Sobering reality when it comes to Arsenal and Newcastle United – Bench power | OneFootball

A lot of debate around Sunday’s match that involved Arsenal and Newcastle United.

The home side picking up all three points thanks to a Declan Rice strike.

Not even needing to dig below the surface though, the fact that David Raya was named man of the match said everything.

Newcastle United having created a lot more and better chances than Arsenal, only for average NUFC finishing and excellent goalkeeping from Raya to give the Gunners the win.

Amongst the comments I have seen and heard regarding Sunday’s match, they have included some pretty bizarre and ridiculous ones. Mainly from outsiders but also some have come from Newcastle United fans as well.

The kind of thing I am talking about, are negative comments about Eddie Howe’s team selection and/or his substitutions (or lack of).

In the real world, these were the two benches in the Arsenal v Newcastle United match, ahead of each player is the highest transfer fee they have attracted in their careers.

Newcastle United subs on Sunday:

£4m Dubravka

£4m Lascelles

£5m Krafth

£10m Osula

£25m Willock

£0 Longstaff

£0 Miley

£0 Neave

£250k Ruddy

A grand total of £48m (and £250k!!!)

Arsenal subs on Sunday

£40m Calafiori

£57m Jorghinho

£70m Havertz

£0 Henry-Francis

£25m Neto

£0 Nwaneri

£50m Sterling

£25m Tierney

£32m Zinchenko

A grand total of £297m

It gets worse though…

The reality was that due to the reality of a very small NUFC squad and even just a relatively small number of players unavailable (Hall, Isak, Joelinton, Targett, Trippier), it led to Eddie Howe having to make some very difficult choices.

Playing Botman when reality he probably wasn’t anything like physically 100%.

Having to play a back five because no available right-back (apart form Tino who had to play on the left as no available left-back/wing-back!), you can’t play Murphy right-back but can get away with him as a wing-back, whilst Krafth is (apologies) a massive drop-off from the likes of Trippier etc as a starter.

Having to play Callum Wilson who had only started one Premier League game the past 12 months and who hadn’t scored a PL goal in over a year.

That of course then leading to a reorganising of roles in the team for others, whereby Barnes unable to play on his favoured left, plus Bruno and Tonali left two against an Arsenal three in the middle of the pitch.

The reality then of the Newcastle bench was two keepers (Ruddy is older than our current club crest!), a 17 year old who has never played a single PL minute (Neave), a central defender who hasn’t played any first team football for over a year (Lascelles), a midfielder who clearly was nowhere near 100% fit but included as nobody else and a desperate measure (Willock), the aforementioned Krafth (a canny tryer but…), a rookie striker with minimal experience and only one career Premier League goal (Osula), a teenager just turned 19 who is still very inexperienced and still learning (Miley), plus Longstaff who has fallen off a cliff for whatever reason in terms of Eddie Howe’s (no) willingness to even bring him off the subs bench, never mind start him.

Yet a fair few people, including some Newcastle United fans, questioning Eddie Howe’s team selection and use of subs!

As for Arsenal…

Even their two young inexperienced players are Nwaneri who could prove a major talent, then Henry-Francis turns 22 in September.

The other seven Arsenal subs though are players whose biggest transfer fees total some £300m and are all internationals – two Italy, one each from Brazil, Scotland, Ukraine, England and Germany.

These Arsenal subs have won league titles, Champions League, played in loads of massive matches for their countries, including finals.

The difference in bench power on Sunday was beyond outrageous.

It is just yet more evidence that Eddie Howe is performing miracles. Even with such an imbalance of resources available to him on Sunday compared to Arsenal’s team and squad, United could and should have won!

Imagine say if Eddie Howe could have…brought on Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh yesterday? Well, in reality Anderson would have definitely started and quite possible Minteh as well, never mind coming off the bench.

I think this is simply a massive reminder of just how short Eddie Howe has been left in terms of options, with PSR the biggest factor by far.

Imagine if last summer Howe/Newcastle United could have kept both Minteh and Anderson, plus bring in say three new first team contenders.

The reality instead has been no new faces as first team contenders at all in these last three windows, whilst at the same time having to lose very promising young first team contenders who had to be sold to rival clubs to balance PSR.

Eddie Howe and his minimal squad just need to get over the Champions League line next Sunday and then the cavalry is coming, having weathered the really serious PSR period, United can now make serious investment this summer in a number of new quality first team contenders.