Anthony Elanga scores as valiant Newcastle United defeated 3-2 in pre-season friendly in Singapore by Arsenal
Newcastle United gave a very good account of themselves against the Premier League runners-up out in Singapore.
The majority of fans in the Singapore National Stadium were bedecked in red and white as it almost felt like an Arsenal home game, but the Toon Army still made their presence felt despite being vastly outnumbered.
Anthony Elanga made his first start as a Newcastle man, and it took the Swede just six minutes to make his mark, scuffing home a cross from Sandro Tonali.
Elanga swept the ball goalwards, but it spun up off his own standing foot, catching David Raya off guard and nestling into the net. Unconventional? Sure. But a goal is a goal.
Newcastle played some good football on Sunday afternoon
Despite Arsenal having a few more days to get used to the conditions in Singapore than Newcastle have, the Magpies quite often looked the most lively as they deployed their high press, giving Raya a torrid time.
Unfortunately, on 33 minutes, Newcastle's lead was erased as former Magpie Mikel Merino drove the ball home from outside the area.
Just 90 seconds later, youngster Alex Murphy, deployed at left-back, found himself caught in two minds as a cross flew to Nick Pope's back post. Opting to intercept rather than leave it in the hopes that Bukayo Saka would misjudge the flight of ht ball, Muphy opted to swing a leg to clear the ball, but ended up powering it into his own net. Newcastle went in at the break 2-1 down.
Joelinton is back and making an impact
Eddie Howe once again made nine changes at half time, with Joelinton getting back on the pitch. Jacob Murphy replaced Elanga, and in a case of 'anything you can do I can do better', Murphy had the ball in the net before the hour mark.
With the game heading for a penalty shootout, Joelinton found himself heavily involved, having decided he couldn't be arsed to battle with 15-year-old Arsenal sensation Max Dowman, instead opting to push the pacey midfielder to the ground, conceding a penalty which Martin Odegaard despatched beyond John Ruddy.
It was another pre-season defeat, but it was far from the battering I was braced for, and Newcastle actually played some good football at times. For all the doom and gloom around the club, there were a lot of positives to take from this.
We must say, though, commentators and Arsenal fans need to calm the chuff down about Dowman. Yes, he was impressive today, but it's a pre-season friendly, he's 15 with all the energy in the world coming on against a battered team who were drowning in their own sweat. Let's give the lad a chance before we start putting the weight of the world on his shoulders and expecting him to be England's answer to everything.
