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| David Luiz of Arsenal celebrates his side's third goal scored by Alexandre Lacazette and team mates Arsenal continued to show improvement under Mikel Arteta as a second-half blitzing of Newcastle gave them a 4-0 win at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners overcame a lifeless first half to turn it into a rout as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette all found the net, ending the Gunners' run of four successive Premier League draws. It was their second win of 2020 and Arteta will be confident his side are now on an upward trend as he tries and implements his ideas. It turned into an almost perfect afternoon for Pepe, who bagged two assists, produced the sort of contribution that justifies his £72million price tag in the summer, while Ozil scored his first goal since last April and Lacazette ended a nine-game drought. Newcastle, who set up with five at the back, probably needed to score first, but they had chances to get back into the game, notably through Allan Saint-Maximin's shot which hit a post. Having deemed their winter-break trip to Dubai a success, Arteta was hoping the work done will have transferred on to the pitch, but it was Newcastle who enjoyed the early opportunities. They were nearly the beneficiaries of an own goal when Dani Ceballos diverted Sean Longstaff's shot, but Bernd Leno was on hand to make a smart save. Then Joelinton was presented with a golden chance in the 15th minute as Valentino Lazaro's cross found him in space at the near post, but the Brazilian produced the finish of a man who had not scored in the league since August as he scooped wide when trying an audacious flick. |