We had to be patient but it was worth it

Well, that was fun and scary but mostly fun for the most part. I've been watching Arsenal long enough to not let these lot get to me emotionally but do I ever learn? Nope, I think it is my curse. I was a nervous wreck for a healthy chunk of this match because it had "Arsenal heartbreak" script written all over it.

Lucky for us, things didn't go the way I feared and we grabbed two late goals after playing for over 100 minutes. The first half was quite boring but to be fair to the players, you'd play shit football too if you had Willian as your number 10 and Reis Nelson playing headless chicken football on the flank.

We tarried for the most part and controlled the game without creating anything. We produced a few good moments but nothing too substantial in the first half. In the second half, we really should have been 2-goals down but thanks to Andy Carrol's profligacy and Leno's superb reaction save, we stayed in contention. After those changes, the game went back to the status quo.

Replacing Willian, Willock and Nelson were just what the doctor ordered, as we tried to break down the opposition. Saka, Smithe Rowe and Xhaka brought life into our previously flat midfield and their incisive passes and movements caused problems for the opponent.

FOr what it's worth, we had some good attacking moves and Nicholas Pepe also seemed bright. He was taking on and beating defenders regularly and would have put us ahead of his shot wasn't blocked. Granit also had a shock deflected over the post by Dubravka in the later stages of the second half.

Extra Time

The game went into extra time and there were tired legs all over the pitch. Neither side actually looked like scoring for the most part and the possibility of a penalty was looming.

At the first break of extra time, Pepe was replaced by Alex Lacazette and the sub's industry and doggedness in the frontline created the opportunity for Smith Rowe.

After we scored the first goal, Newcastle came out a bit more and tried to get back into the game. Alas, it wasn't their day and we suckered punched them with a quick counter that was easily tucked in by Auba.

It felt good

On the face of it, that was pretty straight forward but I would have preferred if it happened in normal time. In this period where games will be coming thick and fast, I don't think we should be participating in these kinds of protracted affairs.

Anyway, the sad news came from Martinelli's warm-up injury that made us start Reis Nelson. Hopefully, it's not serious and he'll be back on the pitch again. Other than that, we also had Cedric walked off the pitch after a defensive action in the latter stages of the match.

Poetic Justice

In games like these, small or decisions make the difference. I imagine that things would have turned out differently if the red card awarded to Smithe Row, the eventual breaker of deadlock in the match. Thanks to the much-maligned VAR, we got our boy back and he proved to be decisive.

It was also a joy to watch Kierran Tierney handle the left flank in beast mode throughout the game. The Scottish left back has been in fine form and his forward drive earned him an assist as he provided the second goal of the match for Auba.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that we won and we've progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Now we turn our attention to the premier league on Tuesday, and hopefully, we'll deliver another good performance. Until we meet again, up the Arsenal.