The Gunners maintained their title charge by swatting aside Newcastle (Pictures: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has again praised Arsenal’s set-pieces after Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle United while he was delighted with the way his side responded to their midweek disappointment against Porto.
The Gunners lost the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie after conceding in the 94th minute at the Estadio do Dragao but they showed no signs of a European hangover.
Arsenal controlled every facet of Saturday night’s game from the very first minute and took an early lead when Gabriel Magalhaes’ header eventually went in off Sven Botman for an own goal, before Kai Havertz doubled the lead just six minutes later.
Bukayo Saka put the side three goals up in the 65th minute and another dangerous set-piece routine saw Jakub Kiwior put the match to bed a few minutes later – though former Gunner Joe Willock did grab a late consolation.
Arsenal have now scored 19 goals from set-pieces this season, leading the way in the Premier League, with dead-ball coach Nicolas Jover having turned the side into a truly fearsome outfit from free-kicks and corners.
Arteta is delighted with the impact Jover has had, as well as the range of goals and goalscorers he can now count on.
Asked if Jover is on a good bonus for all these set-piece goals, Arteta laughed and replied: ‘That’s probably for the owner or Edu to respond!
‘The fact that we are scoring goals in various ways, from various players as well, is really satisfying.
Arsenal were a menace from set-pieces once again (Picture: Getty)
‘We could’ve scored many more today and we have to continue to do that, and keep developing all the things we can still do better and something we have to improve obviously, and get players back which as well we are doing right now. That’s going to be really important.’
Saturday’s game could have been a very tricky one for Arsenal, having lost to Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier in the season – albeit in controversial fashion.
But there was no sign of Arsenal licking their wounds after losing to Porto and the win actually continues a remarkable run that has seen them go unbeaten in their last 21 matches following a midweek European encounter.
More Trending
Asked about that run, Arteta replied: ‘Thanks for the stat because I didn’t know it! It shows how much we want it, and credit to the staff as well for making all the effort to recover the players.
‘I could sense from the moment that we were in Porto that we were ready for the game, we wanted the game the next day, because there was something we could’ve done much better there.
‘It’s great to see that reaction, it’s great to see the support from the stadium and we go again.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.