Newcastle’s “Emirates EPL curse” is still on! It was November 7, 2010, when Andy Carroll brought the Magpies a 1-0 triumph at Arsenal’s home turf in the Premier League. Today’s clash was the 13th at Emirates since then, and the club from the east of England is still winless!Eddie Howe’s crew could have been at least two goals up in the opening 20 minutes, had it not been for magnificent David Raya, who worked miracles between the posts.As usual, when a team misses a lot, punishment is inevitable. This time, Newcastle’s doom was named Declan Rice, as the Gunners’ midfielder scored a genuine banger in the 55th minute, launching his team to the Champions League!A scramble in Premier League for RodrygoOn the other hand, the Magpies remained tied in the EPL table with Chelsea and Aston Villa, while Man City and Nottingham Forest are one point behind, though the Cityzens have yet to play their clash of the ongoing round against Bournemouth tomorrow.Only three sides out of these five will qualify for the UCL, so the real showdown expects us in seven daysArsenal 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 Newcastle and lock in a second-place finish 🔒🔴 pic.twitter.com/YT0i6MDT6n— 433 (@433) May 18, 2025 Twenty minutes of fireworks and 25 minutes of – nothing. That could be the perfect summary of the first half in which the two keepers played the leading roles. Even though Nick Pope superbly stopped Thomas Partey’s 14th-minute header, David Raya was the key figure during the first 45 minutes.David Raya has been busy in the first half at Emirates Stadium 🥵Thanks to his five saves the scores remain @Arsenal 0-0 @NUFC at half-time…#ARSNEW pic.twitter.com/tzWfyPgkfP— Premier League (@premierleague) May 18, 2025 The Spaniard made five saves in the opening 20 minutes, each better than the previous. Valentino Livramento, Harvey Barnes, Sandro Tonali, Sven Botman, and Dan Burn all attempted to outsmart Arsenal’s custodian, but in vain – Raya’s fortress held out, keeping the rivals level at the break.Vardy throws a party: Double jubilee for Foxes’ legendThe second half started with a shocking information for all the Gunners’ fans, as William Saliba had to be subbed off for an injury and leave his place to Riccardo Calafiori. However, only ten minutes later, their emotions significantly changed.Anthony Gordon lost the ball to Bukayo Saka close to Newcastle’s box, Martin Odegaard continued the attack, and Declan Rice finished it with a banger from outside the box, putting Arsenal in front!Fantastic goal by Declan Rice 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pmJYj9aCco— Vitalia Buterina 🌸🌼🌻 (@Anonypseud) May 18, 2025 This goal gave wings to the home team, which continued occasionally threatening over Saka in the following minutes, while Ben White could have doubled the lead in the 70th minute, but his long-range strike went narrowly wide of Pope’s right post.Realizing that the clock is ticking, the Magpies seriously pressured Arsenal, pursuing the vital leveller, which could be crucial for their UCL ambitions, but they failed to break the Gunners’ sturdy defence. Hence, the final Premier League round and an unprecedented five-team showdown will give us three remaining Champions League participants that will join Liverpool and Arsenal in the elite.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 37Friday Aston Villa – Tottenham 2-0 (0-0)/Konsa 59, Kamara 73/Chelsea – Manchester United 1-0 (0-0)/Cucurella 71/Sunday Everton – Southampton 2-0 (2-0)/Ndiaye 6, 45+2/West Ham – Nottingham Forest 1-2 (0-1)/Bowen 86 – Gibbs-White 11, Milenkovic 61/Brentford – Fulham 2-3 (2-1)/Mbeumo 22, Wissa 43 – Jimenez 16, Cairney 68, Wilson 70/Leicester – Ipswich 2-0 (1-0)/Vardy 28, McAteer 69/Arsenal – Newcastle 1-0 (0-0)/Rice 55/Monday 22.00: (2.75) Brighton (3.50) Liverpool (2.50)Tuesday22.00: (2.30) Crystal Palace (3.35) Wolverhampton (3.15)22.00: (1.55) Man.City (4.20) Bournemouth (5.90)***odds are subject to change***
