The Gunners will no doubt be smarting after watching Manchester City knock them off the top of the Premier League table yesterday and will want the spot they’ve occupied for the bulk of the season back in time for the turn of the year.
On the other hand Newcastle are in good form and have their own agenda to fulfil. A win today against Arsenal could potentially see us occupy a European spot as we head into 2014 so there is a dangling carrot for both sides in this one.
You can catch up with early team news along with a host of stats, facts and a history of the fixture by having a look at the match preview here. Real team news will be added in below as soon as I can get to it.
The game itself is being shown here in the UK on Sky Sports along with a whole host of overseas broadcasts so finding a stream should be straight forward today. However should you find a decent, reliable one then please share it by leaving the link in the ‘comments’ section below.
Which just about wraps this up. Today will be tough, real tough, but I’ll bet Arsenal will be saying much the same thing. Will it be another notable success for our boys today? Or will we be put in our place?
Howay the lads!
Newcastle: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Fabricio Coloccini, Mike Williamson, Davide Santon; Vurnon Anita, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye; Moussa Sissoko, Loic Remy, Yoan Gouffran
Subs: Rob Elliot, Massadio Haidara, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Sammy Ameobi, Hatem Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi, Papiss Cisse
Arsenal: Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs, Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud
Subs: Lukazs Fabianski, Carl Jenkinson, Mikel Arteta, Ryo Miyaichi, Nicklas Bendtner, Serge Gnabry, Lukas Podolski
Tiotes getting pissed off. he’s going to Crunch someone soon.
JJ(Quote)
fuk that was a clear push
Big Dave(Quote)
sloppy stuff
M(Quote)
Diving get, hardly touched him
KIMTOON(Quote)
that was nowt from Tiote compared to some of arses pushing
Big Dave(Quote)
Huge shove an Anita then Tiote gives a little nudge. **** off. **** poor ref.
JJ(Quote)
Cheats do prosper FFS
KIMTOON(Quote)
FFS that was poor
Big Dave(Quote)
been coming, weve been ***** for about 10mins
M(Quote)
**** poor from Krul though.
JJ(Quote)
yeah Colo just watching the ball for the goal
Big Dave(Quote)
Santon must be taking shooting lessons from Tiote.
Still annoyed at that goal. Ref was **** poor should have been pur freekick on Anita. But defending was even worse.
JJ(Quote)
what a f****** surprise
stem(Quote)
falling apart here ,big shame, what’s happened 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
we are getting fuk all today
Big Dave(Quote)
What the **** is the difference between that tackle on Debuchy and the tackle from Tiote. **** ALL. One was outside the box, one was inside.
Refs don’t have any balls.
JJ(Quote)
Guess we going hoof ball now with Shola on. Please let it be one of his rare decent games.
JJ(Quote)
🙄 Strolla
Big Dave(Quote)
Probert ,total ***** today
KIMTOON(Quote)
That was fuking stupid foul on Benny
Big Dave(Quote)
Probert may as well shove an Arsenal shirt on and play. Arsehole.
JJ(Quote)
this is going to boil over
Big Dave(Quote)
Ref has caused this.
This is what happens when you have a **** poor ref that can’t control a game. Players try take the law into their own hands.
JJ(Quote)
Come on Willo put a foot in man!
JJ(Quote)
Arsenal were getting ****** all off us today without the ref’s helping hand, that’s what makes it worse, we have rattled these tossers that’s why they are diving all over the place, Walcott has been a disgrace today imo.
KIMTOON(Quote)
all the calls are going arses way FFS
Big Dave(Quote)
Ball goes out. And AGAIN, Sissoko with a challenge even softer than Flamini’s in the box. Ref gives it. **** poor referee.
JJ(Quote)
Bloody hell, would you bring Haidara into this knowing how often he is on the end of a bad tackle 😯
KIMTOON(Quote)
Fuk that was close
Big Dave(Quote)
You lucky ******* ,that would of gone in had that been our end 👿
KIMTOON(Quote)
shola in his usual form I see 🙄 that was a gift
KIMTOON(Quote)
Well I guess its one of Shola’s normal games. 🙄
JJ(Quote)
FFS Strolla wrap your boot round that
Big Dave(Quote)
Kim, I thought Shola’s bit of defending from Santon’s cross was even better. 😆
JJ(Quote)
Aye, JJ, your not wrong mate.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Ben Arfa just proving what I was saying in the Stoke game too.
FFS, Shola standing watching. That ball was two yards away man! Useless. Put some effort in.
JJ(Quote)
come on lads
Big Dave(Quote)
FFS. Some of the decision making is pathetic.
**** poor Ben Arfa you selfish *****.
JJ(Quote)
ffs benny
KIMTOON(Quote)
I dont see the point in Krul coming up for that
Benny that was ****
Big Dave(Quote)
Greedy Benny
toonsy(Quote)
JJ, pards will rip into him for that.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Hopeless Benny ,why bother.
KIMTOON(Quote)
I think thats it
Big Dave(Quote)
Fucking greedy again Benny you selfish glory hunting ***** :-/
toonsy(Quote)
I do think we deserved something out of the game
Big Dave(Quote)
We start playing when we go a goal behind.
stem(Quote)
Hope everyone understands my view on Ben Arfa now. He couldn’t have put on a better demonstration of what I mean when I say he has no team dynamic.
If Pardew was going to go hoof ball he should have put Cisse on instead of Ben Arfa. Sissoko would have been far more effective on the right with hoof ball too.
JJ(Quote)
Spurs deserved to beat us a few games back but today we deserved to win.
We should have had 3pts not Arsenal. We were the better team. Such a ****, disorganised goal.
We didn’t even deserve a draw. We were good enough for the win.
KK(Quote)
**** **** ****, we noway deserved to lose that, they really had to work for that like. Probert is an incompetent arsehole, he either had a bet on or gets conned easily cause there was some serious playacting going on today.
KIMTOON(Quote)
There were at least three occasions when Ben Arfa tries to beat a man that a simple one two would have had a better result.
His team mates make runs, expect the ball, they are ignored and they end up offsides or running into gaps like lost farts, while Ben Arfa completely ignores them, before he finally gets boxed into a corner by three Arsenal players and only then does he decide to look for a team mate.
When he beats a man, there are a few passes available and he only his glory on his mind.
This is not what makes a classy player. This is what separates classy players from arrogant talented players. Unfortunately that’s all Ben Arfa is.
JJ(Quote)
Frustrating game to lose bit at least it gives people something to moan/shout “I was right” about.
toonsy(Quote)
The first shot from Ben Arfa was a rubbish shot. Some people think he should have passed but there were only 2 of our players in the box whilst Arsenal had almost everyone.
I think he should have taken it more centrally before shooting but there wasn’t a pass in the box that he could make.
KK(Quote)
“We should have had 3pts not Arsenal. We were the better team. Such a ****, disorganised goal.”
Defense is part of the game KK. If we defend THAT badly, then we deserve to lose. Although we should have had a freekick and a penalty IMO, the wheel turns I guess. Stoke game coming back at us.
JJ(Quote)
Toonsy,
I knew I was right against Stoke. Didn’t need to lose to Arsenal to know that. 😉
JJ(Quote)
Man United stay sixth, above Newcastle after those results, and just three points outside the top four. How important is that?
Oh well, the champion are climbing up… 🙄
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
@toonsy
I don’t think there is much we can complain about tbh. We could be picky
1) We were disorganised for the goal & Tim Krul should have done better.
2) Perhaps Ameobi should have started instead of Remy but how do you drop a player that nearly had a hatrick in the last game?
3) We should have rested a few players against Stoke.
KK(Quote)
Stem,
We didn’t start playing when we went a goal behind. We just reverted to long ball and Arsenal reverted to a flat back five with Flamini in front of them to counter it.
They gave us the ball. We should have made more of it. Instead of pumping long balls to Shola that Mertesacker just ate up everytime. We should have gone wide more often and whipped in more crosses.
Should have, could have, would have.
We played well enough. It’s not a tragedy. We narrowly lost to the log leaders. Definitely need another striker and a proper wide man.
JJ(Quote)
Overall, the commitment is there, just gutted the goal conceded is rather an individual mistake….
Oh well, to new year time…
FA CUP.. Better do well. 👿
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
@JJ
‘Defense is part of the game KK. If we defend THAT badly, then we deserve to lose.’
Conceding a silly goal does not mean we deserve to lose. We completely dominated in the last 20 mins & it deserved a goal or 2.
KK(Quote)
KK,
Arsenal scored. Had one cleared off the line and we only managed one decent long range effort from Sissoko and a Debuchy head that was cleared off the line.
I don’t think anyone deserved to lose. I don’t think anyone deserved to win. But we made the decisive error, and at this level between two good sides. That is what decides it.
JJ(Quote)
Its a good lesson for Pardew.
He plays for a draw and we loose the game stupidly against an Arsenal who was so poor.
If you don’t want take risk and plays it’s what happen.
I wanna play for a draw and if things don’t go in my way i put Ameobi and hoof it. All the time we hoof the ball we loose. I hate that really.
@JJ
What have done Sissoko, gouffran, Remy, Ameobi today.
You really prefer what they done in a pitch than Ben Arfa who almost tries to take some risk. I don’t know what kind of football you like but you seem to like boring football. He has missed the shoot but Santon tries 10 long shot per game and never scores. Santon has loosed almost all the ball in the second half. Haidara has bring nothing during the 10 mins he was in the pitch.
Benny when he was able to touch a ball because we only hoof it, he tries something thats normal.
All i can say that in some situation in first half in place of Gouffran or Sissoko he would have been much more effective. These guys don’t know what do with the ball, so they make a pass back, so ok they will never loose a ball like that but never creates something to.
This game was so boring.
HBA39(Quote)
I also don’t know what Krul was thinking going up with 4 minutes of injury time left. Its not worth the risk when he offers nothing really by being in the box.
All it did was give Arsenal a real chance to kill the game off and then kill time when Hadaira had no one to pass back to so he conceded the throw in. Stupid decision making. This is what a captain is for on the pitch. He should have been told to get back.
JJ(Quote)
HBA,
I think with Arsenal having a flat back five, yes I think Sissoko, Gouffran, Remy and Shola would have come more into the game.
Its five players pushing forward instead of one player who ignores everyone who gets into the box anyway.
He only looks impressive because he is so selfish he doesn’t want anyone to have the ball but himself. So he takes pot shots and runs into dead ends. Maybe if we were playing nine men he would have had a bigger influence.
JJ(Quote)
no complaints really.
A decent game with both teams difficult to break down.
We were beaten by potential chmps by one man-marking mixup.
Overall, we didnt deserve to lose.
mark(Quote)
It made no sense having Shola and Ben Arfa on at the same time.
If you want Ben Arfa to create something with his skill then why play hoof ball with Shola up top?
Rather put a poacher on like Cisse who will feed of Ben Arfa’s scraps.
Shola and Ben Arfa is the most non nonsensical combination on Earth!
JJ(Quote)
Well one thing today proves is unless we buy a top class CF then 7th to tenth is where we will finish end of the season . Remy is not a CF he needs time and space so we need to play him wide ,the solution could be to try and get Gomis in or maybe try and bring Demba Ba back into the club . Something has too happen though our Attacking options will not get us top six .
Axel(Quote)
Everyone was salivating of Shola because he had two and a half decent games. But the fact is he’s *****. If Pardew wants to use hoofball as plan B we need a better target man.
JJ(Quote)
One thing Ben Arfa did do today was press and chase which is something everyone should be doing when a goal down with ten minutes to go. Everyone did that except for Shola. He stands on his heels watching the ball that is two yards away. Unless it lands on his head he doesn’t bother. Can’t stand him as a player.
JJ(Quote)
@JJ
It ended Arsenal playing 5132 whilst we were playing 343:
——————————Szczesny——————————
Jenkinson—Sagna—Mertesacker—Koscielny—Flamini
——————————–Arteta———————————
—————–Rosicky—Wilshere—Cazorla——————
——————————Bendtner——————————-
——————Remy——-Ameobi——-Ben Arfa————
Haidara————Tioté————Cabaye———–Santon
—————Coloccini—Williamson—Debuchy————–
———————————-Krul———————————-
KK(Quote)
I think Demba Ba would be fantastic.
Lets hope Chelsea make a big centre forward signing so that they’d be willing for Demba Ba to leave.
KK(Quote)
For 60-70 mins both teams deserved a point. However the last 20 mins we were in complete control. We just couldn’t get the goal.
I don’t know why some people want to put the blame on Ben Arfa or Ameobi. Both of them came on & the game changed in our favour.
I’d say they both played as well as everybody else.
KK(Quote)
JJ-It does make sense, because Shola is actually capable of some interplay, better than Cisse at it for sure.
Anyway not on for long, thought we were pretty poor but should have had a draw at least. Terrible goal to concede and we should have had a penalty-but looks like after last week normal “luck” with officials has resumed.
Newkie(Quote)
JJ
I was playing along but love how you and Troy enjoy it so why not. 🙂
Test = Failed. Arsenal were nothing special today but just showed more intelligence. I fancied us to get something but when there is 3 in the box and Ben Arfa kicks it into the net, or when there is 8 in the box and he kicks it out for a goal kick, we had no chance. The most disappointing thing was their goal from a free kick! Apart from that they were mainly reduced to long shots. On another day I think we would have got a point but the luck from the Stoke game was balanced out here.
DJG(Quote)
KK i think Chelsea will let him leave wether they sign a CF or not ,he is hardly getting any playing time .
Axel(Quote)