Gary Neville insists a strong Newcastle United is good for the game after watching Eddie Howe's side cruise to a 2-0 victory over Arsenal at St James' Park.
A Ben White own goal and a calm fininsh from Bruno Guimaraes saw United home in a match they dominated for large parts, as the crowd put on a spectacular display in the final home game of the season. It was an atmosphere which again didn't go unnoticed in the Sky Sports studio, and Neville was quick to highlight the change in mood on Tyneside.
Since Amanda Staveley and Co bought the club in October, there has been a huge increase in optimism throughout the United fanbase, and Neville says that's not only good for Newcastle fans, but for football as a whole. And he was impressed by the performance on the pitch as Champions League hopefuls Arsenal were swept away.
READ MORE: Newcastle's Arsenal win marks huge turnaround for Eddie Howe
"Newcastle looked really strong," he said. "he massive change is the ownership. The crowd before the game - you knew Arsenal would have to cope and Newcastle were at it.
"The whole club’s been freed from a fan point of view, complete transformation seven out of eight home games they’ve won. You can never dismiss the ownership questions, they are always going to be issues. But you saw Ant and Dec, the fans, the players, I’ve been there for 11 years and I’m sick of saying it at Newcastle, experiencing what we experienced where St James’ Park was the fiercest, ferocious, hostile atmosphere to a really depressing, toxic for I don’t know how many years.
"Mike Ashley stunk that place out. This ownership has different issues, like whether they should be in this league, but below that it’s give fans hope, the pride back in the city, the feeling on the pitch. We need a strong Newcastle, we we need a strong Sunderland, we need a strong Middlesbrough, we need a strong Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United sort of city’s around the country that are important to football. To see Newcastle tonight is brilliant."
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