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Arsenal troll themselves as Fabricio Coloccini own goal saves Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud's blushes after another blank

Walcott and Giroud have just one goal between them this season

Jack de Menezes

Saturday 29 August 2015 15:51 BST

Arsenal's Twitter account joked at Fabricio Coloccini's own goal (Twitter/@Arsenalfc)

Arsenal's top scorer struck again at Newcastle to seal a 1-0 victory at St James' Park and double his tally for the season.

But it wasn’t Theo Walcott or Olivier Giroud, nor Alexis Sanchez or Aaron Ramsey. It was, of course, Own Goal.

Fabricio Coloccini managed to deflect Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s effort into his own net and condemn the Magpies to a narrow defeat despite having 10-men for the entire second half and over half of the first period following Aleksandar Mitrovic’s straight red card.

Newcastle 0 Arsenal 1 player ratings

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Newcastle: Tim Krul - 8

Colossal performance: superb saves to denied Walcott and Sanchez, and he was left helpless by the deflected goal.

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Daryl Janmaat - 7

Was one of Newcastle's few bright sparks in the first half, stifling Sanchez and getting forward well.

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Chancel Mbemba - 7

One of six bookings for the hosts, but made repeated last-ditch blocks and carried the ball forward out of defence well.

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Fabricio Coloccini - 7

Marshalled the brave Newcastle defence well, and was desperately unlucky with the own goal. Unfortunate booking.

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Massadio Haidara - 6

Struggled to cope with Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bellerin early, but recovered as the game went on.

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Vurnon Anita - 5

One of several players to pick up a soft booking and failed to prevent Arsenal winning the midfield battle before being subbed.

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Jack Colback - 6

Typically hardworking, but didn't get as much possession as he would like as Arsenal dominated.

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Moussa Sissoko - 7

Possibly lucky to escape a red card for early tackle on Monreal, but covered ground tirelessly in defence and attack.

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Georginio Wijnaldum - 5

Neat in possession, but didn't make an impact going forward. Another silly booking.

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Florian Thauvin - 6

Some lively moments suggested he could be a decent signing, but he lacked an end product.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic - 3

Stupid, reckless tackle deserved a red card, which effectively ended his side's hopes of victory.

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Arsenal: Petr Cech - 6

Even in Chelsea's heyday, has he ever had to do less in a Premier League game?

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Hector Bellerin - 8

Got forward brilliantly in the first half and was unlucky not to win a penalty. Solid defensively.

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Gabriel Paulista - 7

Little to do, but pulled out a crucial interception from a Thauvin cross and was a threat at set-pieces.

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Laurent Koscielny - 7

What little he had to do he did well, and was a calming influence on his return.

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Nacho Monreal - 7

Typically unruffled defensively, and combines well with Sanchez.

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Francis Coquelin - 6

Arsenal's ascendancy meant he was barely needed in the holding role - drew a series of bizarrely reckless tackles from Newcastle players.

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Santi Cazorla - 7

Passed the ball well from his deep-lying role, and got forward more as the game opened up in the second half.

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Aaron Ramsey - 8

Excelled in a more advanced role, causing Newcastle problems with direct running and forcing a smart save that led to the crucial goal.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 8

Was lively throughout, particularly in the opening stages, and his low drive created the goal.

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Alexis Sanchez - 7

Not as influential as might have been expected in the first half, but came into game more after the break and was only denied a goal by the excellent Krul.

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Theo Walcott - 6

Should have scored with two clear-cut first-half chances, but at least he's getting into good positions. The jury is still out on him as a central striker.

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The goal comes just two weeks after a Damien Delaney own goal helped the Gunners to a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, and with only Olivier Giroud and Oxlade-Chamberlain finding the net so far this season, it’s the own goals column that leads the way for 2015/16 strikes.

Luckily, the Arsenal social media team were well prepared, and even managed to remind their strikers that they need to step up their game sharpish.

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