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Arsenal secured their second Premier League win under Mikel Arteta on Sunday as four second-half goals condemned Newcastle to defeat at the Emirates.
Arsenal held the majority of possession and created more chances than their visitors in the first half but failed to break down the Newcastle defence.
It was not long after half-time that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang broke the deadlock, however, heading in from a precise Nicolas Pepe cross.
Pepe added his name to the scoresheet just three minutes later, finishing after some impressive footwork from 18-year-old teammate Bukayo Saka on the left wing.
Allan Saint-Maximin came closest for Newcastle, hitting the post on 75 minutes.
Mesut Ozil completed a fine Arsenal move in the 90th minute, marking his first goal in the Premier League since last April, before Alexandre Lacazette hammered home the fourth in added time.
“We wanted to put draws into wins and the home form is going to be vital. It was a little bit slow and you can get frustrated but we started to manage the game better after 25 minutes, had a talk at halftime and improved in the second half,” said Arteta.
“In the final third we were poor in the first 25 minutes. The most important thing is the reaction of all the players and staff towards him (Alexandre Lacazette), the players, everybody really like him, he works so hard for the team,” he added.
Lacazette broke his own goalless run with the late finish, his first since Dec. 5 against Brighton.
The match also marked the first time Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe all scored in the same game.
Arsenal’s only other league win under former Gunner Arteta was the 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Jan. 1, with the north London side drawing all four of their Premier League games between then and Sunday’s hosting of Newcastle.
The result saw Arsenal move up to 10th in the table, one point behind Manchester United, who play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
The defeat ended an eight-game unbeaten run for Newcastle and left manager Steve Bruce surprised with their defending.
“I didn’t see that coming in the second half. We gave bad goals away which isn’t like us. We usually don’t give much away. When that fourth goal happens you think it wasn’t our day,” Bruce said.