Despite a second half fightback, Arsenal were unable to find a vital third goal as they fell to a 3-2 defeat to Stoke at The Britannia last weekend.
Alexis Sanchez has undoubtedly been one of the stars of the season so far for Arsenal, the summer arrival settling quickly into life in the Premier League. Whilst he has been lighting up the Emirates going forward, he’s also been equally impressive when tracking back. He’s attempted the second highest number of tackles of any Gunners player this term (44), winning 61.4% of them. He is 19/20 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.
Fellow frontman Danny Welbeck has been working equally hard across the frontline, repeatedly putting himself into scoring positions. He leads the Arsenal squad for total attempts on goal, racking up 31 so far this season and hitting the target with 51.6% of them according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Calum Chambers has been showing that he is certainly comfortable within the Arsenal setup following his move from Southampton in the summer. He leads the Arsenal squad for total defensive contributions (block, clearances, interceptions, tackles won) this season with 122.
Newcastle secured a famous win over an in-form Chelsea side as two goals from Papiss Cisse saw them grab all three points in a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.
Midfielder Jack Colback will likely be the man charged with preventing the Gunners from enjoying too much possession this weekend and his stats suggest he is up to the task. He’s attempted the second highest numbers tackles in the Newcastle squad, his total of 41 surpassed only by Darryl Janmaat with 56, winning an impressive 68.3% of them.
Forward Ayoze Perez continues to impress this season, his accuracy in front of goal particularly catching the eye. He’s worked the ‘keeper with an excellent 63.6% of his 11 shots so far this term, a stat that suggests more goals are surely not far away. He is an industry best 19/5 with 888sport.com to score at any time this weekend.
Expect Moussa Sissoko to continue to cause problems for opposition teams when he gets forward. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index he’s completed more dribbles than any other Newcastle player with 28.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United Team News:
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is out with a hamstring problem and would be missing a good part of the coming month, which meant that Wenger had to re-call Francis Coquelin from his loan spell at Charlton to cover up the void left by Arteta, Wilshere, Ozil and now Ramsey. Apart from the Welshman, Arsenal will be without Koscielny and Monreal, who are out with injuries. Calum Chambers would be another absentee for the game as he is suspended for picking up five yellow cards in the season.
For Newcastle, Moussa Sissoko serving his one batch ban would be a real miss in the attacking third. Pasis Cisse’s brace against Chelsea last week would mean that he is likely to be promoted to the starting role. Pardew will also be missing the likes of Tim Krul, Rob Elliot, Siem de Jong, Gabriel Obertan, Davide Santon, Ryan Taylor and Rolando Aarons with injuries, while Steven Taylor is also suspended.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United Possible Lineups:
Arsenal: Szczesny; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Debuchy, Gibbs; Ramsey, Flamini; Cazorla, Sanchez, Welbeck; Giroud
Newcastle United: Alnwick; Janmaat, Coloccini, Dummett; Haidara; Colback, Tiote; Ameobi, Cabella, Perez; Cisse
Arsenal vs Newcastle United Match Facts:
- Arsenal have lost three of their last five league matches.
- They have only suffered one defeat in their seven league games at the Emirates this season, but they have also drawn three of those games (W3, D3, L1).
- The Gunners have come from behind to draw or win in four of those seven home games.
- Newcastle have won six of their last eight Premier League matches.
- Only Manchester City (16) and Manchester United (15) have won more points than Newcastle (13) from the last six games.
- Seven of Newcastle’s league goals this season have been scored by substitutes – more than any other top-flight side.
- The Magpies are the only team yet to score in the opening 30 minutes of their league matches this season. Their earliest goal this season has come in the 37th minute.
Facts compiled from BBC.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United Prediction:
A 2-1 win for the home side.
Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars with at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate team.