Arsenal vs Newcastle LIVE: Team news as Gunners look to end slide and retake Premier League top spot | OneFootball

Arsenal are charged with arresting their slip and regaining a control in the Premier League title race as they host Newcastle looking to move back to the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta’s side emerged on the losing side of last Sunday’s title six-pointer with Manchester City, allowing them to close what was once a 10-point gap and move to the top of the table this week with their win over Burnley.

The Gunners have now lost four on the bounce in domestic competitions and are at serious risk of their title bid falling apart, if they fail to end their struggles.

They welcome the visit of 14th-placed Newcastle, who are themselves going through quite the rough patch after suffering five straight defeats, with pressure piling on Eddie Howe.

Will Arsenal be looking at goal difference?

“We don't know,” Arteta said on Friday afternoon. “We are just talking about possibilities. The first thing we have to do is earn the right to win the game and then win it, and then, depending on how the situation is, you can think about something else. But the priority is that you have to be better than the opposition, earn the right to win the game and win it. That’s the first thing.”

Alan Smith25 April 2026 16:05

Arteta speaks

The Arsenal manager, during Friday’s pre-match press conference, said he remains full of “belief in our players, in our people and the willingness that we have to achieve what we want” having slipped to the second in the table.

Asked if they have to be perfect between now and the end of the season, he added: “I don't know. It's five games to go, four weeks, two big competitions to play for and everything to play for. If someone had told us that at the beginning of the season, we would have taken it. We are so excited, and tomorrow is game one.”

Mikel Arteta will have Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori back in his squad on Saturday (Getty)

Alan Smith25 April 2026 16:00

How Arsenal’s summer transfer business set up Premier League title race collapse

Arsenal’s lack of firepower is proving decisive in the battle with Man City and their recruitment strategy last year is at least partly to blame, Richard Jolly writes.

Last weekend Declan Rice’s on-pitch message at full time – “it’s not done” – was notable because it amounted to an acceptance some would think it is. April can be the cruellest month for Arteta; last year, points were dropped against Everton, Brentford and Crystal Palace, while 2024 brought a home defeat to Aston Villa, and 2023 saw a four-game winless run.

Whether physically or psychologically, Arsenal can be worn down by this stage of the season.

But how has last summer’s market activity impacted them in 2026?

Richard Jolly25 April 2026 15:50