Toon Hope For Good Start At Old Trafford!

Sam Allardyce could not have wished for a better start to life as Newcastle manager thanks to two goals from Obafemi Martins.

To win handsomely away from home on the opening day is special enough, achieving it your former club must be especially sweet.

While Allardyce was all smiles - Charles N'Zogbia was also on target - his former assistant Sammy Lee has much work to do.

The new Bolton boss has promised to play a more expansive game than his predecessor but they only started performing in the second half.

By then they were 3-0 down after looking nervous from the off.

Former Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka nearly took advantage of a mix-up after five minutes. He managed to get a shot in only to see it deflected to safety by new boy Gerald Cid.

Newcastle took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal out of nothing. N'Zogbia drove in a free-kick from the right which eluded the Bolton defence and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Lee looked on a disbelief as the ball nestled in the back of the net after his players had switched off.

Bolton looked rattled but Nicolas Anelka found space in the 17th minute, only to send a week header into Stephen Harper's arms.

Newcastle extended their lead in the 21st minute and again Bolton's defending was poor. James Milner was able to weigh up his cross and found Martins at the back post. He beat Jaaskelainen with a superb overhead kick.

Bolton almost pulled a goal back three minutes later but Steven Taylor cleared Gary Speed's effort off the line.

The agony continued for Bolton in the 27th minute when Martins made it 3-0 with his second goal of the game. He had a bit of luck, however, his shot from 20 yards taking a deflection off defender Abdoulaye Faye to leave Jaaskelainen stranded.

Bolton were struggling to find their rhythm while Martins and his Newcastle team-mates were growing in confidence. The Nigerian rattled in a shot from an acute angle after 35 minutes that went narrowly wide of the far post.

Newcastle continued to look dangerous on the break and Martins picked out Milner a minute before half-time. He tried to curl a shot from the left beyond Jaaskelainen but his effort failed to trouble the goalkeeper.

Bolton boss Lee made a change at half-time, bringing on El-Hadji Diouf for Ricardo Vaz Te, who had been ineffective. They immediately looked more of a threat and Newcastle goalkeeper Stephen Harper was tested for the first time in the 47th minute.

He did well to beat away a shot by Gary Speed from the edge of the area after Anelka had laid the ball into his path.

Bolton pulled a goal back in the 50th minute through Anelka after a superb reverse pass from Nolan. There was still work for the Frenchman to do but he gave Harper no chance and found the corner with his effort.

That gave Bolton a fighting chance but they never really troubled Newcastle after that.

Davies then came off in the 59th minute and was replaced by former Fulham striker Heidar Helguson.

Newcastle were finding it hard to raise the tempo although Geremi went close with a free kick from distance in the 61st minute.

Helguson was then given a yellow card by referee Chris Foy six minutes later for leaving Rozehnal on the floor.

Allardyce made a tactical change in the 69th minute, bringing on Nolberto Solano for Martins, and the visitors saw out the match with a degree of comfort.

Shola Ameobi rose to the challenge of replacing Alan Shearer as Newcastle launched the new Barclays Premiership campaign with a hard-fought victory over Wigan.

The 24-year-old fired home the winning goal on 64 minutes to hand Glenn Roeder's men three points just as it looked as though they had surrendered at least two of them.

Skipper Scott Parker had headed the Magpies into a 38th-minute lead, but Newcastle's defensive frailty struck once again 14 minutes after the break as Lee McCulloch levelled.

But with his side struggling, Ameobi converted after Chris Kirkland could only block Charles N'Zogbia's stinging drive to claim victory in front of a crowd of 51,569.

The visitors, who had earlier hit the post through Henri Camara and seen Shay Given keep out a McCulloch header and Nolberto Solano hack an Arjan De Zeeuw effort off the line, will feel they should have left with at least a point.

But Ameobi's intervention justified Roeder's belief in his team with three new signings in the pipeline.

The big talking point on Tyneside all summer has been the task of replacing retired skipper Shearer and the injured Michael Owen, and while Roeder remains optimistic for a successful campaign, there was a sense of trepidation at St James' Park as torrential rain heralded the start of a new era.

But by the time the half-time whistle sounded, some, if not all, of the fans' fears had been quelled.

A half played on a treacherous surface saw Ameobi lead the line well, new signing Damien Duff cause problems and Given once again at his excellent best.

There was also closure for midfielder Nicky Butt, starting his first Barclays Premiership game for the club in 16 months.

The former England international's days at St James' seemed to have drawn to a close when he was sent out on loan to Birmingham after apparently failing to ackowledge supporters at the end of the FA Cup semi-final defeat by former club Manchester United two seasons ago.

However, he was applauded warmly from the pitch when he was forced to make a premature exit after a clash of heads.

But perhaps most significantly, Parker, the man handed the armband in the wake of Shearer's swansong, took over the Geordie legend's mantle in more ways than one.

Not only did he lead by example, but he who made the decisive contribution seven minutes before the break to put his side ahead.

Ameobi did well to control Stephen Carr's long ball on his chest and then twist and turn before delivering an inviting cross from his captain to plant an emphatic header past Kirkland.

The on-loan Liverpool keeper had earlier tipped away a long-range Parker drive and a Nolberto Solano header, but the Magpies did not have it all their own way.

Wigan, with six new arrivals in their starting line-up, held their own for much of the half with record signing Heskey and Camara causing problems.

Camara was unfortunate not to level two minutes before the break when his header came back of the foot of the post, and Given had earlier had to claw away a McCulloch effort.

Newcastle re-emerged determined to kill the game off and they might have done so within two minutes when Solano met Emre's quickly-taken free-kick with a lob which sailed just over Kirkland's crossbar.

But Dutchman Denny Landzaat might have dragged his side back into it on 53 minutes after substitute Steven Taylor fouled Heskey 20 yards out, only to drill his free-kick high over.

Solano had to come to the home side's rescue two minutes later when De Zeeuw climbed high to head a Landzaat corner towards goal and he hacked the ball off his own line.

The reprieve proved to be only temporary and when Carr made a mess of clearing a long ball, Heskey headed down for McCulloch to curl an equaliser through a crowded penalty area and past Given.

But just as Wigan sensed an opportunity with Newcastle in disarray, Ameobi chose his moment to strike.

Substitute Charles N'Zogbia surged forward before unleashing a long-range effort which Kirkland could only parry, and the striker supplied a Shearer-like finish to raise the roof.

However, the game was far from over and Landzaat might have spoiled the party had he kept his shot down from Camara's 80th-minute cross.

The pressure was intense as time ran down and Camara saw an 84th-minute shot deflected just wide and a penalty appeal against Tirus Bramble waved away, but the Magpies managed to hold out to claim the points.

New season, new refereeing controversy.

Jermaine Jenas was already unhappy at life in the north-east but he fared little better in north London as he fell foul of the new refereeing crackdown on dangerous tackles before half-time at Highbury.

Just to make the Newcastle midfielder's frustration even worse, Thierry Henry ensured that Arsenal took full advantage as he converted a late penalty to put the Gunners ahead.

Substitute Robin van Persie then shrugged off his recent investigation on a rape allegation, which he denies, to round off the scoring with three minutes left.

That put a reassuring gloss on the scoreline, although Newcastle, with new signings Scott Parker and Emre excellent in midfield, had battled hard throughout and were left bemoaning Jenas' early dismissal.

The midfielder's future was already shrouded in doubt, having revealed his unease at life in the supposed "goldfish bowl" of the city of Newcastle, sparking interest from Tottenham.

A three-game ban following this dismissal for his two-footed tackle on Gilberto Silva means he will not play for Newcastle at least until the end of the transfer window.

Arsenal's immediate future was also looking uncertain until Freddie Ljungberg was brought down by substitute Charles N'Zogbia with 10 minutes left.

However, Henry stepped up to take one more stride towards the club's goalscoring record by converting the penalty before van Persie rounded off an excellent late move to confirm victory.

Newcastle, whose defeat at Highbury last season coincided with the start of Craig Bellamy's bust-up with Graeme Souness, were therefore left with yet more painful memories from north London.

With his team desperately short of strikers, Souness had fielded a five-man midfield - at least until Jenas' dismissal - and that enabled them to hold their own with Arsenal early on.

Indeed, it was the visitors who created the first clear chance as Jenas' through-ball gave Alan Shearer a sight of goal, only for the centre-forward to fire his shot just wide of the far post.

However, it was not until 13 minutes before half-time that the match burst into life as Jenas brought down Gilberto with a rash two-footed tackle.

He pleaded innocence and several observers thought it deserved only a yellow card, but he was immediately sent off by referee Steve Bennett following instructions to officials to cut out tackles which endanger players' safety.

Newcastle responded with a 'goal' ruled out for offside against Shearer, while Shay Given saved a snap-shot from Kolo Toure and Henry headed just wide.

However, with Newcastle now solely intent upon securing a draw, Arsenal were facing a battle to make the breakthrough in the second half.

Given and Steven Taylor required treatment after a collision as they defended a dangerous free-kick by Bergkamp, with the Newcastle keeper appearing to twist his neck as he landed.

Both players were able to continue but Newcastle remained under pressure as the industrious Parker was required to fling himself into a last-ditch block to deny Ljungberg from close range.

The Swede then escaped a booking despite clipping Emre from behind, while Henry earned a corner even though Given did excellently to deflect the ball behind off the striker as he raced clean through.

The decisions were going for Arsenal, but still they needed to score.

However, Toure's long-range effort was saved, Taylor produced a vital interception and then Given raced out swiftly to save at Ljungberg's feet as he scampered onto Henry's flick.

Arsenal brought on Alexander Hleb and van Persie for Bergkamp and Pires, while Dyer was replaced by N'Zogbia, but it was the removal of Shearer for James Milner that was rather more surprising.

Newcastle's resistance was finally undone with 10 minutes left, when N'Zogbia was adjudged to have caught Ljungberg from behind as he burst into the penalty area.

Referee Bennett pointed immediately to the spot and, although Given dived the right way, Henry's penalty was sweetly struck and sped inside the right-hand upright.

Newcastle pushed forward in search of an equaliser but were caught on the break with three minutes as Arsenal broke at pace for Ljungberg to cross for substitute van Persie to beat Given at the near post.

Arsenal were up and running, but Newcastle's problems continue to mount.