Match Preview for Newcastle v Arsenal
Arsenal will hope to put the frustration of their draw with Manchester City behind them when they face Newcastle United in a fixture that has given the Gunners plenty of trouble in recent years.
Mikel Arteta’s men suffered another early setback in the title race as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by City, Arsenal requiring a 93rd-minute equaliser from Gabriel Martinelli to claim a share of the spoils.
Arsenal are already five points behind defending champions Liverpool at the top of the table, and could be eight back by the time they kick off at St James’ Park. Liverpool visit Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Visits to Tyneside have provided little joy of late for Arsenal, who have won just one of their last five away games against Newcastle in all competitions.
Newcastle beat Arsenal three times in all competitions last season, two of those victories coming at St James’ Park as the Magpies defeated the Gunners in the EFL Cup semi-finals en route to winning their first major domestic trophy for 70 years.
The major change from last season is that the man who proved such a thorn in Arsenal’s side in the previous campaign, Alexander Isak, is now a Liverpool player.
While they have been extremely solid at the back, conceding in just one Premier League game this season, Newcastle have struggled for goals following Isak’s departure, scoring only three times in the league so far as they have collected one win and three 0-0 draws from their opening five games.
Arteta, though, doesn’t see the challenge of Newcastle any differently for the absence of Isak, pointing to a first half in their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona in which Newcastle saw several chances to take the lead go begging.
“No, because he wasn’t playing against Barcelona and what could have been in the first 30 or 40 minutes could be very different to the result,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference.
“I always praise the work that Eddie and the coaching staff have done there and the way they have managed to create such an atmosphere, especially at home, and a very clear identity of playing football, they make it really difficult.
“We know the test, we know that we’re going to have to be much more efficient than we’ve been lately when we played up there to win the game, and we’re going to work on that in the next two days.”
Games between Newcastle and Arsenal have been fractious over the past few seasons, and Howe wants his players to continue to embrace the combative nature of the fixture as they seek to kick-start their league season.
“It’s always been competitive against Arsenal in the games that I’ve been here,” Howe said.
“There has been an edge to those games because both teams are desperate to win. We encourage that. The more competitive we are, the better we play – so we need to bring that side of our game.
“We have players that really respond to that type of game.”
Team news for Newcastle v Arsenal
Newcastle remain without striker Yoane Wissa owing to a knee injury he suffered for DR Congo shortly after signing for the Magpies on deadline day. Both he and midfielder Jacob Ramsey (ankle) are expected to return after the October international break.
Anthony Gordon will likely come into the starting XI following the end of his three-game suspension for a red card in the defeat to Liverpool. Gordon impressed in Newcastle’s 4-1 win over Bradford City in the EFL Cup in midweek.
Howe revealed that Newcastle are also managing an Achilles issue for winger Jacob Murphy. Anthony Elanga will likely start on the right if the Magpies decide to keep Murphy on the bench, with club-record signing Nick Woltemade set to lead the line again.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are hopeful midfielder Martin Odegaard will be able to return from a shoulder injury.
“Martin will be training with us the next two days so hopefully he’ll be available for the game,” Arteta said.
But Noni Madueke (knee) and Piero Hincapie (groin) are both out along with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus (both knee).
Bukayo Saka is available to play after coming off after the hour mark of the EFL Cup win over Port Vale, with the England forward’s minutes being managed by Arteta.
Expected line-ups for Newcastle v Arsenal
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Livramento; Guimarães, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon.
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.
How to watch Newcastle v Arsenal: TV channel, online stream
This Premier League clash will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
Fans can also stream the action via the Sky Go app or NOW TV with a subscription. It will kick-off at 4:30pm on Sunday.
