Arsenal Head North to Uncomfortable Newcastle | OneFootball

11:30am ET @ St. James’ Park, Newcastle, England.Broadcast nationally on USA / Streaming on Peacock

If there’s one ground Arsenal could have done without visiting this weekend, it’s St James’ Park. Mikel Arteta’s side head north knowing that anything less than a win, or at the very least avoiding defeat, could stretch Liverpool’s early lead at the top to something close to unmanageable before we’ve even hit October. Five points after five games going into the match might not sound insurmountable, but in a title race with margins this tight, it matters.

On paper, Arsenal arrive in decent nick. Performances have been strong, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba are close to putting pen to paper on new deals, and there’s a growing sense that Arteta might soon let his side and eight summer signings really off the leash. Yet looming over all of this is Newcastle, the fixture that has become a genuine headache for the Gunners.

Rejuvenated Magpies

It’s been almost four years since Eddie Howe took charge of his first Newcastle game, a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal. Only Joelinton, now reinvented as a midfield powerhouse, remains from that side. The change since then has been remarkable, not just in personnel but in mentality. Newcastle used to dread playing Arsenal. Not anymore. Under Howe, they’ve won five of the last nine meetings and consistently find ways to frustrate Arteta.

As Howe himself put it this week: “It’s always been competitive against Arsenal in the games that I’ve been here. There’s been an edge to those games because both teams are desperate to win. We encourage that. The more competitive we are, the better we play, so we need to bring that side of our game.”

Translation: expect Newcastle to get in Arsenal’s faces. Scrappers Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn, rested in midweek, should return to stiffen up the back line, while Jacob Murphy is pushing to feature despite his Achilles issue.

Arsenal: How Bold Can You Go?

Arsenal, meanwhile, must decide how bold they want to be. Arteta’s caution in the biggest games has been heavily debated over the past month. Against Liverpool at Anfield and Manchester City at the Emirates, he went with the more pragmatic midfield trio of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi, leaving out a pure creator from the start. The result? Arsenal looked sturdy but uninspired and only turned the City game around once Eberechi Eze entered at half-time to tee up Gabriel Martinelli’s equaliser.

Arteta has defended his decisions. “Could he [Eze] have played 90 minutes against City? That’s a question I put to myself because none of you know the load that he can do,” he explained, pointing to the difficulty of bedding in his summer signing in different roles. Still, the clamour for Eze and Martin Odegaard, himself a fitness doubt,  to start together is growing louder, and St James’ Park might be the moment for Arteta to throw caution aside.

One Tough Venue

History suggests he may need to. Since Arsenal’s gritty 2-0 win there in May 2023, they’ve failed to score in three consecutive visits in all competitions. Newcastle’s crowd create an atmosphere that is, in Arteta’s own words, “incredibly beautiful… one of the best in this country. It’s electric. It’s one team in one city.” But it’s not just the noise that causes problems as Newcastle’s disciplined mid-block has repeatedly suffocated Arsenal’s attempts to play through the lines.

That 2023-24 meeting was particularly chastening, as Newcastle became the first of five sides to prevent Arsenal from registering a single shot on target. You can bet Howe will look to repeat that trick.

So the question is: does Arteta double down on pragmatism and trust his side’s control, or does he finally unleash all of his attacking talent at once? With Liverpool setting a furious pace at the top, the temptation must be there to go for the jugular. Arsenal are playing well enough, and with the pressure ramping up on Arteta, maybe this is the moment.

Either way, don’t expect it to be pretty. St James’ Park has turned into one of Arsenal’s trickiest away days, and Sunday promises another test of nerve, patience and whether Arteta is ready to gamble big.