Arsenal know exactly what they will be up against at Newcastle on Saturday - from bitter experience.
Mikel Arteta’s side visit a club where the project is well ahead of schedule following a takeover two years ago by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund amid a relegation battle.
The concern on Tyneside early this season was whether the squad would be strong enough to challenge on several fronts.
Yet Eddie Howe’s team, who beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in the Champions League last month, are sixth in the Premier League and into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Injuries were always going to be an issue given the demands of European football, and Howe was without six key players, among them Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes and Sven Botman, for the midweek tie at cup-holders Manchester United.
Howe, mindful of the Arsenal game, made eight changes. His Toon team won 3-0 - with fit-again former Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock among the scorers - which says a lot about what Howe has built at the club.
Yes, Newcastle have invested heavily in players but the success under Howe has not been down to the efforts of one or two superstars.
Yes, the post-takeover investment has helped, but the club has not had a blank cheque due to Financial Fair Play restrictions. Commercial revenues stagnated during Mike Ashley’s 14 years as owner, and the club needs to significantly grow its income if it is to compete with Arsenal in the transfer market as well as on the pitch.
The story has been as much about coaching and management. Howe has got the best out of the players he inherited, notably Joelinton, Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar.
"Eddie Howe has given Newcastle a strong identity... his side play with a ferocious intensity"
Howe has given the team a strong identity. His side play with a ferocious intensity and press high up the pitch. Arsenal got an early insight into the new Newcastle the season before last when a bruising 2-0 defeat at St James’ Park cost them a Champions League place.
Arteta bluntly admitted after the game that Howe’s team had been “100 times better than us in every department from beginning to end.”
They learnt from that game and won on Tyneside last season, and Declan Rice, set to return to the starting XI after coming off the bench in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat by West Ham, has since added another dimension to their midfield.
Rice and his midfield team-mates will most likely be up against playmaker Bruno Guimaraes and hard-running duo Longstaff and Joelinton, and these battles will be key to the outcome of what is certain to be another fiercely-contested game.
