Arsenal vs Newcastle: Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey shine in unison - five Premier League talking points

A dominant Arsenal side sealed a 10th consecutive home victory with a 2-0 win against Newcastle to leapfrog north London rivals Tottenham and rise to third in the Premier League table.

Rarely without possession, after Aaron Ramsey had an early goal chalked off by the assistant, it was the Welshman who demonstrated his creativity with a blind flick off the outside of his boot and then compounded it with a fine finish against the inside of the post to put Arsenal in the ascendancy on the half-hour mark.

Substitute Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang came close as Arsenal chased a cushion with the game becoming tenser in the second-half, forcing Martin Dubravka to parry his drive at the near post, while Mesut Ozil – enjoying another starting appearance – continued to forge openings.

Eventually, though, just as the angst began to creep in, it was Alexandre Lacazette who found the decisive blow. His deft lob over Dubravka rendering any nerves obsolete to see Arsenal seize control in the race for the Champions League places.

Here are five things we learned from the game...

You would be a fool to guess. We’re 32 games into this first season and Unai Emery’s neurotic tinkering persists. If you had dared to pre-empt the slippery-haired Spaniard’s starting line up tonight you’d likely have been proven wrong once again.

This time it was five-at-the-back, Shkodran Mustafi, the loose cog, sandwiched between the ever-improving Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sokratis. But, most importantly – and conclusive – was the delight of a Dubai-bronzed Mesut Ozil sauntering in his favoured No 10 role while Aaron Ramsey, tucked in behind, imposed a mature presence alongside the still naive Matteo Guendouzi. A rare united display of Arsenal’s two most influential creators.

And for that, they prospered. Ozil dinked into space that might on another occasion have been occupied by Aubameyang, jigged in the final third with that wilting yet elusive linger for an opportunity. Ramsey displayed a lesser-seen sense of industry, scything at Mo Diame to prevent the prospect of a counter-attack and recycling possession in a decidedly less glamorous fashion than has come to suit the Welsh captain.

In the opening half-an-hour, Ramsey displaced just three of his pitch-leading 33 passes and, with Guendouzi sitting deep, unpicked Newcastle’s defence with the most blase of flicks to Lacazette. The Frenchman’s touch ricocheted off the Magpies’ centre-backs before returning to the feet of Ramsey, whose half-volley dipped in off the inside of the post.

During that move, it was Ozil who played passenger, drifting on the periphery, distracting defenders and making way for the type of seamless transition between defence and attack that could once have been a point of criticism for Emery’s ever-changing system. One which can always foster attacks, but occasionally seems disjointed – or even exposed.

And then, in the second half, it was Ozil who came to the fore, weaving openings, proving impossible to disentangle. Time after time, he created opportunities for the latterly introduced Aubameyang to run off the last defender. It was an aggressive approach from Emery in a game that required Arsenal to evidence the mettle and gusto they need to pinch a once unlikeliest of Champions League places. They commanded the game from the opposition half; an offensive risk that brought a greater balance.

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It was in the dying seconds before the referee blew his whistle at the end of the first half that Alex Iwobi drew in his marker and hacked a flamboyant backheel towards Ozil. The German’s cut-back fell just behind Lacazette as the striker’s momentum took him forwards, but Arsenal’s No 9 found a way to touch and swivel in one smooth pirouette, before fizzing a shot just a fraction over.

It’s hard to place a limit upon Lacazette’s promise in this system, adept at dropping deep to act playmaker in Newcastle’s central defence, allowing Alex Iwobi and – when willing – Ozil to run beyond and pull apart gaps that the Magpies couldn’t meld.

Aubameyang offers Arsenal a raw and direct attacking presence, a rare burst of pace that can paralyse the opponent’s defence. But when those passages are cordoned, Arsenal’s record signing can be rendered redundant for large portions of play. With his back to goal, Lacazette offers a robust sliver of something more. The possibility to create as well as inflict, the potential of interplay rather than only one-way.

Such was Unai Emery’s formation that Arsenal’s five-at-the-back quickly negated into three lone pillars, so high up the field were Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac. For the heavyset Bosnian, this role is nature itself, a t swansong of bludgeoning steps that has seen him established as one of Arsenal’s most incisive attacking presences this season.

But it was Maitland-Niles, 21 years old, the academy starlet craving a role on the right-wing rather than being suppressed in defence, who basked in the freedom of a forward-hurtling role. Recently, he has had the opportunities to justify his credibility in Hector Bellerin's absence. Maitland-Niles's identity at Arsenal of a spring chicken will soon be cast to shadow, with the expectation and duty to perform being the simple dumbed-down reality.

And in continued glimpses, the Ilford-local is evidencing his promise. A badgering presence on the outskirts of Jamaal Lascelles’ vision, dragging Paul Dummett out of position. The glory wasn’t to be his, but the evidence of improvement was there. He tucked inside to create the overlap when the ball was on the opposite flank as easily as slinking to the touchline in an inconspicuous fashion. Still raw, but a clear ability that’s being well nurtured – and favoured – under Emery.

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A buoyant Rafael Benitez side, spurred by three wins in the last four games, have bygone their rudderless identity and proved themselves as something worthy of a threat – as best evidenced by a rare victory over Manchester City at the end of January. And, even in defeat, Newcastle occasionally appeared dangerous on the counter-attack on a rare foray forwards, abetted by a dareless attacking formation with January signing Miguel Almiron linking well with Salomon Rondon up front.

Within minutes of conceding the opener, Rondon latched onto the ball, toppled Sokratis with a burly shoulder and thrashed a left-footed shot just shy of the near post with Bernd Leno scrambling. The pair’s presence always enough to provide a subconscious sense of caution to Arsenal’s agitated defence.

On this occasion, they came up blunt. Against lesser opposition, as already proven in recent weeks, they have the nous to cut an edge above their relegation rivals, despite the incessant off-pitch saga.

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Even in the days of dizzy euphoria as Arsenal sauntered to a 22-game unbeaten streak, there was always the sense that something was impending, the unerring prick of doubt that things could undo themselves at any moment.

Yet now, having capitalised on Tottenham’s inconsistency and Chelsea’s magnetism to disarray, there is a genuine sense of positivity that uplifted the Emirates throughout this match, even as the doubts began to creep in at 1-0. There’s a belief that despite his constant shuffling, Emery has finally imprinted his character onto the team and, in turn, a wholesale belief that they are behind him. At times, when the crowd might have once panicked and pestered, they sang. When withdrawn, Ozil even smiled and laughed from the bench. At last, there is an air of untinged optimism - and dare say it, happiness - at Arsenal.