Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has praised Kieran Trippier’s creativity and leadership skills after the defender recorded his tenth assist of the season, becoming just the second player in the Premier League to achieve this feat. Trippier, who is in his second full season with the club, faced some difficulties in December last year when he made some costly mistakes in key games against Everton and Chelsea. In January, Bayern Munich expressed interest in signing the 33-year-old, but Newcastle rejected their two offers. However, Trippier has bounced back and is now in top form, having provided three assists in his last four games, which has put him at the top of the assist charts alongside Ollie Watkins.##NAJAVA_MECA_7899457##Howe was full of praise for the full-back’s mentality ahead of the club’s crunch fixture away at Arsenal on Saturday.”It is a brilliant stat for a full-back, he is a guy who will play a lot of creative passes before a goal happens. He has been fundamental to how we work – his leadership skills behind the scenes have been second to none.”Newcastle are likely getting ready for a heated match against the North London club, following their controversial 1-0 win at St James’ Park earlier this season. Arsenal’s impressive run of form came to an end with a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Porto in the Champions League midweek. However, the Gunners have scored 21 goals in their last five Premier League games. This leaves Howe with no illusions about the challenge his side will face at the Emirates.’We will need to replicate close to our best performance to get something from the game. Last season was a battling performance from us at the Emirates. Arsenal this season have been very good in every aspect of the game. It will be a challenge for us.”ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUESaturday18:00: (1.58) Aston Villa (4.10) Nott.Forest (5.70)18:00: (1.57) Man.Utd. (4.10) Fulham (5.80)18:00: (2.05) Crystal Palace (3.50) Burnley (4.00)18:00: (1.85) Brighton (3.60) Everton (4.30)20:30: (8.00) Bournemouth (4.80) Man.City (1.45)23:00: (1.40) Arsenal (5.30) Newcastle (8.00)Sunday16:30: (1.48) Wolverhampton (4.40) Sheffield Utd (6.75)Monday23:00: (2.55) West Ham (3.35) Brentford (2.75)***odds are subject to change***
