Our number 8 doing what our old number 8 used to do.

Come on Dani...........

Now let's see if the defense can hold a lead.

Certainly was. A real stand out moment.

3 points. Clean sheet. Away win.

That’ll do nicely.

Well, that's a game that won't live long in the memory.

Still 3 points away from home is not to be sniffed at.

The sooner we can get the newbies into the side the better because we need an uplift in quality.

Great result.

The opening game is always tough and in those conditions with a depleted first 11 a win is a great result. Honourable mention for chambers who I thought did ok.

Well done boys

Three points and a clean sheet. AMN, Willock and Aubameyang the standout performers for me. Substitutions were odd. Willock was playing well and Ceballos really struggled. Giving a Brazilian teenager his debut in the rain at Newcastle??? Pépé did ok with one superb feint and turn.

Yeah seemed more like a "get em on the pitch" than anything tactical or useful. Thankfully Newcastle didn't seem too interested. Ref was as always shite. A blatant shirt tug in the first half, as professional a foul as you could see didn't even get a yellow while Arsenal were pinged for the most minor of infractions. Special mention to Mikhitaryan who I though was utter garbage but strangely think he'll get better after a couple of matches. Lazy b****** though.

Heh. Mkhitaryan is a weird player. I said it to my son during the game. He has very good technique and is capable of excellence and utter shite within 30 seconds. Lovely run through the middle with a brilliant change of direction followed up with an apalling pass.

Just saw a stat saying he lost the ball 15 times in the first half. He’s infuriating, he seems to have some decent aspects of technique but has little composure and doesn’t drive forward anywhere near enough. Like you say he’s weird, there’s a decent player in there somewhere but he just gets it all wrong and is in danger of reaching Mustafi levels of frustration

Have to look back and apologise to Emery his decision was perfect and brilliantly made for the good of the team.

Perfect start and had the newbies made an impact wuld have been super perfect. Trust in the youth till they settle will be my pov in future.

I never really saw him at Dortmund, and we tried to sign him off the back of that form, but I suspect we’re seeing this later, older version of him where maybe he’s lost a little bit of what made him the player he was.

3 points, clean sheet, young Gunners did well especially Willock, new signings had a run-out, and Aubameyang gets a goal!

Positive start to the season. Forget the negatives for now, enjoy the victory!

Mkhitaryan was very poor in the first half but much better in the second. Didn’t think Nelson and Willock did as well as some of you. I thought Xhaka was quite good but for me our best player was Guendouzi. Plays with such intelligence, picking the right pass so often.

Chelsea could struggle this year.

Haven’t replaced Hazard and look weak at the back.

I thought Willock, Chambers and Maitland niles all played well but thought Nelson was poor actually. He didn’t take on his full back and didn’t really distribute it well.

I didn’t really think much of Xhaka or Guendozis performances to be honest. Their passing was largely sideways with little through balls so Aubameyang got little service at all. I don’t think they are a good pair in the middle of the park as they don’t drive forward anywhere near enough

I agree. I’ll be surprised if the top four aren’t, in whatever order: City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. I see Chelsea and Manchester United as the next two after that, again in whatever order.

3 points are 3 points, anyway we can get it.

I thought Xhaka was typical Xhaka, complete with dopey booking. For me Guendouzi was only ok. He can be quite lazy at tracking back which you would hope he will grow out of.

I’m surprised you only think Guendouzi was ok. For me he was much better.

Chelsea falling apart. Central defence rubbish. Which is kind of ironic really.

I can't wait till we have less use for Xhaka. I'm also sure Emery can't wait to sell Mkhitaryan. It's painfully obvious why he never settled in at Man Utd. I'm encouraged my Willock and AMN. I think with minutes on the pitch, they will improve considerably.

When everyone is healthy, we will be a decent side. Good enough to nick a top 4 if we stay healthy and Emery does his part with tactics...and if one of the rivals for top 4 have a bad season.

Lumpard having a tough first match. Great pass from Pogba for Man Utd's 3rd goal.

Whilst they are thrashing chelsea I don’t think united look up to much either.

Neither team seems to have a dynamic attack. I wouldn’t be intimidated by playing either of those 2.

It was a hard game to assess how a lot of players did I thought. I was most disappointed with Ceballos really but then away to Newcastle in the rain on a slippery pitch where the home team are closing down hard perhaps makes for a scrappy game.

I was most pleased that we saw it out comfortably without any of those brain farts that have littered our performances for absolutely ages.

Just seen Utd's 4th. You sure about that...

Yeah that was something new and different for us!

Yes 100%, I don’t think they look very impressive at all. They are less worse than Chelsea simply. This is not the united of old.

Chelsea look like us in the first two fixtures last season. Hard to say how decent Utd’s performance is but I’d put it between promising and good. I don’t think they need to be the Utd of old to challenge for top 4 which is what will affect us. I hope you’re right.

Chelsea in the bottom 3

Maybe Chelsea were missing their defensive leader

Happy with any away win, however they come. Prem away wins really will be gold dust in the chase for the top 4. We won’t make any headlines for that but that is fine.
Also we could probably put out an 11 of injured and benched players that is possibly stronger than the starting 11. Potentially our entire first choice back 4 didn’t play
Martinez
Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Tierney
Torreira, cellabos
Pépé, Özil, Kolasinac
Lacazette

I agree about Ceballos. I thought he was really sloppy in possession. But the possible reasons you give are believable so I won’t write him off as another Suarez yet.

Thanks for that ..... may already mentioned it ..... son and I were returning from a job ; late one night from way out in the Wop Wops of Oz .... bloody kangaroos were leaping across the road every few minutes ,

we stopped and waited for a B train to come through then got right up his backside and let him bounce the f*&***%^$ away .

Never saw the match got a bit lubed last night ...good result .

Been doing a bit of artwork myself of late ; illustrating a kid's book I'm doing for a son .

What are you doing watercolours or oils ?

Yeah my heart bleeds for them. Lampard out.

Good win given the circumstances last night.

Oils by preference as you can make a mistake and fix it later - sometimes months later. A couple from the recent Lord Howe trip.

Another which I like better than the first

I could only listen in the radio but the comma kept describing Cellabos as ‘near and tidy’