The team news is in ahead of the 7:45 pm kick-off at the Emirates Stadium as Newcastle take on league-leaders Arsenal live on Sky Sports – The Vital Football Podcast will be live at 10pm with instant reaction to the game – Link is at the bottom of this article.
Eddie Howe has made one change to the side that struggled to find the net against Leeds, and that is of course bringing in Callum Wilson over Chris Wood.
⚫️ HOWAY NEWCASTLE! ⚪️#ARSNEW pic.twitter.com/F1ywZsje6k
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 3, 2023
I thought this might have been the time to give Allan Saint-Maximin a start to try and cause the Arsenal defence some problems, but Howe has stuck with Sean Longstaff, who has earned his place in the squad, no doubt, despite some fans getting on his back after the Leeds game. I thought Longstaff played well overall, but his finishing was woeful.
With Wilson back in the starting line up, we hopefully won’t be relying on the likes of Longstaff for efforts at goal, but with the extra movement he brings, he also brings space for Miguel Almiron to get in behind the defenders, so we should see more clear-cut opportunities tonight.
⚡️ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚡️
🇫🇷 Saliba at the back
🇳🇴 Odegaard in midfield
🇧🇷 Martinelli on the wingLet’s start 2023 positively 🙌 pic.twitter.com/B1TN2fYDuQ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 3, 2023
Arsenal look dangerous as always with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on patrol. We also have a tough defence to contend with. Ben White had a torrid time at St James’ Park last season so he will no doubt be trying to right that wrong tonight.
I’m expecting a defeat tonight so that I can be pleasantly surprised if I’m wrong, but realistically, this game could go either way.