Arsenal’s fountain of youth sinks Newcastle

NOTHING lifts the soul as much as young players celebrating their talents with a touch of swagger and a smattering of confidence. As such, Arsenal can be an unexpected joy at times. To be clear, against the very best, this team will likely be swept away, as they were against Liverpool last weekend.

But on their day, against poorer sides, the sight of Bukayo Saka weaving his way through defenders, Emile Smith Rowe subtly connecting the team and substitute Gabriel Martinelli euphoric as he nails a delightful finish, is enough to suggest they may be stumbling on a strategy.

This was a victory for the youth club. Schooled by Liverpool, Mikel Arteta stuck by his young men and was rewarded. ‘You must trust them and give them confidence after difficult moments,’ said Arteta, himself a novice in his profession. ‘If not, it’s not real trust.’

Quite so. Having pinned their colours so firmly on their young players, mainly through necessity, it helps when you have moments like Saka’s goal on 56 minutes.

There was Smith Rowe, 21, at ease in possession, touching a pass to Saka, 20. There was Nuno Tavares, 21, ready to receive the ball from Saka then play a delightful return pass for his team-mate to run on to.

Finally, there was Saka to finish emphatically from a tight angle.

And when Saka had to go off injured, on came Martinelli, 20 years old. Within a minute he had scored a wonderful goal, with Smith Rowe finding right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu, 23, who chipped a delightful first time ball over the Newcastle back four.

Even more exquisite was the Brazilian’s finish.

With the ball dropping over his shoulder, he kept his eye on the ball and lifted it first time over the head of Martin Dubravka.

Add in the odd heroic save of Aaron Ramsdale, 23, and you can see why they think they’re on to something at Arsenal.

‘I thought they needed another chance and they’ve done it today,’ said Arteta, who had suggested his team had been naive at Anfield. ‘They showed during the week how they were hurt and how eager they were to put it right.’

As for Newcastle, Arsenal fans perhaps put it best. ‘You’re rich and you’re not meeting the standards one might expect by a team bankrolled by the Saudi state,’ they sang. Words to that effect, anyway, but punchier and pithier.

With Eddie Howe finally on the touchline after missing his first match in charge with Covid, they were playing a 4-4-2 when out of possession. With Dubravka back in goal, they had solidity and a plan.

But they are bottom of the table, without a win in any of their 13 Premier League games this term. They need to break free from the shell to harness their attacking threat in order to win games.

Otherwise, the Saudi state is about to be treated to the charms of Blackpool, Luton and Hull. It will be intriguing to see how often chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan visits if the world’s richest team is in the Championship.

Howe said: ‘You can achieve remarkable things if you believe and stay united. I’ve seen enough of the team to know we can compete.

‘If you were a neutral watching today’s game you wouldn’t think we are in the position we are in.’