Benitez released the handbrake as Newcastle hosted Arsenal

It is all very well playing a more expansive game, but if that is hindered by narrow-minded thinking in the final third then such attacking intent is perhaps misplaced.

After weeks of criticism over what the pundits perceived to be negative tactics, Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez finally released the handbrake for the visit of Arsenal.

What followed, however, was a bit of a car crash, at least in the second half. For the first 45 minutes the hosts were the better side, edging possession and spending most of the half in Arsenal territory.

But it is no good parking the tanks on the visiting lawn if they are firing blanks, for not once during a period of newfound ambition did they really look like scoring.

There were seven corners and spells of prolonged pressure, but Petr Cech had just one save to make, and that from a Jacob Murphy header which was perhaps travelling wide.

Newcastle did not run out of ideas in the penalty area, they did not have any in the first place.

Yes, the approach play was much improved and the likes of Murphy, Matt Ritchie and Ayoze Perez could not be faulted for effort, but there was no incision or invention.

Lone striker Joselu had plenty of nice touches on halfway but nothing of note any further forward.

Perhaps it was always the case that Benitez was playing to Newcastle's strengths - or rather, being aware of their weaknesses - when he chose to set up with a defensive mindset against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, preferring to remain in the contest and attempt to nick something late on.

By the time they scored here we were already into stoppage-time and the result was all but gone.

Having weathered the pressure until the break - although that was more akin to a light shower than a storm - Arsenal simply blew Newcastle away in the second half courtesy of goals from Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil before the hour.

What to do now? Well, with nothing to defend the expectation was that the hosts would attack. Except, they did not.

They drifted, at least until the final 10 minutes, looking more likely to concede than score. Having had a good go in the first half and seen that avenue bear no fruit, it was almost as if they had lost belief in their ability to break down the opposition.

That is four 2-1 defeats for Newcastle now and, while not embarrassed in any of them against top-six opponents, the concern for Benitez is that his side simply do not have the firepower to make any game-plan pay, be that negative or positive.