weeks has come with him on the pitch.

“I think the stadium was a bit annoyed we took it short a few times,” said Odegaard after the game. “But it paid off in the end.”

Did Bruno Guimaraes improve Newcastle?

For the first time since February 10, Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle’s talismanic skipper, was available to start a match. He had missed 12 games due to a hamstring problem and then a bout of the mumps, before coming on as a second-half substitute against Bournemouth the previous weekend.

With the Brazilian in the XI, Newcastle are an entirely different proposition. He demands the ball, he takes responsibility and he always looks to make things happen. Without him, Newcastle lack intent and invention.

Against Arsenal, Guimaraes had mixed success when it came to the outcome of his actions, but taking risks in possession gave a dimension to this Newcastle side which had been sorely missing.

Howe altered his system, playing what appeared to be a 4-1-4-1 formation, with one of Sandro Tonali and Guimaraes taking a turn sitting, with the other advancing, before swapping, then with Joe Willock almost in a free role. Newcastle looked far more purposeful as a result, having the better of the first half.

Despite having nine shots during the opening 45 minutes, however, their inability to create clear-cut chances, even with Guimaraes on the pitch, meant they did not capitalise on their promising passing through the lines. After the break, Newcastle dominated possession but laboured and created so few opportunities, before Guimaraes went off after 75 minutes.

Even when Guimaraes is not fully fit, as he clearly still is not, he improves Newcastle immeasurably. Whether he can wrestle back some positive momentum and ensure Howe’s side claim some victories in their final four outings is another question.

Chris Waugh

Are Newcastle in the relegation battle?

All logic tells you otherwise. This correspondent has basically dismissed that narrative in recent weeks as supporters have become increasingly twitchy, given their string of losses — and, as unlikely as it is, that scenario is not actually entirely out of the question, and becomes less inconceivable with every passing defeat.

Victories for all of Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend has reduced the gap to 14th-placed Newcastle (42 points) to three, six and eight respectively. Leeds United in 15th have 40 points.

With each team having just four games remaining, Newcastle should already have enough points. Only West Ham in 2002-03 have gone down with 42 points or more in a 38-game top-flight season.

Regardless, Newcastle’s form is that of relegation fodder. It is nine defeats in their last 12 Premier League matches and five in succession in all competitions. They have no positive momentum whatsoever and every one of their remaining matches appears laced with danger, especially considering Howe’s team have also lost five of their last six league games at St James’ Park. West Ham’s trip to Tyneside in the second-last game of the season could be massive, should Newcastle fail to pick up points in their next two outings.

Newcastle should be a Premier League side next season, but the fact that is even a point which requires asserting shows how lamentable this top-flight campaign has been.

Chris Waugh