Arsenal went into St. James’ Park with a major burden on their shoulders. They had looked completely lifeless and unconvincing in every match thus far into the season, aside from some bursts against Crystal Palace, and Newcastle is a team that likes to rough up the opposition a bit.

Well, Arsenal looked lifeless again and got roughed up a bit, as Newcastle notched 6 yellow cards and Aleksandar Mitrovic got him self a red card in the 16th minute.

Looking exuberant against a ten-man Newcastle should not have been too much of a chore, but it was, as Arsenal again relied on a lucky deflection to get them three points.

But seeing as how there has been so much negative reaction already, the negativity will stop there. Arsenal won the match and have literally clawed and scratched their way to sixth in the table, sitting behind an equally stifled Manchester United as well as three upstarts and a domineering Manchester City.

Arsene Wenger has work to do in the finals days before the transfer window closes but even the smallest signing could absolutely kickstart this squad. Plus, international break should give them some time to figure things out and hopefully they will return ready to put down Stoke City.

Anyway, Arsenal did win, and no matter how you win, you get 3 points for it. With that being said, here are 5 positives from a rather lifeless win.