We aim to stay in the title race by doing what only Liverpool and Manchester City have achieved since Eddie Howe was appointed Newcastle United boss 18 months ago - take three points from a Premier League game at St James’ Park.
We’ve enjoyed a remarkable season on the road this term by winning a league-high 11 times on our travels and scoring 33 goals - more than anyone else - but this is set to be one of the toughest tests we’ve faced with the Magpies having turned their home into a fortress during their recent renaissance.
Enjoying their best season in over a decade, Newcastle are in tremendous form having tasted victory in eight of their last nine games, including each of the last three by an aggregate score of 13-3, as their unexpected pursuit of joining us in the Champions League next term gets closer.
Season of dreams for the Toon
This time last year, no-one could have expected the Magpies to be on the brink of ending a 20-year wait for Champions League football, but that’s what the black and whites are on the brink of after an incredible campaign.
They have tasted defeat just four times in the league, despite a slow start that yielded one win from their opening seven gams. Seven wins from eight saw them go into the World Cup break in third position, however, the tantalising prospect of ending their 44-year wait for a trophy curtailed their league form, and saw them lose 2-0 to Manchester United in the League Cup final.
Many thought that disappointment would see them fall away, but they have emphatically answered those critics by winning eight of their last nine games. Top four rivals Manchester United were beaten 2-0 before thrashing West Ham United 5-1, Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 and Everton 4-1 during a breathtaking April that saw them score 22 times across seven matches.
What the managers say
Arteta: "We will try to play the game that we want, and they will want to play a very different game, that’s for sure. That was the battle when we played them at Emirates Stadium, I think we deserved to win the game.
"There are things that are obviously going to be different from the last game and we’re going to have to be better to earn the right to win it." - read every word of Mikel's pre-match press conference
Howe: "In terms of overall performance, I thought [the reverse fixture] was our best performance to that point. I thought we were really strong in our off-the-ball performance and very good, also, on the ball and we were creative against a very good team.
“Since then, we’ve eclipsed that this season, in terms of how we’ve played in certain games, but probably we're looking at this game knowing we’re going to have to replicate our best performance to win again."
Team news
Gabriel faces a late fitness test after he was forced off in the latter stages of the Chelsea game in midweek with a knock, and Arteta feels he is touch-and-go to play.
William Saliba once again misses out with his back injury, while Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny’s knee problems will see them sidelined until the summer.
Howe will be hoping to call upon the services of Sean Longstaff after a foot injury saw him miss last weekend’s comeback win against Southampton. Allan Saint-Maximin is nearing a return after some hamstring trouble, and has been back in training this week.
Jamaal Lascelles will be out for the rest of the season with a calf strain, while Emil Krafth is a long-term casualty with an ACL injury.
Facts and stats
Newcastle won this fixture last season – not since their first three home Premier League meetings with us between 1993/94 and 1995/96 have they won consecutively at St James' Park against us.
We have failed to score in our last two league games against Newcastle, having scored at least once in each of our previous 18.
The Magpies haven't avoided defeat in both Premier League meetings with us in a season since 2010/11.
We have kept 29 clean sheets against Newcastle in the Premier League – no side has kept more against a specific opponent in the competition's history.
Newcastle are one of three teams we have failed to beat in the league this season. A victory would see us beat as many as 17 different opponents in a single campaign for the first time since 2011/12.
The Toon’s 18 wins overall this season is their most in a single top-flight campaign since 2011/12.
We are winless in our last three league away games, as many times as we’d failed to win in our first 14 on the road this season. We’ve conceded eight goals across those three games, just one fewer than we had in the previous 14.
There have been at least four goals scored in each of our last seven Premier League games; only three teams have had longer such runs in the competition's history – Liverpool (9 in 2021), Manchester City (8 in 2019) and Manchester United (8 in 2000).
Callum Wilson scored eight times in seven appearances in April, including three braces. Overall, his 15 goals this season is the most in a single top-flight campaign for a Newcastle player since Demba Ba's 16 in 2011/12.
Leandro Trossard has assisted five Premier League away goals, more than any of our other players this season, despite not making his first appearance on the road until February. They have come in just 309 minutes, meaning he averages one every 62 minutes.
Match officials
Chris Kavanagh has been handed control of this game, his first Gunners appointment since our epic 3-2 win against Bournemouth in March. He also oversaw our 1-0 victory at Leeds United back in October, and we have won nine and drawn two of the 16 matches he has overseen in our history.
The Magpies have claimed nine wins from the 21 times he has handled them, but just one of those has been this season, which was last month’s 2-1 success at Brentford when he awarded the Bees two penalties and ruled out a Wilson goal after VAR intervened.
- Referee: Chris Kavanagh
- Assistant Referee 1: Richard West
- Assistant Referee 2: Nick Greenhalgh
- Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor
- VAR: Michael Salisbury
- Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger
Recent trips to Tyneside
It was nearly exactly 12 months ago when Newcastle triumphed 2-0 to see our hopes of finishing in the top four slip away, but that was one of just two wins for the hosts in our last 15 meetings at St James’ Park.
The season before saw Elneny score his first Premier League goal during a 2-0 success for us, while the season before kicked off with an opening day win thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the only goal.
There was also a further success in 2017/18 when a Granit Xhaka free-kick plus a Mesut Ozil strike saw us return south with a 2-1 win.
Watch some of our classic wins at St James’ - including Bergkamp’s best goal and a Champions League clincher.
Breakdown Live
Tune into Arsenal.com and the official app from an hour before kick-off when Nick Bright and Adrian Clarke will be live at Emirates Stadium to build up to the big game.
They’ll look back at our victory against Chelsea in midweek, celebrate our newest Premier League Hall of Fame inductees, hear from Mikel Arteta and analyse Newcastle’s impressive Premier League season.
Then from 4.30pm Dan Roebuck and Josh James will be on commentary from St James' Park to talk you through all the on-field action - meaning you won't miss any of the action, wherever you are in the world!
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