Resurgent Arsenal beat Newcastle
March 13th, 2012 - 5:23 pm ICT by IANS
London, March 13 (IANS) Arsenal carried on their good form as they came back from a goal down to beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the English Premier League.
Arsenal are now just one point behind Tottenham Hotspurs, who have lost three consecutive league matches, in third place.
The North Londoners went down to a Hatem Ben Arfa goal in the 14th minute, but hit back almost immediately courtesy Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, who scored his 25th goal of the season.
The game then went into stalemate as both teams failed to score. Arsenal were clearly the dominant side with 61 percent possession and 28 shots on goal, out of which only eight were on target.
Van Persie, Tomas Rosicky and Gervinho were all guilty of wasting good chances in the second half and the game looked beyond Arsenal.
Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen struck in the fifth minute of extra-time to snatch all three points for the Gunners.
The win, Arsenal’s fifth on the bounce, means the 10-point gap that once separated them from Spurs has now been reduced to one.
The Gunners all of a sudden are pushing their North London neighbours for the third place, which will mean automatic qualification for the Champions League.
- Arsenal thrash Spurs to reclaim EPL fourth spot - Feb 26, 2012
- Fighting Arsenal bow out of Champions League - Mar 07, 2012
- Van Persie's wonder goal takes Asrenal to top 4 - Dec 11, 2011
- Van Persie likely to miss friendly match - Feb 29, 2012
- Swansea outplay Arsenal to record memorable win - Jan 16, 2012
- Spurs' Bale likely to be out for three weeks - Mar 02, 2012
- Blackburn beat Arsenal 4-3 in EPL - Sep 17, 2011
- Arsenal's Wenger says UK Premier League title race not over - Apr 11, 2011
- Van Der Vaart eyeing top-four Premier League finish for Tottenham - Apr 20, 2011
- Van Persie to make United debut Monday: Ferguson - Aug 16, 2012
- Manchester City wins league title in thrilling fashion - May 14, 2012
- Dutch have no worries upfront, but defence vulnerable - Jun 02, 2012
- Leverkusen shock Chelsea; Arsenal, Valencia win (Roundup) - Nov 24, 2011
- Boerrigter new face in Dutch squad, Babel makes comeback - Nov 04, 2011
- Chelsea and City maintain flying starts - Sep 13, 2009
Tags: automatic qualification, consecutive league, dominant side, english premier league, extra time, gervinho, gunners, hatem ben arfa, london march, londoners, newcastle united, north london, point gap, robin van persie, shots on goal, stalemate, striker, target, tomas rosicky, tottenham hotspurs