Kicks in the teeth dont come more severe. Few teams will score three times at the Emirates Stadium and still feel the unmerciful sting of defeat. Nor will they peg Arsenal back on three occasions and leave North London with nothing to show for their efforts. Newcastle did, of course. Paul Doyle described it as glorious attacking and goofy defending in his match report for the Guardian and he wasnt far wrong as we contrived to gift the Gunners four goals in a heart sinking 17 minute spell. This is the closest football definition of capital punishment there has ever been. A defensive relapse that bordered on a dereliction of duty by our (supposed) strongest back-four. It was also a poignant occasion as Demba Ba marked his last game in black and white by scoring his final goals for the club, taking his tally to 29 in just 58 games, before moving to Chelsea a week later. Gone to never be replaced.
