DECLAN RICE was rewarded for his brutal shift as Arsenal battled back to beat Newcastle.
However, Cristhian Mosquera failed to make the most of his chance after he was thrust into the starting XI alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.
Arsenal were stunned in the first half after falling behind after a Nick Woltemade header in the 34th minute.
Mikel Arteta’s side had dominated much of the first half and were denied a penalty by a VAR decision.
The visitors avoided defeat as Mikel Merino was the hero, nodding in an equaliser in the 84th minute.
The turnaround was complete as Gabriel scored in the winner in the dying seconds of the match.
Scroll down to see how SunSport’s Gary Stonehouse rated the Arsenal players’ performances…
DAVID RAYA – 6
Had very little to do and was let down by Gabriel for the goal.
Swept up well when needed.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 8
Strong performance from the Dutchman up against Anthony Gordon and he wasn’t found wanting once the game turned into a physical battle.
Should have done better with a header when presented with a great chance to equalise but a strong performance from the full-back.
CRISTHIAN MOSQUERA – 4
His mis-kick gifted Newcastle the corner that led to their opener and he didn’t recover.
Struggled once the game turned into a scrap and by half-time his manager had seen enough as he was replaced by William Saliba.
GABRIEL – 6
Looked rattled up against Woltemade and his weak attempt to buy a foul allowed the German to nod home.
His head had gone after that and he was fortunate when no VAR check caught his swing at Woltemade before the break.
Looked a lot more confident and composed once Saliba joined him in the backline and he put a difficult afternoon behind him by holding off Dan Burn to head home the winner at the death.
RICCARDO CALAFIORI – 6
Marshalled Jacob Murphy well in the first half but offered little going up the other way.
Was fuming when the referee put a stop to him using a towel for a long throw.
Got hooked midway through the second half as the Gunners had to go for it, but not before going into the book for a daft foul.
EBERECHI EZE – 6
Forced Pope into an early save and unleashed another great strike before the break.
Was a constant threat throughout but he was bought to get goals in these big games and he failed to do that.
MARTIN ZUBIMENDI – 6
Struggled with the pace of the game at times and also failed to provide enough protection defensively, fortunately, he had Rice alongside him to help.
He did produce a fantastic outside of the boot pass to put it on a plate for Timber but that was the highlight of his afternoon.
DECLAN RICE – 8
Tried his best to make things happen and did brilliantly to track Jacob Murphy and deny him a second.
Covered a lot of ground and got his reward when Merino capitalised on his brilliant cross.
BUKAYO SAKA – 6
Enjoyed a good battle against Dan Burn but the Toon defender just about edged it.
Helped out full-back Timber really well but just wasn’t his day up the other end.
LEANDRO TROSSARD – 6
Another who tried his best to make something happen but he just couldn’t make it click.
Replaced late on without really causing too much of a threat.
VICTOR GYOKERES – 6
Headed straight at Nick Pope early on and then became the pantomime villain after being denied the penalty.
Rarely had a sniff after that as he struggled against the imposing Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman.
SUBS
WILLIAM SALIBA (for Mosquera, 46) – 7
Helped manage the physicality of Woltemade a lot better than the man he replaced.
The Gunners looked a lot more composed defensively while he was on the pitch.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI (for Saka, 70) – 6
Struggled to really get involved upon his arrival. Had one long-ranger late on but that was about it.
MIKEL MERINO (for Calafiori, 70) – 7
Injected fresh life into the middle to keep Arsenal’s hopes of a comeback going and produced a great header to equalise.
MARTIN ODEGAARD (for Zubimendi, 82) – 6
Could see Arsenal’s confidence grow as soon as he got on and he provided the magic for a winner. His brilliant corner was placed perfectly for Gabriel to head home.
MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY (for Trossard, 88) – 5
His pace was a threat during the closing stages but failed to carve open a clear-cut opportunity.
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