It was a slow start to the game for the first twenty minutes, but then Arsenal came to life and had the game all but won by halftime.
The first goal came off a “delicious” freekick from Santi Cazorla. Laurent Koscielny barged into the six yard box and beat Krul to the cross.
From that point on Arsenal started to pepper the Newcastle goal with chances, largely created by Mesut Ozil.
The second goal came from an offside Ozil, who pounced on a deflected save from Krul off Giroud.
Krul would make a fine save off a Cazorla drive before halftime, keeping Newcastle barely in the game.
That ended in the second half when Ozil sent a terrific cross into the oncoming head of Giroud for Arsenal’s third.
Arsenal could have had at least three more goals, but they were content to keep the ball and deny Newcastle opportunities. Arsenal now play West Brom at home next weekend.
Player Ratings:
Szczesny 6. Virtually nothing to do. He made his big save off a Gouffran breakaway, although he hit the ball right at Wojciech. He commanded the area and was a spectator most of the game.
Sagna 8. A solid game for Bacary, who we will miss next season. He sent in several teasing crosses and had a quiet defensive game.
Mertesacker 7. Troubled just once when Cissoko blew by him but shanked his shot over the bar. Otherwise he played a composed match.
Koscielny 9. Excellent predatory instincts for the first goal. He was outstanding throughout and made a couple of fine stops at the defensive end, once almost doing the splits to keep a ball from going through. Did get a silly yellow card for punting the ball into the crowd.
Monreal 7. Nacho’s best game in a while. He got forward a number of times and put in a couple of decent crosses. He also kept Debuchy quiet.
Arteta 8. Mikel was excellent tonight, his passing was perfect and he got forward more than usual.
Ramsey 8. Aaron produced a fine performance, even though he didn’t end up on the scoreboard. Played good defence and always was willing to push the ball forward.
Ozil 9. Man of the match. Yes, not everything came off for Ozil, but almost everything offensive ran through him. His cross to Giroud was sensational. He put in several other crosses which almost resulted in more goals. He made a couple of swivel moves that bamboozled Newcastle defenders as well.
Cazorla 8. An excellent game for Santi who probably could have scored twice. Krul made an excellent save off Santi in the first half for the first, while Santi sent a volley way over the bar in the second half. His cross on the opening goal was terrific as well.
Giroud 8. Played a role in all three goals. Yes, he went to ground a little too easily to draw the freekick. On the second goal he had two chances to beat Krul, but couldn’t. On the third, he headed home with power, probably his best headed goal of the year (I just read how he’d only scored twice off his head this season).
Podolski 7. Lukas’s scoring heroics came to an end last night, but he still came close. He broke in on goal alone on the left, but his shot struck Krul’s leg. A header off a corner at point blank range went straight at Krul. A shot off an Ozil cross just missed the goal. He was quiet at the start, but became more influential as the game wore on.
Substitutes:
Flamini 6. Came on for defensive stability and did the things he typically does (although he wasn’t yellow carded).
Rosicky 7. An excellent cameo for Tomas, who kept the Gunners moving forward and was looking to create chances.
Sanogo n/a. Another brief cameo for Yaya.