Arsenal fans take away several positives as Saka shines against Newcastle United

Arsenal bounced back strongly following the disappointing defeat against Liverpool last week with an impressive 2-0 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have now kept back-to-back clean sheets at home and currently remain in the fight for the top four after the win.

It was a tough match that was ultimately decided in the second half, due to the excellent individual performances of some of the Arsenal players.

Following the north London sides seventh Premier League win of the season, The Arsenal Way looks at three things that are left to be liked about the display against Newcastle.

Sambi is fearless

It was a surprise to see Albert Sambi Lokonga in the line-up for this match after his disappointing performance against Liverpool last week.

However, Arteta decided to show faith in the young Belgian and it was certainly repaid, as Sambi Lokonga didn’t seem to lose an ounce of confidence despite the doubts about him having the quality to start in Arsenal’s midfield.

Thomas Partey had an unusually quiet performance today, but Sambi Lokonga was able to grasp the midfield and make it his own, as he was impressive in every phase of play.

He consistently shows that he is not phased by playing on the back of a poor performance as he did after his disappointing Crystal Palace display, only to perform excellently in the next match against Aston Villa.

Ramsdale saves Arsenal once again

Another match and another marvellous Aaron Ramsdale save that kept the team floating above the water.

Ramsdale’s magnificent first-half save from a Jonjo Shelvey strike was sensational, and the timing of the save was arguably more important.

Arteta’s side was struggling to create chances as the game started to drift away, which gave Newcastle a passage into the match after focusing on defending throughout the majority of the first half.

But Ramsdale stopped the game from going into Newcastle’s favour with his excellent save.

Saka has his mojo back

Bukayo Saka has put in some underwhelming performances in his last couple of Premier League games, especially in the defeat at Anfield.

But, the youngster regained the explosive energy we are accustomed to in the game against Newcastle and had led the attack at times throughout the match.

The game became very stale in periods, but Saka’s energy was contagious for the rest of the squad and allowed the team to create more chances.

His encouraging performance was topped off with an excellent goal in the second half to break the deadlock.

For Arsenal’s sake, hopefully the injury he suffered will not rule him out for too long.

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