It was only two months ago that Pep Guardiola raised more than few eyebrows by naming Newcastle United as a Premier League title contender. The Manchester City boss claimed as many as six rivals could deny the defending champions a fifth title in six seasons.
Eddie Howe's side had already played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with City at St James' Park in August, and were sat fourth following three straight wins. Newcastle were seen by many to be overachieving in the early stages of the campaign, but Guardiola could not hide his admiration for the Magpies when declaring the new challenger to the so-called 'Big Six' were here to stay.
Explaining his selection, the City boss told reporters: “Because they have incredible physicality to the way they play and they are playing one game a week, they are not playing in Europe and when this happens that’s a big advantage when you arrive in the last months with energy. They have incredible energy and imagine how they are after one week.
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“They have a good manager, top class players, they have experienced ones, physicality in the middle, box to box transitions, the way they make the intensity without the ball is so impressive, the press high and they go with real rhythm and I imagine they are going to stay there for a long time.”
Fast forward to the New Year, and talk of a title challenge from Tyneside is viewed as a little less fanciful - even if it remains a long shot. Newcastle sit nine points adrift of Arsenal ahead of their showdown with the league leaders at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
Brendan Rodgers was adamant in his assertion that the Magpies should be viewed as contenders, having watched them confidently dispatch his Leicester City side on Boxing Day. Howe himself has understandably swerved any such talk, although profligate finishing has since denied Newcastle a seventh straight league victory in a frustrating stalemate with Leeds United on New Year's Eve.
United usher in 2023 with arguably the toughest test currently on offer in the Premier League. Arsenal have a perfect home record, and have picked up where they left off with two straight wins after the World Cup break.
The result in the capital on Tuesday night will not prove decisive for either side. The Toon Army will remain in dreamland no matter the outcome, with a winnable Carabao Cup quarter-final home tie against Leicester also on the horizon.
However, the performance and the scoreline could go a long way to shaping expectations and targets for a campaign which has been consistently difficult to gauge. Victory for the visitors would still leave Arsenal with a sizeable cushion over the Magpies as well as a game in hand.
But by becoming the first team to defeat the league leaders on their own turf, the Premier League perception of Newcastle will inevitably be shifted. It will be impossible for Howe to ignore talk of a top-four tilt, and a disruption of the 'Big Six' way ahead of schedule.
If it hasn't already confirmed, Newcastle's rapid transformation from relegation favourites to one of the best sides in the division will be rubber-stamped. There is no such thing as a free hit under Howe, but as much as the head coach tries to play the upcoming clash down, there could be more than three points up for grabs.
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