A section of Newcastle United fans have taken to Twitter to express their responses to defender Ciaran Clark’s performance against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Gunners subjected United to their fourth defeat of the Premier League season thanks to goals from Xhaka and Mesut Ozil, but they managed to pull one back in stoppage time through defender Ciaran Clark.
Many Magpies’ fans took to Twitter to respond to the ace’s performance with mixed reactions, with some comments including “Ciaran Clark – goal machine” and “we were playing well until Clark came on.”
This is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets below:
I'm not saying it's a coincidence, but Clark was on the pitch for 12mins and we conceded 2 goals.. #NUFC
— Liam Ritchie (@Liam_Ritchie) September 15, 2018
Clark & Fernandez looked more threatening in the final third that Joselu & Perez #nufc worst start in 20 years & I'm back to work tomorrow ????
— Kevin Nichol (@Kevin_Nichol) September 15, 2018
No surprise within three minutes of Clark being on the pitch we go behind #NUFC
— JT (@JordanT513) September 15, 2018
Shows how crucial Lascelles is and although I hate to say it, it also shows how far off the level Clark is #NUFC
— Cory Jay Graham (@Coryjgraham) September 15, 2018
We were playing well until we brought clark on! #nufc
— Jordon (@greggas90) September 15, 2018
How the hell can newcastle justify playing @IsaacHayden65 @JacobMurphy95 and @C___Clark is beyond me, keep playing them we go down simple as that, shocking again today #NUFC
— Dean-Briggs (@deanbriggs1) September 15, 2018
Ciaran Clark – goal machine. #NUFC
— Dilligaf (@The_Scoreboard) September 15, 2018
OPINION
There appears to be a mixed bag of reactions to Clark’s substitute appearance here, and that does not come as a surprise. He may have pulled a goal back for United, but many fans seem to be in agreement that the defence went to pieces as soon as he stepped foot on the pitch. Arsenal were by far the better side, and boss Rafa Benitez will need to go back to the drawing board after this clash. Clark is not Benitez’ first choice for the centre-back position at the moment, so it comes to no surprise that he is not up to scratch at the moment, and why he is so wide of the mark right now. Hopefully Benitez will not have to use him as a substitute many more times, as he does not have a positive impact on Newcastle’s display whatsoever. Fans will undoubtedly have their fingers crossed that Newcastle can bounce back next weekend, and finally get a win under their belts.