Paul Merson believes that Newcastle United vs Arsenal is a ‘must win’ for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta returns to St James’ Park on Saturday, as he revisits the stadium where he slammed the PGMOL last year.
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Newcastle United beat Arsenal 1-0 in this fixture during the 2023/24 campaign, and would love a repeat result. However, both sides will hope for a bit less controversy, as last year’s contest was fairly toxic.
Anthony Gordon’s winning goal rattled Arsenal’s cages, while both sides argued that their opponents should have had a player sent off. Bruno Guimaraes and Kai Havertz were very lucky not to see red.
Arsenal go into this game as Premier League title challengers once again. However, they are currently five points behind leaders Manchester City after failing to win their previous two Premier League games.
As for Newcastle, they are without a league win in five games. Their last Premier League victory was against Wolves, but Eddie Howe’s side will be feeling much more confident after Newcastle beat Chelsea 2-0 in the Carabao Cup.
Arteta has said that Newcastle are a ‘fantastic’ team ahead of the game, even if the Premier League table says otherwise with the Magpies down in 12th.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September…
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Despite that cup win over Chelsea, former Arsenal player Paul Merson does not believe that Newcastle United are capable of beating the Gunners on Saturday.
He has predicted Saturday’s game at St James’ Park for Sportskeeda, and has backed Arsenal to get their own back on Newcastle after what happened last season.
“This is a huge game for Arsenal,” he said.
“It’s one where you look at and think, ‘Arsenal must win this one’. Liverpool face Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend and they already beat them in the Carabao Cup in midweek, so we’re expecting the same result again. You also expect Manchester City to beat Bournemouth so Arsenal cannot afford to slip up.
“Arsenal are sitting back too much in games now. I know they have key players missing out due to injuries, but they should’ve attacked more against Liverpool last weekend. Even if a draw is still a fair result for them, Arsenal weren’t as free-flowing as they were before and that’s a problem. The old Arsenal were entertaining, now they’re just sitting back and counter-attacking. If you do that every week in this league, you will get found out soon.
“I hope this change in strategy is only due to the players they are missing at the moment. After the trip to Newcastle, they face Chelsea away from home. These two games are crucial for the Gunners, they must find a way to win both!
“Newcastle beat Chelsea during the cup game in midweek, but I doubt they can back it up with another win on Saturday. Alexander Isak seems to have returned to form and Anthony Gordon is always a threat with his pace. But I feel they are too open at the back and good teams can always pick them apart. When they have all their players in good form, Newcastle are a proper team but that isn’t the case at the moment. Arsenal win for me in this one!”
Merson’s prediction: Newcastle 1 Arsenal 2
Alexander Isak’s record against Arsenal
While Merson does not think Newcastle are defensively good enough to beat Arsenal, he has identified two players who could hurt the Gunners.
Unsurprisingly, they are Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.
While Isak enraged Eddie Howe during Newcastle’s Premier League defeat to Chelsea, it does look like the 25-year-old is getting back to his best.
He has scored two goals in his last two games, taking his total for the season to three. He will hope to increase that tally on Saturday, but that would mean doing something he has never done in his career.
Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever has never scored against Arsenal. He has played against them twice since joining the Magpies, but is yet to find the net.
Hopefully that changes on Saturday.
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