Last week’s uninspiring 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace seemed to show the Arsenal squad returning back to their previous lifeless self, particularly in the midfield. Too much was being asked of 20-year-old Emile Smith Rowe, and it was only a matter of time before teams adjusted their defensive game plan to the young attacking midfielder. The wins against Chelsea, Brighton, and West Bromwich eased the pressure on the club, but the Palace match felt like a possible regression back to the mean. Enter Thomas Partey.
Arsenal’s biggest summer signing was finally fit and back in the fold against Newcastle, and the Gunners instantly looked like a team transformed. It is not hard to figure out why, as Partey’s return to the starting eleven helps the team in all three phases.
With him and Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal finally has two central players who like to push the play forward with tempo, never sitting idly on the ball. The biggest knock on Mohammed Elneny and Granit Xhaka is that they provide far too much sideways movement and slow play. Against Newcastle, Partey was always picking the ball up deep and moving it forward quickly. Couple that with Smith Rowe’s constant movement and ability to pick up smart attacking areas, and you have an entirely new dimension added to Arsenal’s attack.
A perfect example of this was shown in the opening goal. Partey received the ball about 10 yards outside of his own penalty area, made one clever turn, and then was instantly looking forward. Smith Rowe was running centrally in front of him, dragging Newcastle’s midfielder Jonjo Shelvey along with him and opening up acres of space for Pierre Emerick-Aubamyang out on the left. One perfectly weighted through ball from Partey later and Arsenal had a 1-0 lead. Something as simple as that is a move that Arsenal just haven’t had all season due to a lack of proper midfield personnel, but that finally no longer seems to be the case.
The man who may benefit from a midfield renaissance the most is the aforementioned Aubameyang. It has undoubtedly been a difficult season for the captain thus far, and he has cut an isolated figure many times this campaign, but he looked alive again against the Magpies. A striker’s confidence always comes down to goals, and now that Aubameyang has a brace to his name and the potential for more midfield service, he will hopefully hit the ground running to make up for lost time.
Even the backline benefits tremendously from Arsenal controlling the midfield. Newcastle was so overrun centrally that it completely limited any hope they had of getting forward effectively. Bernd Leno had nothing to do all evening, and Rob Holding and David Luiz dealt easily with whatever long balls were played in their way. Five clean sheets on the bounce show that Arsenal is one of the more defensively sound units in the Premier League, adding to the positives that manager Mikel Arteta continues to produce.
Now there is no question that Newcastle is in total disarray, and Arsenal will face much sterner upcoming tests, specifically against Southampton and Manchester United, but this onslaught showed that the correct pieces are finally there. Mikel Arteta and Edu will also definitely be looking to bring in another creative midfielder to ease the burden on Smith Rowe.
Not even a seasoned veteran would be asked to shoulder the entire creative responsibility like the 20-year-old is currently doing, so expect Arsenal to make some sort of deal. Martin Odegaard is being considered on loan from Real Madrid, and Emiliano Buendia’s name continues to pop up. No matter who else is brought in, Smith Rowe and Arsenal have shown that the foundation is there. It is time for Arteta and his players to build on it and challenge for the Top Four.
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