Mikel Arteta insisted he was not here to ‘evaluate’ Alexander Isak – but the Arsenal boss admitted Newcastle United were one of his side’s ‘toughest opponents’.
After scoring in the first-leg in the Emirates, Isak continued to terrorise Arsenal in the return fixture at St James’ Park as Newcastle booked their place in the Carabao Cup final following a 4-0 aggregate win. Isak may have had an early goal disallowed by VAR, following a tight offside goal, but it did not take the Sweden star long to break through once again.
There were just 19 minutes on the clock when Anthony Gordon’s ball forward sent Isak racing past William Saliba. Although Isak’s powerful effort cannoned back off the post, Jacob Murphy was there to tuck home the rebound and put Newcastle in front on the night.
Gary Neville, who was on co-commentary duty, said Isak ‘messed the centre-backs about’ and had Gabriel and Saliba ‘on toast’ while pundit Jamie Redknapp could not think of another time Arsenal’s defenders were ‘so uncomfortable’. Arteta, however, did not need reminding of that post-match.
“I’m not here to evaluate an opposition player,” the Arsenal boss told reporters. “But it’s clear that he had two actions to finish and you know what happened.”
Newcastle and Isak have certainly proved a thorn in Arteta’s side of late – winning three of the last four meetings – and the Magpies have lost just two of their last eight games against the Gunners. When asked if Newcastle were now one of Arsenal’s toughest opponents in English football, Arteta succinctly replied: “Yes. It’s a tough opponent.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/arsenals-spiky-alexander-isak-response-30947237
