Newcastle vs Arsenal – Match Preview
It’s been a relatively bleak start for Newcastle this season as they went into the international break lying in 18th place. The Magpies have picked up just a point for their efforts as Rafa Benitez and his players look for their first win of the campaign.
It’s quite apparent that they have lacked firepower this season, an issue that they cannot really fix until January at the earliest when the transfer window re-opens. At the same time though they have had a particularly tough set of fixtures to start this campaign with.
In the first four games of the season, they have played host to Tottenham and Chelsea while also going to the Etihad to face defending Premier League champions Manchester City with each game ending in a 2-1 defeat for the Tyneside outfit.
The only point that they have managed to pick up came courtesy of a goalless draw away at Cardiff in the second weekend of the season, a game that were it not for Kenedy’s missed penalty in injury time they would have earned all three.
And life doesn’t get any easier this weekend as they play host to Arsenal at St James’ Park. A fixture that will present us with the battle of the Spanish managers as Rafa Benitez squares off with compatriot Unai Emery on the touchline.
Arsenal’s season is starting to pick up some momentum now after suffering successive defeats in their opening two league outings. Since losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, the Gunners have managed to get the better of both West Ham and Cardiff.
That pair of fixtures has seen them score no less than six goals, a haul that has certainly given confidence to their attacking unit. One that has now seen Alexander Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang link together with good effect.
At the same time, though they have conceded four goals in their past two outings while they are still looking for their first clean sheet of the season. Throughout their early season offerings their defensive deficiencies have been on display for all to see.
Thankfully they have been dug out of a hole in the wins over West Ham and Cardiff, but that is something that is going to be the case every week. Therefore, manager Emery is going to have to continue to work on solidifying his back four as the season progresses.
One decision he will have to make is whether or not to drop Petr Cech in goal. He has looked shaky in this first month, although that perhaps comes down to the fact that he is being made to play out from the back when he is clearly not that kind of ‘keeper.
If Cech is given the nod once more then he could be in for another long afternoon, at the same time this could be the perfect opportunity in which to give the nod to Summer signing Bernd Leno who joined from Bayer Leverkusen.
Whoever does get given the start in goal, Arsenal should have enough up front to mask any issues at the back especially because Newcastle are relatively toothless in attack. I see this potentially being Newcastle’s fourth 2-1 defeat in five matches.
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