Botman worry, Elanga off the mark and late blow - Newcastle 2-3 Arsenal
A much-improved performance from Newcastle United just wasn’t enough as the Magpies fell to a 3-2 loss against Arsenal in Singapore.
Looking to bounce back from the 4-0 defeat against Celtic last Saturday, Eddie Howe named a slightly-changed XI: Alex Murphy and Jamaal Lascelles were both surprise inclusions in the defence alongside stalwarts Trippier and Burn.
Will Osula of course led the line with Isak absent from the squad, with new signing Anthony Elanga starting on the right whilst Anthony Gordon is still vying to be the starting left winger ahead of Harvey Barnes.
First half XI: Pope; Trippier, Lascelles, A.Murphy, Burn, Tonali, Guimaraes, Willock; Elanga, Osula, Gordon.
Second half XI: Pope; Livramento, Krafth, Schar, Botman, Targett; J Murphy, Miley, Joelinton, Barnes; Osula.
Subs used: Ruddy, Ashby, Neave. (Seung-soo Park, Munda, Vlachodinos did not come on)
An end to end affair, vital minutes played during pre-season in humid conditions and some promising performances, even if Sven Botman's injury issues may have flaggd up again.
Solid run out in Singapore
Anthony Elanga grabbed his first goal in the black and white stripes as he opened the scoring in Singapore. An excellent counter started by Gordon soon found Tonali, whose low cross met the feet of Elanga, who perhaps fortunately converted from close range with a bobbled effort.
For much of the game, our attack was showing pace and pressing, which could be a major problem for our opponents having to play against the particularly quick trio of Gordon, Elanga and Osula. The Dane in particular was a real pest, working his socks off but showing that slightly raw final product as he glanced one big chance wide.
Though for all the positive signs shown by the attack, the defending does still need some work, with ongoing Botman concerns and the lack of pace highlighting our need for a new centre-back just as they did at Celtic.
A calamitous two minutes helped Arsenal turn the games on its head thanks to a tidy finish from Mikel Merino, before an unfortunate own goal from Alex Murphy who blasted the ball into an empty net from an Arsenal cross. The Irishman did well against Saka for much of the first-half, mind, and showed quality in possession.
An almost completely changed XI emerged for the second half, and Jacob Murphy made a very quick impact as he levelled the score with a lovely left-footed strike from range.
But Gunners youngster Max Dowman, who earned praise midweek against AC Milan, drew a cynical shove in the box from Joelinton in the dying minutes, and Martin Odegaard scored from the spot to make it 3-2 and hand us our second defeat of the pre-season so far.
There’s still signs of rust in some players, and the humidity inside the Singapore National Stadium certainly didn’t help. But some excellent, driven performances in both the midfield and attack will have encouraged Howe, with Tonali a driving force early on and Lewis Miley looking the part in a composed second half display.
As for negatives, Pope's kicking was horrendous, Willock looked way off the pace once again and Targett was run ragged at times, with all three failing to bounce back from bad days at the office last weekend.
Botman worry for Howe
One downside from the game, however, was the potential injury to Sven Botman, who came off feeling groin just 25 minutes after coming on at the break.
With what looked like a groin problem for the Dutchman, it’s perhaps a positive move from Howe to afford Lascelles some minutes so soon into pre-season, as he’ll definitely be getting some more in South Korea and beyond as things stand.
Schar meanwhile looked to be having some hamstring concerns, but not as much of an issue as a potential fresh injury for Botman - all the more reason for Howe to push the recruitment team to find him a centre back option this summer before the window shuts.
Next up for Newcastle will be the friendlies against the K-League XI, followed up by a much-anticipated game against Spurs in Seoul.
