5 Of The Best Wins Over Newcastle United

Arsenal return to Premier League action following their late 1-0 defeat in Portugal on Wednesday night with a grudge match with Newcastle United. The Gunners felt aggrieved following the reverse fixture at St James' Park in November, where a series of decisions went against them. This prompted Mikel Arteta and the club to criticise the standard of refereeing in the league, adding an element of spice to the fixture this weekend. 

Over the years, Arsenal have an excellent record over Newcastle at both Highbury and Emirates Stadium, so we have selected five fixtures for you to reminisce over.

Anelka At The Double

Back in 1998, Arsenal were chasing a famous League and FA Cup Double. As Newcastle came to town, the respective teams knew that they would be meeting at the end of the season in the FA Cup final. Arsenal though, on the back of four successive wins, were looking to maintain pressure at the top of the table. 

Arsenal started on the front foot and almost took the lead through Nicolas Anelka, who struck the post from close range. Anelka would not be denied twice though, and four minutes before the break his low shot from the edge of the box found the bottom corner to give The Gunners the lead. 

The hosts then doubled their advantage midway through the second half, again through the 18-year-old Frenchman. Ray Parlour beat two on the right-hand side before playing a delightful cross for Anelka to tap home. 

Soon it would get even better for Arsenal. Patrick Vieira picked the ball up in the middle of the pitch, strode forward before rifling an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net to send Highbury into raptures. 

Warren Barton added a consolation for the visitors shortly after, but the match was all but over at that stage. Arsenal would go on to win ten successive league games in their pursuit of the title, with the clinching game being a 4-0 win over Everton at Highbury. Just two weeks after that, they would again meet Newcastle, this time at Wembley, where Arsenal would clinch the second part of the Double. 

Parlour Was A Ray Of Light

In 2000, Arsenal produced a special performance to dismantle Newcastle United at Highbury. Made even more exciting by the fact that I was in attendance for one of my earliest games as an eleven-year-old with my brother and Dad. 

Arsenal got off to the perfect start, as Thierry Henry latched onto a Tony Adams pass to cut inside and bend a precise shot into the far corner. A simple goal but one of absolute magnificence from the Frenchman. 

Three minutes later and the Highbury crowd were on their feet again, this time for Ray Parlour. Freddie Ljungberg won the ball back inside the Arsenal half, before playing a pass inside for Kanu. The Nigerian stabbed the ball through to the on-rushing Parlour, who hit a firm shot past the Newcastle keeper. 

Seven minutes into the second half and it was effectively game over. Ljungberg chipped a delightful pass into the path of Kanu, who rolled the ball past the helpless Shay Given to make it three.

Arsenal continued to create chances but had to wait until the closing minutes to put the gloss on a brilliant afternoons work. Thierry Henry raced down the right channel and floated a cross in, where Parlour was on hand to head home his second of the afternoon. 

As the game seemingly drifted towards its conclusion, there was still time for Parlour to really steal the headlines. Robert Pires collected the ball inside the Newcastle half and delayed his chipped pass until Parlour was racing through at full speed. The Englishman made no mistake, and rolled in his hat-trick to seal a five star display. 

Panenka 

On the back of the battle of Old Trafford in 2003, Arsenal welcomed Newcastle on a wet and miserable night in North London with a point to prove. The Gunners had been heavily criticised for their role in the 0-0 draw at Manchester United, where several players and the club had received fines for their behaviour. 

Nevertheless, Arsenal intended to let their football do the talking, and took a deserved lead after 18 minutes. Lauren whipped a teasing ball into the far post, where Thierry Henry was on hand tap home. In what had been a challenging week for the club, it represented the perfect tonic. 

The lead didn't last long though, with Laurent Robert levelling the scores. Arsenal knew they had to come again, and they restored their lead midway through the second half through Gilberto. The Brazilian towered above the Newcastle defence to power home a header and score his first Highbury goal.

Arsenal had worked hard to get their noses back in front, but Newcastle pegged them back for a second time, this time through Olivier Bernard. Some clever play from the Frenchman opened up space on the left-hand side before he rifled a shot past Jens Lehmann. 2-2 and Arsenal knew they had to come again. 

Nine minutes later Arsenal were given the opportunity to restore their lead. Jermaine Jenas inexplicably handled the ball in the area, leaving the referee with no choice but to award Arsenal a penalty. Up stepped Henry, who cheekily dinked the ball down the middle to give Arsenal the lead for a third time. 

Arsenal hung on for a massive three points and would go on to complete the league campaign without losing a single match and lifting the title. 

Three-Oh Walcott

It's a game that really needs no introduction, if only for the fact that it saw ten goals! Theo Walcott gave Arsenal the lead with a composed Henry-esque finish, before Demba Ba levelled the scoring just before the break with a deflected freekick. That would be the end of the normality. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rolled in a smart finish to restore Arsenal's lead, but nine minutes later it was 2-2 thanks to Sylvain Marveaux. The Gunners struck back through Lukasz Podolski from short range, only for Demba Ba to level the match up for a third time. A rollercoaster game in which fans of both sides had been put through something of an emotional mangle.

Arsenal were only just getting started though. Walcott grabbed his second of the game to re-establish the home sides advantage, finishing expertly in a goal-mouth scramble. Olivier Giroud then replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain before adding two goals of his own to make it 6-3. The first, a trademark header from a Walcott cross, followed by a smart right-footed finish at the near post to make certain of the three points.

Yet there was still time for more drama. Walcott collected the ball by the corner flag and started making his way to the penalty box. Beating four defenders, he was fouled in the box, but was able to maintain his balance to bear down on goal and chip past Tim Krul to grab a sensational hat-trick and conclude a crazy evening in N5.  

Super Mik Arteta

The last time Arsenal beat Newcastle at the Emirates was in 2021. The Gunners had to be patient following a tight opening period but eventually got the job done thanks to their trusted wing pairing. 

Newcastle entered the game having not won in 12 games, but threatened to take the lead following a thunderous strike from Jonjo Shelvey that Aaron Ramsdale tipped onto the crossbar. Arsenal then should have taken the lead themselves, with Emile Smith Rowe being denied by Martin Dubravka before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang touched the rebound onto the post from close range. 

Arsenal finally took the lead at the start of the second half. Nuno Tavares slipped a ball through to Bukayo Saka on the left-hand side, who drilled a low shot across goal and into the far corner. 

Gabriel Martinelli then came off the bench to clinch the points. Takehiro Tomiyasu lofted a pass over the Newcastle backline, where Martinelli was on hand to caress the ball beautifully on the volley into the net. 

Arsenal would go on to finish fifth in the table and narrowly miss out on top four to their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.