OPINION
Newcastle United fell to their fourth defeat of the Premier League season as Arsenal ran out comfortable 2-1 winners at St. James’ Park on Saturday, and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the game.
Granit Xhaka gave the visitors the lead with a sumptuous free-kick before Mesut Ozil doubled their lead and essentially sealed the points before Ciaran Clark’s injury-time consolation.
The defeat leaves the Magpies in the relegation zone with just one point from their first five games, and the club have now endured their worst home start to a Premier League season with three losses at SJP.
This is Futbol have picked out three things we learned about Newcastle in the loss v Arsenal below.
Hayden should never play for the club again
Jonjo Shelvey’s ongoing injury issues saw Isaac Hayden handed a rare start in the centre of midfield. The former Arsenal man showed nothing to suggest that he is good enough for the Premier League, but worst of all he seemed uninterested. Hayden ambled about in the middle of the park for much of the game, and seemed to go missing for long periods. There was a long stretch where the 23-year-old did not touch the ball once, and as a central midfielder that is unforgivable. His fitness was another huge issue, with the useless Hayden failing to keep up with the action towards the end, and as harsh as it sounds, he shouldn’t wear the shirt again. Rafa Benitez is much better off handing a start to youngsters like Sean Longstaff who actually care.
Lascelles injury is hugely worrying
Newcastle have had to play the last few weeks without a key player in Jonjo Shelvey, and now they face the prospect of losing another important figure in Lascelles. The centre-back started the match but was withdrawn for Ciaran Clark at half-time, with Benitez revealing after the game that he had twisted his ankle in the warm up. The Spaniard revealed that the club will test the injury in a couple of days, and there will be a lot of nervous faces at the club when that happens. Losing Lascelles would be a small disaster after the extended absence of Shelvey, and it would be another big blow for the Magpies after such a poor start to the campaign.
Rondon must start every match if fit
Salomon Rondon was left on the bench to start against Arsenal, with Joselu deputising in his place. The reasoning behind such a move was because Rondon had played as recently as Wednesday for Venezuela, and had arrived back to the club late this week. The powerhouse was badly missed up front for the Magpies however, with Joselu once again illustrating his limitations with an anonymous display. The fact is that Rondon must start for Newcastle if he is fit if they want any chance of winning these kind of games. His presence up front is a huge asset, and Benitez must recognise the limitations to Joselu’s game.