It is a measure of the progress Newcastle United have made that Arsenal staff were not only aware of champions Man City dropping points against Everton before the Gunners' late kick-off at Brighton on New Year's Eve - they also knew that the Magpies had been held to a goalless draw by Leeds United. A year on from duking it out with Burnley, Norwich City and Watford at the bottom of the table, Eddie Howe's side are now mixing it with the Premier League's best teams in the top three.
Newcastle's six-match winning streak in the Premier League may have come to an end on Saturday but, such was the hosts' dominance, Howe believed the black-and-whites would have won the game 'quite comfortably' if it was played again after his side had five times as many shots on target and a whopping nine corners in torrential conditions at St James' Park. No wonder Howe felt there was 'absolutely no need for any negativity internally from me to the players' or from the players to each other for that matter.
"We spoke," Howe told reporters after the 0-0 draw. "There were feelings of frustration and disappointment, but only healthy emotions. You don't want the players to be sitting there with smiles on their faces if our expectation is to win."
