It’s going to be a strange season for Newcastle United fans who, although are used to being infuriated in the Mike Ashley era, will still look forward to the season with hope. Amidst all the unrest in Tyneside, the fans at the end of the day want the team to do well.
The opening game against Arsenal at St James’ Park on Sunday is perhaps the ideal fixture to start off with – while the quality of the team they will face is high, the history of the clash is bound to make the Toon Army cheer their team on with a bit more verve.
What about the game? Well, it’s going to be a tough test as Unai Emery’s side now have a clearer game plan and have made a few reinforcements – the most recent on being Nicolas Pepe, who will excite the fans and will want to hit the ground running.
Newcastle might have lost some big players in Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, but if they play to their strengths, they still have a decent chance of beating Arsenal.
Here are three things the Magpies should do to beat Arsenal:
Target Arsenal’s right side of the defence
Arsenal are without Hector Bellerin, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles isn’t the most comfortable player on the right. In fact, both the Gunners’ full-backs are suspect.
With Arsenal likely to play Callum Chambers as the right centre-back, Newcastle need to target the inexperience and unsettled combination with the pace they have on the left flank.
Also read: Is Jetro Willems first choice-quality?
New signing Jetro Willems linked up well with Allan Saint-Maximin in the pre-season game last Saturday, and the two are tricky players to deal with, and have the pace to burn.
Lest we forget, Miguel Almiron is quick as well, and can test the Gunners’ defence too, albeit from a more central role that he is likely to play in.
The high press
Emery wants his side to play out from the back, but doesn’t have the players to do so. While Sokratis isn’t the worst in doing that, Chambers and Maitland-Niles made quite a few mistakes in their last pre-season game against Barcelona, who only had a handful of games in pre-season and were still able to press the north London side quite easily.
Newcastle have an exciting attack even without Perez and Rondon, as the likes of Joelinton, Almiron, Muto and Saint-Maximin are all mobile, work hard, and can press.
The Magpies need to be careful while pressing, and need to pick their moments and put pressure on the Gunners’ defence while they have the ball.
Three-man midfield to counter Arsenal’s creativity
Arsenal once again look attack-heavy this season, but Newcastle have the players to stop them from scoring.
A three-man midfield, comprising of former Arsenal man Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey, and Sean Longstaff would be the ideal set-up not only.
While the hardworking duo of Longstaff and Hayden will cover inch every blade of grass, Shelvey with his distribution will be key against the Gunners on the break.