It is fair to say that Aleksandar Mitrovic has already earned himself a reputation. Four games into his Newcastle United career, the Serbia striker has been booked twice, very quickly, and sent off once.
Although Tyneside was awash with disgruntlement at his first-half dismissal against Arsenal, he is making life a little too easy for opponents and referees. His team suffered for it and will now miss him for the next three matches.
Little happened at St James’ Park to prove or alter Arsène Wenger’s admission that Arsenal have been “very average” this season. They were not blissful here, but then proceedings were disfigured by Mitrovic’s absence and as they piled forward and Newcastle held them back in numbers, the challenge was not a typical one. It took a shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain which was deflected off Fabricio Coloccini to seal this victory.
Newcastle are still awaiting their first league win of the season, but there is some mitigation for this disappointment. Their fixtures have been tough, but this is not the same club which found itself under siege for the last few months of Alan Pardew’s management and for the opening half of 2015. Six further bookings gave supporters a target to rail at, but the mood of positivity, fostered this summer, is yet to dissipate.
There was resilience from Newcastle, a few moments when they threatened to forfeit their composure and some doughty defending, but the rhythm of the game had been ruined from the start. 16 minutes had passed when minute when Mitrovic was dismissed, a decision which enraged the majority of those in attendance, but although it was difficult to present that intervention as injustice, the effect it had was profound.
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On the near touchline, Mitrovic caught Francis Coquelin on the shin with his boot. At first glance, the challenge did not appear malicious - the striker may have been attempting to trap the ball - but it did look dangerous and Coquelin’s cry of anguish was heard in the stands. Andre Marriner had already booked Moussa Sissoko for an early, rugged foul of Nacho Monreal, setting a tone he was unable to escape from.
There is a different atmosphere about Newcastle, however, and instead of wrestling with themselves as they have done for much of the last year, the team navigated a frenetic spell when they briefly lost control. The supporters responded with volume. In the final analysis, it may not have counted for much, but after a testing sequence of fixtures there remains cause for cautious positivity.
Arsenal, as you would expect, hogged the ball like gluttons, but a diminutive attack was frequently snuffed out by Newcastle and their dominance of possession was not reflected in shots on target. Arguably the referee’s greatest error was to dismiss their claims for a penalty when Florian Thauvin trod on Hector Bellerin’s foot on the right side of the area, but Wenger’s players were far from irrepressible when they broke forward.
Tim Krul had come out well to block at the feet of Theo Walcott, who did not make an overwhelming defence of his argument for a central attacking role when he missed badly from close range in the 32nd minute. Newcastle’s goalkeeper got down adroitly to parry a smart, 25-yard effort from Alexis Sanchez, but the England international should have buried the rebound which fell kindly for him. Instead, it cleared the bar.
Not including Mitrovic’s straight red, Newcastle were shown another six cards and while they disputed the legitimacy of that punishment, it offered an illustration of their defiance. By the interval they had restricted Arsenal to parity without presenting Petr Cech with much peril at the other end, barring one shot from Sissoko which was driven wide. As at Old Trafford the weekend before, Newcastle had little option other than to defend.
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There was some misfortune in the goal, which finally arrived in the 52nd minute. Again, peril originated from distance, when Aaron Ramsey was repelled by Krul from the fringes of the area and, on this occasion, the ball fizzed out to the right. From there, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shot with power, taking a crucial nick off the underside of Fabricio Coloccini’s leg which took it beyond Krul. Newcastle continued to hold them back, but a comeback was never close.