AFTER two back-to-back losses against the top two teams of the league, Newcastle United will be out to stop the rot and avoid a third straight defeat.
Hosting Arsenal at St James’ Park on Monday, the Magpies will be keen on a good result and end the season with a top-10 finish.
Prior to the two defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool, Newcastle won four in a row against Wolves, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Norwich.
Since his appointment last November, Eddie Howe has done wonderfully well in hauling the Magpies to safety, having been one of the relegation battlers early in the season.
Some shrewd business in the January transfer window and the tactical acumen of Howe have turned Newcastle’s season around.
The club record signing of Bruno Guimarães in January has been a good addition to the team, providing stability in the middle of the park. The Brazilian is solid in tackling and can also dribble as well as make important passes. He has four goals and an assist to his name in 15 appearances.
Howe has also improved the game of Joelinton by switching the attacker into a central midfield role to partner Guimarães.
The Brazilians are expected to start in midfield alongside Sean Longstaff, after having lost Jonjo Shelvey, Ryan Adams and Joseph Willock to injury.
Another new signing, Chris Wood, just like when he was with Burnley, has also been a thorn in the side of many a defender with his size and strength.
The New Zealander should start up front again, alongside the tricky Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron.In defence, Fabian Schär is expected to be recalled, after being rested in the 5-0 mauling by Man City, to partner with Dan Burn.
Even though they were run into the ground by City last week, Newcastle should be able to put up more of a fight against Arsenal.
Arsenal’s leaky defence will be a concern for Mikel Arteta, having not kept a clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Aston Villa last month.
The 3-0 loss to Tottenham on Thursday has further loosened Arsenal’s grip on fourth place and they could even be overhauled by their city rivals, whom they lead by just one point.
Arsenal are in real trouble as they lack options in the centre of defence, after Gabriel Magalhães came off in the North London derby with an injury.
Rob Holding will also miss out on the trip to St James’ Park after being sent off in the first-half, leaving only Benjamin White, who is still not fully fit, to start alongside Takehiro Tomiyasu.
With Thomas Partey out injured, Arteta will count on the experience of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in midfield.
Edward Nketiah, Arsenal’s new-found star forward, will be leading the line while being backed by Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
The speed and guile of Arsenal’s young attackers could still prove too much for Newcastle, but it might all come down to the Gunners’ own defence.
