Newcastle vs. Arsenal-Preview: It’s time to mess with the Champions League

It couldn’t possibly be in Liverpool’s favor. It couldn’t possibly be in opposition to Manchester City. So it has to be against Arsenal, right? Following Monday, the Magpies will face Mikel Arteta’s men at St James’ Park for the home-turf finale of the 2022 season and Newcastle’s second Monday Night Football of the season.

Arsenal will travel to Tyneside full of rage after losing three points and absorbing three hard-to-take goals in the North London Derby. The Gunners will be eager to put the hammer down on United and secure their place in the Champions League next season.

The Magpies will want to leave St James Park with a favorable taste for the final time in the 2021-22 down-and-up season. Since this will be their last game in their stadium before traveling to Burnley the following weekend. Even if Newcastle isn’t playing for anything these days, it’ll be difficult to appraise the boys. They get to play against a good-not-great club with European hopes to see where the team is after the season.

Newcastle vs. Arsenal What’s going on?

It didn’t matter because all Spurs accomplished was decrease their deficit in the table from four to one point with a handful of games remaining. Then leaving Arsenal in fourth place and qualifying for the Champions League next season.

That game, in any case, was a complete blowout that was completed in (nearly) one-half of the time. Arsenal became enraged; Rob Holding was in the locker room barely 33 minutes into the game, and the Spurs did everything they wanted. The Gunners appeared disoriented throughout the game. Let’s hope they show it again on Monday.

A loss to Tottenham was a distinct possibility. Tottenham is again battling Arsenal for the final spot in the premier European competition. To put it another way, Tottenham is not a collection of minnows led by an inept manager. At least for the time being, Arsenal may be halfway through those definitions. No offense, but injuries have left the Londoners extremely thin on the ground, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey, and Kieran Tierney suffering knocks and missing significant time. With Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexander Lacazette either leaving or underperforming.

Even if you consider all of that a large enough disaster to consider this a terrific chance for Newcastle to snare one or three points, you might want to reconsider. Arsenal had won their previous four games in a row, scoring at least two goals in each and surrendering more than one goal only once. It’s no joke, especially given the quality of competition they’ve faced.

Newcastle played Arsenal for the first time in 1893 in a League Division

Newcastle drew 2-2 with (Woolwich) Arsenal for the first time in a League Division Two match in 1893. Jeez. Arsenal leads the all-time series 67-83, with 38 draws on top of that. However, the Magpies’ problem is that previous clashes have not gone well for the Toon. After beating Arsenal in April 2018, Newcastle has lost eight consecutive games vs. the Gunners.

Arsenal has lost games to Crystal Palace, Brighton, and Southampton since the beginning of April. The former two are currently four and one point ahead of Newcastle in the table. While Southampton sits one spot and three points behind the Toon. What I mean is that it’s not as if mid-table clubs haven’t cracked Arteta’s code. It wouldn’t surprise me if Newcastle saluted the crowd after the final whistle. Even if they only had three more points.

Newcastle has already welcomed back two of their greatest players this season, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier, after long-term injuries against Manchester City. This game had expected to begin with both of them. That is the encouraging news. The bad news for the two teams meeting on Monday is that both will be missing a few key players in a single line of the field. Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney, and Gabriel Magalhaes are all out for Arsenal. Ryan Fraser, Jonjo Shelvey, and Joe Willock will be missing for Newcastle.

Arsenal is still competing for the title.

Out of context, finishing fourth or fifth in the league is insignificant. You add in the reality that the fourth team qualifies for the Champions League, and the fifth has relegated to the Europa League. Things start to look a lot different, especially considering what happened at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Thursday. Also, how much the Gunners need to win the following Monday.

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