Eddie Howe's Newcastle United will be looking to hand Arsenal's Premier League title ambitions a major blow this weekend when they welcome Mikel Arteta's side to St James' Park.
The Gunners returned to the top of the table on Tuesday evening after a comfortable 3-1 win over London rivals Chelsea. They could drop down to second should Manchester City beat West Ham on Wednesday, but they remain well on course to go the distance.
This weekend's trip to Tyneside is potentially the north Londoners' hardest test of their remaining four games. Newcastle are third in the league and are within touching distance of returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2003.
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Arsenal will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's visit to Newcastle, where a 2-0 defeat all-but-ended their hopes of finishing in the top four. Fortunately for the Magpies, they come into the clash with only a few injury concerns.
There is hope that tricky winger Allan Saint-Maximin will be available for selection after missing the last five games with a hamstring injury. He initially returned to France to step up his recovery but has since returned to training.
Alongside the Frenchman, midfielder Sean Longstaff will be hoping to complete his recovery from a foot injury. The 25 year-old missed Sunday's victory over Southampton, but it was recently confirmed he has avoided a break or fracture.
“Sean picked up a knock on his foot,” Howe said. “We sent him for an x-ray. There’s no break or fracture we think. We hope it’s just bad bruising. He wasn’t available today but we hope he’ll be back soon.”
Elsewhere, Newcastle will be without Emil Krafth and Ryan Fraser meaning Howe will have the exact same squad available to the one that defeated Southampton.
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