Unlike the previous two seasons when Arsenal had a strong start, held the lead for a long time, and then faltered near the end, this time the Gunners have stumbled at the beginning of the Premier League and are already trailing behind the two leading teams, Manchester City and Liverpool, by five and four points, respectively. A loss to Bournemouth and a home draw with the Reds in the last two rounds has sounded the alarm in North London, and Mikel Arteta’s squad isn’t helped by the challenging schedule ahead. Next up is Newcastle. The Gunners were never rivals to the Magpies, on the contrary, it‘s one of the teams which they defeated the most in recent years. But since Eddie Howe came as a manager, he brought with him this fearless attitude and ‘winning at all costs‘ mentality, which is something Arteta has installed in his team too. So, the ‘clashes‘ between these two teams have happened in the last two season.Watching Arsenal is like watching Netflix…Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was furious after last season’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park, sealed by Anthony Gordon’s controversial strike, which survived three separate VAR checks and was later described by the Spaniard as ‘an absolute disgrace’. He was also unhappy after the Magpies held his side to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in January 2023, sparking a debate about the ‘dark arts’ used by Howe’s men. The same prase is now used by other players/managers to explain Arteta and his team‘s performance. So far, the Spaniard tried to keep ti cool and not talk about those accusations, and he also staid away from match officials, and so far didn‘t even get a yellow card.“Hopefully the match officials have adapted and they have understood that emotions are a big part of that. I cannot control myself in the scoreline, and so far it has worked. I don’t want to miss any games, that is for sure. I cannot promise you that if we score a goal I am not going to be jumping up and down the touchline. I cannot guarantee that“ he said.Newcastle eying African ace in JanuaryOn the other side, Newcastle boss thinks that the winning mentality is the reason these things happened and that, as long as everything is within the rules of the game, he will do everything in order to win the game.“I think it is related to winning. When you are winning games, if you are leading games, everything is different compared to when you are chasing games. In part, it was over-hyped and talked about more because we were in that position a lot that season. This season, we have not been in that position as often, so you end up being the reactive team trying to chase the game effectively. We don’t want to be in that position, we want to be the team in control. But certainly, doing whatever it takes to win – as long as it is within the rules – I’m a firm believer in that“ he said. Areta will be relived he will have Saliba back for this game, but Calafriori and Odegaard are still out. As far as other defenders are concerned, Gabriel might even start, while White has a joint issue and is a doubt for this game. ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 10Saturday15.30: (3.90) Newcastle (3.60) Arsenal (2.05)18.00: (5.60) Bournemouth (3.90) Man.City (1.62)18.00: (2.35) Ipswich (3.50) Leicester (3.15)18.00: (1.45) Liverpool (4.50) Brighton (7.00)18.00: (2.20) Nott.Forest (3.50) West Ham (3.45)18.00: (2.60) Southampton (3.35) Everton (2.70)20.30: (2.60) Wolverhampton (3.30) Crystal Palace (2.75)Sunday 17.00: (1.95) Tottenham (3.85) Aston Villa (3.60)19.30: (2.70) Man.Utd. (3.40) Chelsea (2.60)***odds are subject to change***
