Newcastle United 0-1 Arsenal

By Timothy Abraham BBC Sport

An own goal from defender Fabricio Coloccini gave Arsenal an unconvincing victory over 10-man Newcastle.

Arsenal scored early in the second half when winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's angled shot on the rebound clipped Coloccini's heel and went into the net.

The hosts had earlier seen striker Aleksandar Mitrovic sent off in the 16th minute for a rash challenge on Gunners midfielder Francis Coquelin.

Newcastle failed to register a single shot on target in the entire contest.

Arsenal have not lost at St James' Park in the league since December 2005 and have won their last eight games against Newcastle, scoring 21 goals and conceding just six.

Newcastle boss Steve McClaren has still to to taste victory in the Premier League after four matches at his new club.

Relive Arsenal's 1-0 win over Newcastle

Reaction to this match and the rest of Saturday's action

BBC Match Of The Day pundit Alan Shearer praised former club Newcastle's efforts against Arsenal

Arsenal's lack of goals still a concern

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger described his side's start to the season as "very average" before this game and although the Gunners secured three points at St James' Park their strikers continue to misfire.

After Mitrovic's 16th-minute dismissal, Arsenal dominated possession in the final third of the pitch but were unable to turn that superiority into goals.

Theo Walcott's best effort was to lift a chance he should have scored over the crossbar while substitute Olivier Giroud made little impact when he came on.

With the transfer window set to close on Tuesday, Arsenal's supporters will be hoping Wenger has a goalscorer lined up from somewhere.

Arsenal's failure to convert their dominance into goals is shown by their heat map, right, compared to Newcastle's on the left

McClaren must control Mitrovic

Aleksandar Mitrovic sees red in Newcastle's Premier League defeat to Arsenal

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Red card very harsh - McClaren

Newcastle signed Mitrovic from Anderlecht for £13m in the summer and the Serbia international arrived with a reputation as a volatile player.

McClaren had already said that the 20-year-old must show more "emotional control" after yellow cards in his first two Premier League games.

After Mitrovic's senseless high tackle on Coquelin, the former England manager's words will need to be much tougher than that.

McClaren felt the sending off was "harsh" and "clumsy" but he cannot afford to be playing matches with 10 men and at the moment Mitrovic looks like a red card waiting to happen.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has been shown two yellow cards and a red in his first three league matches

Are the Gunners title challengers?

This is supposed to be the season that Arsenal graduate from top-four regulars to title contenders.

At the moment it's hard to build a compelling case that they will rival teams like Manchester City, although it is still very early days.

Wenger was pleased with the way in which his side "kept our nerve" and described their display as "mature and intelligent".

It's an old cliche that champions have to win ugly but if Arsenal have serious ambitions on the top prize they should be breezing past a 10-man Newcastle side.

Man of the match - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The winner went down as an own goal but Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (left) still provided the majority of threat posed by the visiting side at St James' Park

Managers' reaction

Newcastle boss Steve McClaren told BT Sport: "All we could do is show spirit and fight and they were magnificent. What a crowd as well. It was a harsh red card. It was more clumsy and he stood on his foot. I just felt early on there were too many yellows and it was a rod for the referee's back."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told BT Sport: "We were always on top. We were mature and intelligent and the win was important so maybe we were a bit cautious. They toughened the game up, they decided from the start to make it very physical but we kept our nerve."

Arsene Wenger during his post match press conference

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It looked a red card to me - Wenger

The stats you need to know

Arsene Wenger has won 10 out of his 11 matches against Steve McClaren
Newcastle have been shown nine red cards since the start of last season, more than any other Premier League side
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League matches against Newcastle
Newcastle have not had a shot on target since the first half of their match against Swansea on 15 August

'Arsenal are going to struggle this season'

BBC Radio 5 live's Danny Mills: "On the balance of play, Arsenal have probably deserved to win. It's three points, and the style of this performance will be forgotten about if Arsenal continue to improve. But do they have the out-and-out cutting edge to challenge for the title? I think Arsenal are going to struggle this season."

Lineup, Bookings (8) & Substitutions (5)

Newcastle United

01 Krul
22 Janmaat
18 Mbemba Booked
02 Coloccini Booked
19 Haidara
08 Anita Booked (Pérez - 72' )
04 Colback
07 Sissoko Booked (Cissé - 78' )
05 Wijnaldum Booked
20 Thauvin Booked (de Jong - 87' )
45 Mitrovic Dismissed

Substitutes

09 Cissé
10 de Jong
14 Obertan
17 Pérez
24 Tioté
26 Darlow
27 Taylor

Arsenal

33 Cech
24 Bellerín
05 Gabriel
06 Koscielny
18 Monreal
34 Coquelin
19 Cazorla Booked
15 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arteta - 81' )
16 Ramsey
17 Sánchez
14 Walcott (Giroud - 70' )

Substitutes

02 Debuchy
03 Gibbs
08 Arteta
12 Giroud
13 Ospina
21 Chambers
28 Campbell

Ref: Andre Marriner

Att: 50,388

Match Stats

Possession26 74

Shots

1 22

On target

0 9

Corners

0 9

Fouls

15 8

Live Text Commentary

Full time

Full Time Match ends, Newcastle United 0, Arsenal 1.

90:00 +3:12 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Newcastle United 0, Arsenal 1.

90:00 +2:59

Attempt saved. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey with a through ball.

90:00 +1:42

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Massadio Haidara.

90:00 +1:01 Booking

Booking Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United) is shown the yellow card.