Fan View: Spirited Arsenal relishing fight to finish

After crashing out of the Champions League semi-final to Paris Saint-Germain, there were question marks over how the Gunners would respond to end the season and whether they had the spirit and the legs to see out the final games strong.

The legs weren’t quite there, and haven’t been for some time in the league, but Mikel Arteta's men showed they are still determined to end the campaign on a positive note.

With Declan Rice out due to injury, Leandro Trossard led the line and created Arsenal’s first goal, drifting out to the left wing and swapping with Gabriel Martinelli who headed home.

Martinelli occupying central areas has been far less frequent over the past two years and his output and confidence have suffered as a result. But in moments like that, he showed that it can still be a valuable weapon for Arsenal and one that Arteta should look to create more often.

Mikel Merino grabbed the equaliser, following in after a Martin Odegaard long shot and heading in the rebound. The Spaniard has had an unexpected first season for Arsenal, from a delayed start due to injury to filling in up top for the second half of the campaign, but his goals have been a welcome bright spark.

However, the season of red cards continued as Merino was sent off for a second bookable offence with 10 minutes to play. Regardless of how deserving the red cards have been this season, having players sent off so frequently cannot happen next year if Arsenal want to challenge for trophies.

Next Sunday, the Gunners welcome third-placed Newcastle to the Emirates in a crunch game to retain league positions and secure Champions League football.

The Magpies have won all three previous meetings between the sides this season, including the two EFL Cup semi-finals that sent Arsenal out of the competition.

It’s a side that have caused the Gunners a lot of trouble over recent seasons, but now would be a great time to break the duck.