This weeks View From the Enemy comes direct from the Official Newcastle United website and has lots of interesting notes and stats… Enjoy!
Premier League: Arsenal (h)
The Magpies return to action on Saturday when Unai Emery brings his Gunners side to Tyneside for a non-televised, old-fashioned 3pm kick-off.
The Magpie Group intend to stage a protest across the road from the Sports Direct branch at SJP aka the NUFC club shop at 2.15pm details here
This game is one of several in the Premier League on Saturday chosen for VAR coverage – but none of the decisions made remotely will be communicated to the match referee.
As part of their ongoing trials, the Professional Game Match Officials organisation intend to simultaneously operate VAR at all five 3pm Premier League games that day, to see if their system is fit for purpose.
However there will be no communication to match officials regarding any incidents and no notifications within the stadium to spectators.
The Magpies are rated 14/5 to repeat last season’s victory and another 2-1 home success is 11/1.
A 2-1 success at Gallowgate last April was our first home victory over Arsenal in ten PL games and one has to go back to 1994/95 (1-0) and 1995/96 (2-0) to find consecutive wins over them for NUFC at SJP.
Those successive victories came before the arrival of Arsene Wenger in September 1996, Stewart Houston in charge of the first and Bruce Rioch the second.
Emery has occupied the visiting dugout at SJP previously, seeing his Valencia side beaten 1-2 on Tyneside in a friendly match back in August 2008.
TEAM NEWS
NUFC: Isaac Hayden is available after completing his three match suspension and there’s optimism that Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey could both return.
Long-term absentee Florian Lejeune remains out and given their long-distance return from international duty, Salomon Rondon and DeAndre Yedlin are not certain to feature in the starting lineup.
AFC: Laurent Koscielny, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sead Kolasinac and Carl Jenkinson remain out but Lucas Torreira and Alex Iwobi are should be available.
Arsenal began the season with a 0-2 home defeat by Manchester City before going down 2-3 at Chelsea. Collecting their first points thanks to a 3-1 success against West Ham at the Emirates, they then went to Cardiff and ran out 3-2 winners.
All eight of their goals this season have been scored by different players (including an OG).
Referee: Lee Probert – first NUFC appointment of 2018 for this Wiltshire-based official, last spotted in charge of our 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion in November 2017.
Probert’s most recent visit to Tyneside was for a 3-1 FA Cup home victory over Birmingham City back in January 2017.
Stats:
Gunners @ SJP – Premier League era:
2017/18: Won 2-1 Perez, Ritchie
2015/16: Lost 0-1
2014/15: Lost 1-2 Sissoko
2013/14: Lost 0-1
2012/13: Lost 0-1
2011/12: Drew 0-0
2010/11: Drew 4-4 Barton 2, Best, Tiote
2010/11: Lost 0-4 (LC)
2008/09: Lost 1-3 Martins
2007/08: Drew 1-1 S.Taylor
2006/07: Drew 0-0
2005/06: Won 1-0 Solano
2004/05: Lost 0-1
2003/04: Drew 0-0
2002/03: Drew 1-1 Robert
2001/02: Drew 1-1 Robert (FAC)
2001/02: Lost 0-2
2000/01: Drew 0-0
1999/00: Won 4-2 Speed 2, Shearer, Griffin
1998/99: Drew 1-1 Hamann
1997/98: Lost 0-1
1996/97: Lost 1-2 Shearer
1995/96: Won 2-0 Ginola, Ferdinand
1994/95: Won 1-0 Beardsley
1993/94: Won 2-0 Cole, Beardsley
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So last year was the first time Arsenal have lost at St James Park in ten years! Let’s hope normal service resumes tomorrow….
They have Kenedy, Perez and Rondon, but I’m more worried about Joselu
He has scored twice and I hope Mustafi/ Sokratis can deal with his height in set-pieces
“worry not about the enemy, for the victory belongs to the gunners” so says the book of the the great “LACAZETTE”..Just hoping he won’t be benched though.. COYG
Yes but just because most of the known universe can see that Auba and Laca should play together doesn’t mean that Emery will know it, bearing in mind that this is the guy who leaves Torreira on the bench and plays Xhaka!!!???
I just love 3pm matches on a Saturday! I hope we win…it will be a tough match…. after the Cardiff game hopefully we’ll have put that away voodoo to bed COYG
Newcastle will be rock bottom if
they lose so will be desperate
and are at home.
After successive wins over WH and Cardiff
Arsenal have 4 more winnable PL fixtures
Newcastle (A) Everton (H) Watford (H) Fulham (A)
interspersed with cup games for the “B” team.
18 points in a row and Arsenal
will be top 4 by the next interdull 🙂
I don’t think any of those fixtures are easy personally
We have enough to beat Newcastle away but all depends on what Emery sets the men out to do… he will have studied last seasons loss & will have a plan on how to hurt Newcastle with the firepower of Laca & Auba.
Ozil starts behind the forwards as he can do damage if the 3of these guys click & 2of them already have in the strikers. Imaging Ozil having space & time on the ball with these 2 running all over the show making their own space & runs.
To make sure this works we need the defence to be shielded by our midfield so Torreira starts alongside Guendouzi or Xhaka (Niles in there when fit no question). Xhaka played well against England, if he has a partner who does all the dirty work in Lucas (plus he’s really forward thinking in his passes when he retrieves the ball).
Defence isn’t great but if we want to shore up one wing then have Bellerin be that extra forward/winger on the right & Leichsteiner behind him. Mavraponas is always my 1st choice but will be Sok/Mus for the foreseeable unfortunately, he needs to be in there beside on of these 2senior CB.
Monreal isn’t even a topic to discuss LB is his.
Cech stays in goal, Europa & Cups coming up so Leno will get his chances.
Cech
Lichsteiner
Sokratis (Rather Mavraponas)
Mustafi
Monreal
Torreira
Xhaka
Ozil
Bellerin
Lacazette
Aubameyang
Subs;
Leno
Holding
Mavraponas
Ramsey
Guendouzi
Iwobi
Miki
Welbz
Should be enough to win the game!
I quite like your line up – provided Xhaka takes an early knock/early yellow and is replaced by Guendouzi. Problem is that your team will be screwed up by Emery reaching for his favourite crowbar to prise Ramsey into the team somewhere.
hes already benched him and has taken him off early. how is he a favorite?
If you mean Xhaka then he’s started every game – just as he did with Wenger – and he’s just as hapless now as he was then.
If you mean Ramsey he favours him over Ozil, pushing Ozil wide so Ramsey can play in his favourite position, as an attacking midfielder.
? Sean, really like your lineup; if Bellerin is not crossing well, replace with Mhikataryan or Iwobi.
Because of our weak defense, I would suggest playing both Toreirra and Guendozi. Also starting Lichtsteiner at RB instead of Bellerin would be worth it. It may improve Bellerin defensively if he starts on the bench.
Whenever we play Newcastle, I always think of the time we played Newcastle away and we were ahead 4-0!!! Then we had a defensive melt down and Newcastle drew 4-4. That draw was as bad or even worse than a loss to our morale that season
@Innit, it wasn’t just a defensive meltdown. Diaby got a silly red card for retaliation, so we were down to 10men. Newcastle United piled the pressure and thanks to the ref who gifted them some soft, if not dubious penalties, the game ended in a 4.4 draw
Thanks for stating the obvious. I know some will bend the narrative to always to ridicule the club but how could a so called arsenal fan forget those two dubious penos and Diaby’s retaliation for that NU’s back
It was that Nast little S**T Barton that got Diabi sent off and somehow stayed on the pitch himself.Just to rub salt into the wounds he scored two penalties.
Kenny Rolfe-I don’t suppose you know who the ref was that day do you?
Kenny it was Mike Ashley.
I was at the game but couldn’t recall who the ref was.He have them everything in that second half .Nolan and Barton both got stuck into Diabi and he had to go forcretaliation but it was the classic example of the sinners getting away with it
Phil Dowd was the referee
Innit Your correct-Phil Dowd It was.
Yep Barton was a thug off and on the pitch. One of the footballers who I really hate. Apparently it runs in the family. His brother was sentenced to life for racial motivated murder. he never did anything that serious but remember him getting suspended for sticking a lit cigar in another footballer’s eye. On the field he was a thug too.
Yes Barton is a vile scumbag… how proud his Dad must be of him & his murdering Brother
Great when he got a good battering by Nzonzi. Didn’t quite look the hard man that day!
Good old Nzonzi!
Good one Innit, absolutely correct Phil Dowd the referee that day. I think another example to the doubters of how with been cheated over the past twenty years. I always said after that game ” how do you get a team back from 0-4, two penalties and sending off would help”.
Also good contribution from Phil, Sue and Gunner Jack