Newcastle v Arsenal – Premier League match preview

Magpies v Gunners
Magpies v Gunners
Newcastle take on Arsenal tomorrow lunchtime looking to put their top of the table credentials to the test.

In many ways this is a test for us. Arsenal are the current league leaders but a win for United would leave us only three points away from the Gunners.

We’ve been pretty woeful against Arsenal in recent years despite the odd positive results like the 4-4 draw at St James’ Park and 1-0 at the Emirates a couple of seasons ago. However we do always tend to turn it on against the big hitters and even if we do end up taking nothing from the game we often cause problems so it will be interesting to see how things pan out.

Newcastle:

Cheik Tiote is available once more after missing out the Boxing Day win over Stoke through suspension. However Jonas Gutierrez is still missing as he continues to recover from a calf injury. Ryan Taylor remains sidelined and will be for some time.

Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey will miss the game after picking up a thigh injury in the Boxing Day win over West Ham. Jack Wilshere is available again after suspension while Thomas Rosicky could be recalled after missing out against the Hammers.

Previously…

Precisely one year ago we played Arsenal and lost 7-3 at the Emirates which was followed up by a 1-0 defeat on Tyneside ensuring Arsene Wenger’s men achieved the double over us last season.

In fact in 19 Premier League games contested between the two sides, United have won only five of them although we have drawn eight of them meaning that Arsenal only one win better off than we are.

Historically we have been the better side at St James’ Park. Of 81 games played on Tyneside in all competitions, United have won 40 compared to 21 for Arsenal with 20 draws making up the numbers.

However home and away, in all competitions, the head-to-head record between the two sides is remarkably similar. There have been 165 games played between the two sides with United winning 62 times which is just shy of Arsenal’s 66 victories. The numbers are made up with 37 draws between the clubs.

Match stats and facts…

Papiss Cisse became only the second non-French player to score for us this season when he scored his penalty on Boxing Day ending a 1,209 minute goal drought in the process.

Yoan Gouffran has scored in five consecutive Premier League home games for Newcastle United. The last player to manage that was Alan Shearer in 1997.

Arsenal have picked up 79 points in 2013 – more than any other side. Newcastle have picked up 54 points in the same period.

Arsenal (along with Tottenham) have picked up the most points on the road this season with 19. Newcastle have picked up 15 points away from home this season.

Final thought…

It’s hard not to say this is some form of test for us but the reality is that we’ve got this far just by taking things a game at a time so why not carry on doing just that?

Arsenal are one of those funny sides. They can blow you away but they can also be got at and we need to make sure we get at them from the word go. Get them rattled, get the crowd fired up and see what happens. We can beat them but it won’t be easy, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Howay the lads!

Date: Sunday, 29th December, 2013

Time: 12:30pm

Venue: St James’ Park

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

81 thoughts on “Newcastle v Arsenal – Premier League match preview

  1. Thanks Toonsy,hope you had a good xmas with your lad 😀 .
    My head says a defeat but if the lads concentrate for the 90+ mins and Pards sets us up right we may snatch a point or 3 if we’re lucky. Arsenal look a good team this season and my pick for the title.

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  2. IMO the key against Arsenal is going to be not allowing them to have the type of possession they had against West Ham.
    We need to try and keep the ball from them and try and play at our tempo – similar to how we played against Chelsea.
    Midfield is going to be a battle so I would go:

    —————— Krul —————-
    Debuchy – Colo – Willo – Santon
    —- Cabaye — Tiote — Anita —-
    —– Gouffran ——- Remy ——
    —————– Shola ————–

    I think we need runners and grafters against Arsenal, those 3 in midfield with Goof and Remy ahead of them would graft their bollocks off with Shola being a target man to hold the ball and battle with the big German.

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  3. That Anelka looked good for the Baggies. Is he new on the scene?

    He only looks like a youngun. We should put a daft bid in for him in January!

    No doubt Fat Mikey will know better than me!!! 😈

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  4. Well I think it will be a real big test for us, as for me they are the best footballing side in the prem . So I will be well pleased with a point but I wouldnt be surprised to be over the moon with 3 as we seem to up our game for the big boys.

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  5. @sharpy

    That’s an interesting lineup. I’m a little suprised you left out sissoko.

    I’ve been saying for a while that anita should be in the team ahead of players like sissoko but sissoko is one oc pardews favourite.

    I know remy is our top scorer but i don’t really think he works hard enough. He’s effective but i don’t really expect he will track back enough or defend well.

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  6. Cardiff look ****, I reckon the mackems could climb off the bottom today. Manure are starting to put the one goal wins together like they always do, hopefully we can snatch 6th back off them tomorrow. Like others have said, it will be difficult but with Cabaye and Tiote in the middle and willing runners on the flanks I think we will always have a chance.

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  7. Arsenal can be very very good & can give teams like Bayern Munich a tough game.

    However i do think we have an advantage over them.

    They played a very tough game against chelsea on monday. Then they had 2 days rest.

    They had to put in another performance on thursday for 80 mins. They’ll have another 2 days rest before travelling away to us.

    We played hard on saturday & got a good win. We had 4 days rest before spending 45mins at home vs 9 men. The second half was almost like a training session.

    We have another 2 days rest before playing at home with a full strength squad to pick from.

    I expect a minimum of 1pt.

    A win against arsenal, at home, in their 7th game in 25 days, without an injured ramsay playing & the pressure on arsenal to stay top – a win is dar from being impossible.

    I certainly do not think we should be losing this game that’s for sure.

    On paper, a full strength & fully prepared arsenal will beat us everytime.

    On paper, an under strength & under prepared arsenal is very beatable.

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  8. I’d like to see a return to Sissoko on the right wing. To attack the space left by the LB if he leaves his position. I can now understand why Pardew prefered him out wide, he is just an instinctive runner but he doesn’t have the decision making through the centre. Anita, Tiote and Cabaye in the engine room, Gouff on the left and Remy up front. Try and cut them out and control the midfield. The midfield 3 is one of the best in the league of Cabaye, Mr T and Mini Vurn.

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  9. Second guessing pardew, i imagine there are 2 places up for grabs.

    So which 2 out of Remy, Cisse, Gouffran, Ameobi & Ben Arfa?

    My guess:

    ———————-Krul——————-
    Debuchy— Wiliamson—Coloccini—Santon
    Sissoko—Anita—Cabaye—Tiote—Gouffran
    ———————Remy——————

    Ben Arfa will come of for Gouffran when he tires.
    The other change might be Anita for Ameobi unless Cabaye is too tired (or reckless!).

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  10. @DJG

    Perhaps Wenger has already guessed Pardews team selection too! Maybe Pardew will suprise us (Ben Arfa anyone?).

    Ben Arfa can be a better team player than Cabaye in the final third. He already has the technique & vision. He showed us in the last game that he can be a very good team player.

    I think the problem is everyone (fans, coaches, manager etc) expect & to an extent want Ben Arfa to take 10 players on before scoring. We all encourage him to do it.

    It’s up to Pardew & the coaches to encourage him to play a certain style of football. From the last game, it looks like someone has told Ben Arfa to change what he does as he was probably our best performer & one of the hardest triers

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  11. How about Goof upfront and Remy out wide ? Remy looked lost in the first 35 minutes against Stoke leading the line . The lad seems much more comfortable coming from wide , i dont think he likes the rough stuff thats dished out by premier league CD’s when he leads the line , playing wide he looks much more dangerous because he has more time and space .Lets face it the Goof is on fire at the moment

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  12. ha ha frazier Campbell scores against his old club
    predictable ❓
    love it :mrgreen:
    Cardiff 2-0

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  13. Axel@25, totally agree about Remy, hasn’t he always played out wide too, this is a Pards special putting him central . I do think putting Sissoko wide is right though.

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  14. Kim, I think what’s happened is Sissoko used to play through the middle in France so people think he is a CM. But he doesn’t get that sort of time and space in this league to just gallop forward. I agree with Pardew that he should be played wide for now. Although he did it through the middle in his first couple of games when he was on fire.

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  15. Fletcher seems a good player for Scum. Never rated him at Man U. He seems way more attacking. What is it with Scum and their Man U cast offs?

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  16. DJG

    Hopefully their players have the same attitude

    …Highly unlikely though. I think we will score a couple, but concede more tomorrow. Santon against a fresh AND an in-form Walcott does NOT fill me with confidence.

    Reckon we’ll lose 3 or 4-2

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  17. Dunno who I prefer out of Santon or Hiadara to be honest, I think it is getting close. More important is going to be how high the line is. I don’t want Collo playing a high line against Arsenal, it’s asking for trouble. What will decide the game will be who controls the midfield and this is where I think we might stun Arsenal, especially with no Ramsey (although they still have good players)

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  18. The fella raves on about Podolski (ipod) then doesn’t even put him in his team.
    He’s right tho that Walcott is our biggest problem.
    But in order to stifle him we must take care not to neglect cazorla, oh and Giroud and wilshere dammit.
    Heart says we have a chance if they aren’t flying at 100%, but head says we could get battered again.
    tbh tho this match isn’t really one of our important ones is it ?
    far more important to beat west brom, west ham, Norwich and the mackems. These are the real matches that matter to us, if we have any desire to be ‘best of the rest’ because lets face it and be honest here, we are NOT top 4 contenders in any stretch of the imagination.
    I just hope we make it dammed hard for them to get a win, and not roll over timidly like we did against the mancs, and the mackems.
    Really make the feckers earn any points they get.
    HOWAY THE LADS

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  19. DJG

    I’m actually disappointed Ramsey isn’t playing. He’s been superb this season, but a bit of a liability in their last few games. Arsenal looked considerably better once he went off v West Ham. I also hope Koscielny doesn’t make it back in time as their defence is probably the best in the league when he’s paired with Mertesacker.

    Anyway, going back to your midfield point. I too agree we could stun them in central midfield. Especially with a fresh Tiote alongside a confident Anita.

    I read on one of the earlier threads (or maybe it was on Twitter) that Ameobi should start as Arsenal struggle to deal with him. I think that is the exact opposite of what we should do. Playing Ameobi v Mertesacker would be us effectively playing to the big German’s strengths. No, instead Remy is the perfect choice as he plays on the shoulder and would exploit Arsenal’s high line if given the opportunity/service.

    Ameobi and Ben Arfa to come on later in the game once the sides begin to tire.

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  20. Oh and that nutsacker chap will probably destroy our defence at set pieces too.
    Our defending of free kicks and corners into our box is horrendous and there has been little to no improvement here for 2-3 seasons.
    Tim Krul is due another top performance tho isn’t he 😆

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  21. DJG – agree we shouldn’t be playing a high defensive line in this one.
    Can’t rely on the linesmen to get offside decisions right.
    A controlled back 4 is essential and will frustrate the **** out of them.
    I would snap your hand off for a 0-0 😯

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  22. It’s a shame that Podolski is back because Giroud has been pretty average. Just our luck. That could swing it in their favour IMO.

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  23. I think Nutsacker is a bit of a donkey to be honest. I wonder if his stats are better than Williamson this season, I doubt it. Definitely target him with Gouff and Remy. 😮

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  24. Who says arsenal will not get two red cards? 😳 :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

    Anything is possible in football. 😉

    This game the pressure is on Arsenal to win.

    The fact that even we do lose, we drop 1 position down, we win, we will just get back to 6th or 5th if everton loses their match.

    Just hope to see the same commitment against spurs, man utd.

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  25. Talking about willo scoring,
    He is the only nufc player from the time in championship divison to promotion not to score yet. 😯

    Oh and…

    Toonsy posted this on twitter…

    NUFCblog.co.uk ‏@NUFCblogcouk 26 Dec

    If Williamson scores today I’ll staple my bollocks to the Tyne Bridge and use them as a bungee rope. Get him out tge shop window, our secret

    Hope it is still valid for this match. 😆 😆

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  26. Gonna be a tough game today, not sure how I feel about this one… will take a draw and a point… 😉 would love a win tho :mrgreen:
    It will be great to get a win on new years eve and finish the year on a high!

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  27. Troy,
    See how its done. Still don’t get how it gives you so muh pleasure pretending to be an idiot 😛
    Must be a British humour thing.

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  28. Wilshire is pretty average now days.

    Arsenal is going to be tough. They definitely have one of the top three teams this season.

    We have beaten Chelsea, Spuds and Man U buy all three of those teams have been below par this season.

    If we beat Arsenal, we are going to to need some luck and they are going to have to have an off day. Would be very happy with a battling draw.

    Frustration might be the key here. But is our defense good enough for that?

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  29. Grandma Baba Vanga has just tipped me off with a done deal.

    Nigel De Jong has signed to the end of the season on loan.

    You heard it here first from Baba’s grandson. 😉

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  30. Grandma Baba’s crystal ball steamed up slightly there. She had an image of Nigel but then a clearer vision of Luuk de Jong appeared. It’s defo him and it’s a done deal.

    He’s at Brussia Munchen at the mo, trying on his new toon turp. 😉

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  31. Well you’ve got Luuk til the end of the season.

    I don’t know where you’re from. Gateshead?

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  32. I am so pissed off! All the makings of a classic game and my wife is dragging us on a 3-hr round trip just to have lunch with some friends of hers.

    Tempted to just throw one and boycott. Who was it said “Tis easier to sell forgiveness than permission”?

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  33. Whumpie,
    I know how you feel mate. I wanted to play golf on Monday, but my las has decided its her birthday so I must spend it with her.

    Inconsiderite b@#&. 😉

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  34. Wish I could get down the pub to watch it. but maybe stream it.

    Confident surprisingly yes.

    Don’t expect anything any points will be another bonus. However, we are on a decent run, They have shown frailties. Could be good.

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  35. I have decided that I like sex more than football. Therefore I shall miss the game.
    Look on the bright side – same happened for the games against Spuds and Chelski – and look what happened there 🙂

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