A scrappy game, a sluggish performance, and the most tense 90 minutes of football we could have experienced – well, apart from the final game of last season.
But we can celebrate another St. Totteringham's Day, and Arsenal will go into next season's Champions League (even if it is only the qualifying stages).
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – His recent form has improved since returning to the side, and was secure in goal today. Didn't have a lot to do in terms of saves, but his kicking – normally a weak part of his game – held up well.
Bacary Sagna – 7 – In what may be his last game for the club, this was one of his stronger displays of the season. He won more headers (5) than any other player on the pitch. The physical effort that he put in was evinced by him suffering from cramp in the game's final stages.
Per Mertesacker – 7 – The usually reliable German made a poor start to the game, getting beaten down the right-hand side on a couple of occasions. However, he was much improved in the second-half, and made a crucial block to stop a goal-bound shot from Yoan Gouffran.
Laurent Koscielny – 9 – Absolutely immense. It was as if Koscielny was possessed by the spirit of Tony Adams. He defended stoutly, keeping Papiss Cisse on a short leash, and clearing numerous crosses that came into the box. He rounded off his display with a well-taken winning goal – the second time in as many seasons that the Frenchman has fired Arsenal into the Champions League.
Kieran Gibbs - 7 – A dogged display. Gibbs if often regarded as a better attacking full-back than a defensive one. But he did a decent job at the back, even winning a few headers and - bar one hairy moment – kept the dangerous Hatem Ben Arfa relatively quiet.
Mikel Arteta – n/a – A surprise selection for the starting XI. The fact that Arteta had to depart on the 28th minute with a recurrence of his calf injury showed that he would never had played in normal circumstances. But he deserves credit for trying to pay through the pain in such an important match.
Aaron Ramsey – 7 – The good and bad from Ramsey. His passing was inconsistent, but his energy and determination was admirable. I'm giving him a 7, simply because for most of the match he had to play in Arteta's position, and did well enough, considering what was required from him
Tomas Rosicky - 6 – A vibrant start form the Czech. But he failed to get Arsenal's attacking football functioning. So he was largely reduced to helping close Newcastle's midfield down, rather than hurting them at the other end.
Theo Walcott – 6 – A largely frustrating performance. But even when not at his best, Walcott is adding productivity to his game. It was his free-kick that produced the crucial goal, and he came so close to making the closing minutes more bearable when he hit the post late on.
Lukas Podolski - 6 – Was an anonymous presence in the first-half, and the team needed more from him. In the second, he became increasingly involved. Also deserves credit for winning the header that set-up Koscielny's goal.
Santi Cazorla – 6 - A display full of effort, but short of inspiration from Cazorla. His passing and shooting lacked its usual devil, and he appeared frustrated as a result. While a win would have been easier with an effective Santi, I think he was entitled to have an off-day.
SUBS
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6 – Looked off the pace when coming on for Arteta. But he was better in the second-half. Gave some useful energy going forward, but looked vulnerable defensively.
Olivier Giroud – n/a – He did some good defensive work when coming on.
Jack Wilshere – n/a – Was brought on to wind the clock down.
A day that's bought more relief that joy, but Arsenal deserve a degree of praise for managing to scrape into the top 4 again. However, all this has done has bought Arsene Wenger a little more time to improve the squad. If he doesn't make hay in the summer, you can expect it to be a struggle to make the top 6, let alone the top 4.
Latest:
