Arsenal will see pumped Newcastle after chat and…

Arsenal will see pumped Newcastle after chat and Guardiola turns air blue to prove Magpies point

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."

Newcastle players will be desperate to rediscover that winning feeling that they had for so long and a quick turnaround may yet work in their favour ahead of Tuesday's game against Arsenal. In fact, Newcastle were back to work on New Year's Day to look at how they could hurt the league leaders in their own backyard.

You have to go back to 2010 for the last time Newcastle got a result at the Emirates, but the visitors certainly won't travel in fear. During their last trip to North London, after all, Newcastle defeated Spurs, Arsenal's bitter rivals, and Howe's side have also taken points off Man City, Manchester United and Chelsea this season.

Players and staff genuinely believe they can go toe-to-toe with any opponent in the Premier League on their day and the football world has long recognised that, too. Bukayo Saka even described Newcastle as 'one of the best teams in the league' on Saturday night and the Arsenal star was not just basing that off the Magpies being third in the table.

Saka, of course, was a member of the Arsenal side stunned by Newcastle in a 2-0 defeat at St James' back in May and the black-and-whites have only got stronger since then. In truth, Newcastle are a different team as City boss Pep Guardiola discovered following a 3-3 draw earlier this season.

"I was in the locker room and everyone [outside] was saying, ‘Ah, City, the champions, dropped two points to Newcastle, how s--- they are,'" he recalled this week. "I said, 'They are good.'"

There can be no doubt about that anymore. Tuesday night offers Newcastle another opportunity to prove just how good.

Arsenal will see pumped Newcastle after chat and Guardiola turns air blue to prove Magpies point

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