Premier League giants Arsenal will compete in their 26th league fixture of the season this weekend when they take on Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United side at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The Gunners’ most recent fixture in the league saw them play out a tight 0-0 draw against Burnley, before which they secured progress into the fifth round of the FA Cup by beating Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Winless in four consecutive league encounters now, their last Premier League victory came more than a month ago against Manchester United at the Emirates. Despite the change in mood caused by the arrival of the former Manchester City assistant, the results just seem to continually let the north London club down. Arteta’s next challenge comes in the form of a visit by the Magpies, a team that themselves have the opportunity to leap above Arsenal on the table with a favourable result on the weekend.
Team News
Bukayo Saka and Sead Kolasinac picked up unfortunate injuries ahead of the winter break, but could both be fit in time to make the match-day squad if everything goes to plan. Kieran Tierney and Calum Chambers are still on their roads to recovery and aren’t expected to be fit in time for this tie. Also, loan signing Cedric Soares is set to miss this visit from the Magpies.
4-2-3-1 Predicted Arsenal Lineup Vs Newcastle United
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Bernd Leno has singlehandedly won the Gunners multiple points in the league since the start of the campaign and is expected to continue operating between the sticks. Winter acquisition Pablo Mari could be forced to wait for another week before making his Premier League debut, with David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi expected to form the two-man centre-half partnership. Bukayo Saka and Hector Bellerin should be deployed down the full-back roles for this tie.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka has grown into one of the more important members of this Arsenal squad since Mikel Arteta’s takeover. The Swiss international continues to operate as the main midfield pivot, providing the fragile Gunners back-line with some much-needed cover as well. Alongside him, we expect to see Uruguayan ace Lucas Torreira replacing Matteo Guendouzi.
Attack
Arteta’s preferred formation so far this season has included four main attackers, and that trend looks set to continue into this fixture as well. Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are expected to take up the wide roles and provide most of the Arsenal width, while German star Mesut Ozil should start in the number ten slot just in behind the striker. Despite Alexandre Lacazette’s poor run of form over recent weeks, the Gunners’ lack of options in an attacking sense will allow the Frenchman to retain his place in the side.
