Arsenal visit St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle on the back of a very terrible performance in midweek against West Ham. Both sides go into the game with a laundry list of injury absentees, with Arsenal still without Jurrien Timber (knee) and Thomas Partey (muscle) who have been joined by Gabriel Jesus (hamstring) and Emile Smith Rowe (knee). Martin Odegaard (hip) is another player that has been struggling with fitness and form lately, but Arteta has offered some good news regarding his fitness,
“We have tried to offload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was grumbling with. He felt much better in the last few days. We gave him a few minutes against West Ham, which was good to see, and his contribution was really good. He will train today and if he’s fine, he will be ready.”
Newcastle has a very exhaustive list of injuries – in defense, Fabian Schar has a knock, Sven Botman has suffered a setback on his knee injury, Matt Targett suffered a hamstring injury, Javier Manquillo has a groin injury while Alex Murphy has a knock. In their midfield, Jacob Murphy suffered a nasty dislocated shoulder, Elliot Anderson has a back problem, Harvey Barnes is out for the long term with a toe injury, Lewis Miley is ill and Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months after his role in a betting scandal. They are also short of a key man in attack, with Alexander Isak suffering a groin strain.
This game is going to be very physical and I will expect Arsenal to do their bit to match the physicality posed by Newcastle. Due to the injuries to the squad, I will expect a Declan Rice and Jorginho double pivot combination in central midfield, and we will need Jorginho to repeat the amazing performance he put up at St. James Park last season. One change I will like to see will be Takehiro Tomiyasu on the left for Oleksandr Zinchenko, as the Ukrainian has been exposed in recent weeks.
The atmosphere will be tense but I believe Arsenal has what it takes to get a favorable result at Tyneside.
Newcastle and Arsenal Predicted Lineups
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Burn; Guimaraes, Joelinton, Longstaff; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Rice, Odegaard, Jorginho; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli.
Injury / Suspension Updates
Newcastle: Fabian Schar (knock), Sven Botman (knee), Matt Targett (hamstring), Javier Manquillo (groin), Alex Murphy (knock), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Elliot Anderson (back), Harvey Barnes (toe), Lewis Miley (illness), Sandro Tonali (suspension), Alexander Isak (groin).
Arsenal: Jurrien Timber (knee), Thomas Partey (muscle), Gabriel Jesus (hamstring), Emile Smith Rowe (knee)
Form Guide
Newcastle
- Last Five Games: D W L D W
- Last Result: Manchester United 0-3 Newcastle (Almiron 28′, Hall 36′, Willock 60′)
- Leading Goalscorer: Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak (7)
Arsenal Form
- Last Five Games: W D W W L
- Last Result: West Ham 3-1 Arsenal (White OG 16?, Kudus 50′, Bowen 60′ | Odegaard 96?)
- Leading Goalscorer: Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Martin Odegaard (5)
Gooner Daily predicts a 2 – 1 win.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
